Spice and Spectrum, Recipes for Resilience

by iCan Dream Center and Chef Jerome Brown

Chef Jerome Brown has partnered with Tinley Park, Illinois-based nonprofit iCan Dream Center (www.icandreamcenter.com) in the creation of Spice & Spectrum. He is donating proceeds of the book to the organization which serves students in the south suburbs of Chicago who are marginalized by neurodiversity, disabilities, trauma, and other learning challenges

Spice & Spectrum is a collection of Chef Jerome Brown's most recent recipes broken into five sections that align with the iCan Dream Center mission Throughout the Dream, Restore, Empower, Amplify, and Mobilize sections of the book, Dr Evisha Ford, the founder and executive director of iCan Dream Center, shares the mission of the organization, stories of students navigating trauma, and the healing benefit of the organization's culinary program that is highlighted throughout the book.

Students with autism (neurodiversity) and disabilities are nearly twice as likely to be suspended or expelled from school than their non-disabled peers What's more, 35% of inmates in juvenile lockups have some form of neurodiversity (autism, ADHD, et all) or other learning disability

The iCan Dream Center seeks to empower students with autism and other learning deficits with the skills needed to thrive in life and to defy the statistics Whether it is giving students opportunities to grow as student leaders, gaining vocational skills, self-advocacy, and self-care skills like cooking, the organization works with students individually to thrive. iCan Dream Center is a 501c3 nonprofit therapeutic school endorsed by the Illinois State Board of Education and serves dozens of school districts throughout the suburbs of Chicago.