COEUR d'ALENE - Jessica Lewis has been through the system - the wringer really - and came through to the other side.

The other side is a tiny kitchen; pots, pans, burners, and a lineup of hundreds of hungry people out the front door.

She likes that look, she says.

"If I could afford to not get paid, I'd still come down and do this job," the Yakima native-turned-cook said, as she preparing a homemade chicken noodle soup Thursday at the St. Vincent de Paul soup kitchen. "I guess a part of me is such a people pleaser."

Turns out, Jessica is earning a reputation around the homeless community for dishing up the goods, not holding back on the side dishes either.

The job's a natural fit, she said. She loved to cook ever since she "could push a chair up to the stove."

And she's used St. Vincent de Paul to get back on her feet after a rough spell that found her without much help. This after she received treatment for mental issues, such as post traumatic stress syndrome, a result of her childhood, and schizophrenia.

"It makes me feel great to see people get happy and know I had a part," she said. "I get this sense of accomplishment and pride in myself."

Homemade soup, sandwiches, salads, cobblers, pizzas, pastas, fruit, vegetables, everything goes, and usually together in one meal. She took nutritional classes too, so she balances the food groups to get one of everything.

"She's awesome," she's great," said Mary Gorkhali, walking to the kitchen before its 5 p.m. opening with her daughter, Faith.

She counts the casseroles as her favorite Jessica dish, and Faith likes the cherry applesauce.

"It's weird," she said. "Because on her day off is when we don't come."

Said Jason Fortune, mid-meal on Thursday: "Great soup line, great food and everything."

After Jessica got back on her feet, she asked about a job at St. Vincent's. It was open, and the kitchen that turned out 650 meals a month jumped to 1,000 per month after Jessica took over in January.

It's not all her, she knows. She said the demand of people in need is humbling, one she knows firsthand, which is what makes the job that much more enjoyable. She has a comment box for guests to drop in opinions or suggestions (mostly positive) and she'll whip up a birthday cake if she knows its a diner's big day.

"She's a find," said Jeff Conroy, SVDP director. "We're blessed to have her."

Once the doors open, people file in until 6:30. Jessica serves from the middle and volunteers help her out. Those waiting in line carry off plates and bowls of food like waiters, some dishes balanced on their forearms.

"You know," Jessica said, watching them Thursday. "We need to get those trays, those plastic trays."