Army vet named head of lunch program
'Cooking is what I love to do.' - Calvin Leonard
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers GOOD COOKING- Calvin Leonard serves up a steaming plate of green beans for seniors on Tuesday afternoon at the Camarillo Community Center.

Calvin Leonard loves baking croissants and inventing sauces, including one for fish.

"You take mandarin oranges, dairy cream and peppercorn with a little lemon juice . . ." Leonard said, suddenly stopping when he noticed someone writing down his secret recipe.

"I won't give you all of it," he said.

Leonard, who will turn 50 in May, is the newly hired kitchen supervisor for the Camarillo Health Care District's Senior Lunch Program, Apple-a-Day Cafe, held at the Pleasant Valley Recreation and Park District's Senior Center on Burnley Street. His first day of work was Feb. 4.

Leonard isn't an ordinary cook. The Oxnard resident is a veteran of two wars and completed a hardship tour in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in 1980.

He spent 15 years in the U.S. Army, from 1977-92, serving his country during Operation Just Cause in Panama and Operation Desert Storm in Saudi Arabia.

Although he didn't say much about his past in the armed forces, Leonard elaborated about the year he spent in the DMZ. For 45 days at a time, he would train in fields of rice paddies. Leonard would get a couple days off and then return to the rice field for another 45-day period.

Spending time away from loved ones changed the soldier.

"It was hard being away from family," Leonard said. "Your personality ends up changing. Life in the army is so much a part of you, you change a lot from it. It takes a toll. I try not to think about the military and try to put it as far back in my mind as I can.

"My experience in the army taught me that life is very precious and we should respect it."

Leonard, who has seven children and 10 grandchildren, feels his new job has given him a strong base.

"My main focus points in life are belief in God, my family and my job," he said. After his time in the U.S. Army, Leonard moved to Ventura County to be closer to his mother. Two years ago, his mother moved to Antioch in Northern California. If he hadn't gotten a job offer from human resources officer Tammy Washington at the Health Care District, Leonard was ready to move his family up north.

After spending 15 years in the food service industry, including a recent stint with the Oxnard School District as a child nutrition and kitchen coordinator, Leonard is happy to help seniors, who often "get the short end of the stick, just like veterans."

Leonard and his crew prepare 250 to 500 meals a week, including some that are home delivered. Although he just started, Leonard's colleagues have enjoyed working with the kitchen supervisor.

"He seems very pleasant and has everything under control," said Paulette Wyly, assistant kitchen supervisor.

Born in Martinez, Calif., Leonard grew up in Oakland and considers himself a big Oakland Raiders fan. He attended Sacramento State for six months but dropped out after experiencing a dramatic culture shock in the state's capital.

When he enlisted in the military at age 19, he intended to go into telecommunications, but the training classes were filled. He tried food service instead.

"I've been in love with it ever since," he said. "Cooking is what I love to do."