AURORA - This is the world of Kiki Lewis: A stainless steel table with a rack in the middle from which hang ladles and whisks, mixing spoons and brushes.

It is orderly, with pots and pans, cheese graters and cooking jackets in their particular places.

That's what Kiki needs in her life, some order. She grew up too fast, too hard. Now she's trying to grow up right.

She goes to school at Excelsior Youth Centers Inc., a place that bills itself as a "residential treatment center for troubled girls."

Kiki, 16, lives in a foster home. She is a mother of a daughter who is almost 2. She has been at Excelsior for 10 months, and credits it and culinary arts instructor Trish Whatley Wilson for her turnaround.

She has learned something about herself, that she has a gift for cooking. Wednesday, Kiki and 29 other students prepared concoctions they served at their Steppin' Up for Excelsior fundraiser at Littleton Town Hall Arts Center.

They collected donations in frying pans and will use the money to upgrade their kitchen, Wilson said.

Kiki said Wilson is helping her step up in life.

"I've seen her grow from an angry, hostile young lady to someone who knows there's a future for her," Wilson said.

Kiki had already made some other desserts for Steppin' Up - chocolate teacups filled with mousse and topped with a raspberry, strawberries hand-rolled in a chocolate and pecan sauce, Russian teacakes.

Tuesday, she was finishing tarts, ladling mixed fruit in the center of a flat piece of pastry, then gently lifting the edges and pinching the rim together.

"I do this very delicately," she said.

"I do it the way I handle my daughter."

She initially was told she couldn't get into the culinary arts class because it was full. But she had been accepted in one at another place. So she boldly approached Wilson and said she wanted a chance.

Wilson said OK, and that Kiki would be on the same two-week probation period as other students based on grades, behavior and attendance.

"She's an A student," Wilson said.

The top grades have helped Kiki's confidence.

"I can express myself when I cook," she said. "I can't draw, or do any other art things."

Kiki's world had been a nightmare of bad attitude and bad breaks.

But she has dreams for a better future now. She'd like to open a restaurant after she finishes an apprenticeship with a chef.

She's not sure what the cuisine will be, but is certain what it won't: "anything but American food - no cheeseburgers and fries," she said.

And her outlook has improved greatly.

"Before, I thought the world hated me. And I was going to hate the world back," she said. "They've helped me look at the world in a different way. Now, I think the world is a wonderful place."

Gary Massaro

"Before, I thought the world hated me," says 16-year-old Kiki Lewis. "Now, I think the world is a wonderful place."

massarog@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5271

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