One Meal Can Change Everything for a Child —Chef Fernando Garcia-Aguila
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n just about any day of the week, residents will find catering chef Fernando Garcia-Aguila effortlessly creating show-stopping recipes for events held at Willow Valley Communities. His culinary repertoire covers traditional American dishes, as well as those tried and true from his native Cuba. His smile never dims and his love of serving never falters. Fernando knows what it’s like to need help. But he also knows what it’s like to get that help. It took Fernando eight attempts before he successfully escaped his native communist Cuba on July 4, 2007. Eventually finding himself in Lancaster, PA, without knowing a word of English, he worked hard and studied hard. Beyond learning the language, his focus was always on his goal of becoming an American citizen. Along the way, Fernando was helped by many Lancastrians who never forgot their own immigrant roots. And Fernando has never forgotten their kindness. He recalls the story of one couple he met while working at a produce stand at Lancaster’s vibrant Central Market. The job was a tough one for Fernando; he knew only a few words in English for the many fruits and vegetables he was trying to sell at the stand. Many people ignored him—too impatient to try to understand what he was saying— too much in a hurry to purchase their produce from someone who had to struggle with the words. Fernando, filled with frustration, was brought to tears several times, until the day he met a couple who said they wanted to teach him English. He graciously took them up on their offer. During one of the language tutorials in their home, Fernando asked the couple why they were helping him. Fernando says that he will never forget the response. The man went upstairs and returned with an old photo album, which was filled with black and white photos of his family who had come to America from the Czech Republic. “He then looked at me straight in the eyes,” Fernando recounts, “and he said, ‘The same way someone helped my family when they came here, that’s how I want to help you.’ ” “That’s what it came down to. He just wanted to help me,” Fernando remembers. “What an awesome gesture.” WillowValleyCommunities.org
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