Maryland Food Bank offers Culinary Program that Changes Lives
Maryland Food Bank
MARYLAND – Cooking for success! What if you had the opportunity to advance your career in just 12 weeks? The Maryland Food Bank has a Food Works program, that is an-depth course that helps citizens learn new skills to obtain a culinary career.
Chef David McKenty is the instructor who helps these students cook their way into a new career. For over 40 years, he has been in the Kitchen, and he has always loved teaching. He tells us when students graduate they will be Safe Serve Certified and be able to go directly into management positions. “It’s not just an education program, we have career development, we have case management, we have specialists in both areas, and we don’t leave the students at graduation…It’s a very intense 12-week course, its 5 days a week 40 hours as week, and that’s by design, so it is a full-time job for them… They’ll learn how to sauté, how to grill, how to braze, how to butcher, all those basic necessary skill sets.”
Alumni have come back to cook for the Newton Center. Though Chef McKenty is French-trained, he says the course represents all cultures and all cuisines. “Today we’re kind of doing mother sauces, which is the 5 foundational sauces of all cuisines…We’re going to do a Thai green curry seafood velouté with some pai Thai noodles.”
Some of the Alumni tell us why they chose the program, and what may lie ahead. Chef Creekwood says, “I wanted to learn new techniques and do new experiments with food.” Chef Julio is from Haiti and has been in the country for the past 5 years, “I would like to open my own business, that’s why I’m coming.” Chef Kate is in her 20s and is glad someone told her about the program, “I’ll get my certificate and then I can move on with my life and do something better.”
They work with individuals who would not otherwise have the opportunity for a free 12-week skills training program. says Jennifer Small- Vice President of Neighbor Engagement. They want students to do more once they graduate. “There are a lot of individuals that have an entrepreneurial spirit… It’s exciting to be able to take individuals, provide them with culinary skills, with training, with additional case management to help give them tool.”
She tells reporters through various funding, they are able to provide three thousand dollars in support to each and every single student, and they want to continue to make partnerships in the community. The current class will be graduating at the end of June, and coordinators encourage people to enroll now, because the next session starts this July.
The chefs are ready and geared up to work and they say if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
