CCS Kitchen Academy provides job skills

Friday in May. 17th 2024

SALT LAKE CITY — A plate of rice, chicken and carrots, garnished with parsley and purple flowers, is as appealing to the eye and palate as anything served in a fine dining restaurant. But a special helping of pollo asada con aji verde will be served at Catholic Community Services' Saint Vincent de Paul Canteen and prepared by members of the Kitchen Academy for the March 6 luncheon. They prepared and showed off the skills they had learned in 14 weeks. program.

The St. Vincent Kitchen Academy “aims to equip individuals affected by barriers to employment with critical culinary and life skills,” said Randy Chappell, Basic Needs Director at CCS. spoke at a luncheon.

Students are “recruited through a variety of routes, including drug treatment centers and AP&P.” [Utah Department of Corrections Adult Probation and Parole] These are agents and individuals facing homelessness,” he said. “Throughout the program, our students receive hands-on training from culinary experts in state-of-the-art kitchens, covering a variety of skills from baking to grilling and ensuring mastery of safe food handling methods. Masu.”

Kitchen Academy started in 2021. The newest group of five students passes her eighth. All 20 graduates to date have jobs with an average salary of $46,800, and all have housing, Chappell said.

In addition to culinary training, the program also includes life skills classes and a year of case management. Additionally, after receiving his 10-week training at the Saint-Vin-Saint-Deport canteen, the student will participate in his two-week paid internship at a local restaurant.

The food for the March 6 luncheon was chosen by our newest member, Elvia Mendoza. Mendoza, who is originally from Peru, worked in nursing home kitchens and restaurants in her home country before coming to the United States last year, she said. On the menu, the appetizer was Papa a la Huancaina, the main course was chicken or lomo saltado, and the dessert was tarta de queso with either caramel sauce or strawberry sauce.

For Eric Mecham, one of Mendoza's classmates, cooking Peruvian food was a new experience, but he said he was able to make chili, spaghetti and meatloaf from scratch from an early age. “I gained an affinity for and love for cooking from watching my girlfriend’s mother cook from an early age.”

One of his dreams since he was young was to open his own restaurant. “My goal is to incorporate the culinary arts in an artistic, delicious, and healthy way.”

Autumn Walker, another classmate, said she had wanted to pursue a career in cooking since she was young, “and when I found this place, I knew I could learn more than I wanted to.” said.

All three had their favorite classes at the academy, but all agreed that the most difficult was the ServSafe Food Handler Certification Exam, which required a score of at least 75% to pass.

Jeff Stant, kitchen manager at the St. Vincent de Paul Diner, said the students in the class did very well on the exam, with one member getting a 98 percent.

After passing the exam, the class took classes on culinary basics such as baking, sauce making, and knife skills. “Each time, I take it back to the kitchen and work on it,” Stunt said.

With training and food handling certifications, students are prepared to work as sous chefs, he said.

Kitchen Academy “has already changed my life tremendously, and I plan on continuing to do so for as long as I can,” Mecham said. He said that until about six months ago he was living on the street, but now he has an apartment. In his first job after graduating from the academy, he “gained all the experience necessary to not only prepare safe food and delicious dishes, but also to learn how to run a kitchen,” and then perhaps work on a cruise ship or in a high-end restaurant. I plan to continue while working. Learning more cooking techniques, “because it's a never-ending deal.”

I would recommend this academy to anyone who loves cooking, he said. “This is one of the best things I've ever done.”