Job Training

Beyond the Kitchen: Coaching & Evaluation Skills for Front Line Staff

Justin Smith

Justin Smith

Justin has worked for years merging food, gardening, and the culinary arts with services for vulnerable populations in both Chicago and Seattle. In his role as Program Development Manager, Justin draws on a wide range of experience with instruction, curriculum writing, program expansion, youth education, and over a decade of work in restaurants and hospitality.

Culinary training positions within our training model are not for the faint of heart. On the surface it is a straightforward role: your goal is to prepare culinary students for the kitchen - how to hold a knife, work on a line, and filet a fish. However, this role takes on an entirely new face when your student population is learning how to thrive in a workplace and push past their personal barriers during the program.

“Living Pictures”: Visualizing Data with Tableau

Emily Olsen-Harbich

Emily Olsen-Harbich

Emily is interested in challenging traditional community development norms to solve complex social issues at scale. She's worked at the grassroots level as a community extension agent in Peace Corps Cameroon and managed cross-sector initiatives while working in management consulting for a Washington, DC based firm. Emily's experience creating compelling communications tools, including an award winning documentary film, help her to support and enhance the inspiring work of Catalyst Kitchens members around the country.

For me, the word “tableau” used to provoke the French definition: a painting or canvas. Aficionados of art history may even associate the word with a style known as “tableau vivant”, or “living picture“. As you may have guessed, the word now holds new meaning for me- although in many ways the definition still rings true.

How to Recruit Students During Low Unemployment

Corinne Molz

Corinne Molz

Corinne brings experience to her role of Communications Coordinator from her background in event planning, international development undergraduate degree, and her passion for the foodservice job training social enterprise model. Her career goals are devoted to lifting others out of the cycle of poverty through economic empowerment through employment/workforce development. She previously served FareStart as a Catering Captain, Catalyst Kitchens as Program Associate, and currently manages all of Catalyst Kitchens communications efforts through email marketing campaigns, website development, written materials, social media, physical promotional materials, and internal communications. 

The Catalyst Kitchens model is designed to create long-term pathways out of poverty rather than quick fixes. We know that hard culinary skills can help get a student a job and soft skills, like teamwork and communication, will help them KEEP a job. Catalyst Kitchens training programs provide this support to develop long-term career plans with wage progression and career advancement.

Why Do Catalyst Kitchens Programs Train Students in Foodservice?

Corinne Molz

Corinne Molz

Corinne brings experience to her role of Communications Coordinator from her background in event planning, international development undergraduate degree, and her passion for the foodservice job training social enterprise model. Her career goals are devoted to lifting others out of the cycle of poverty through economic empowerment through employment/workforce development. She previously served FareStart as a Catering Captain, Catalyst Kitchens as Program Associate, and currently manages all of Catalyst Kitchens communications efforts through email marketing campaigns, website development, written materials, social media, physical promotional materials, and internal communications. 

This infographic will give you the top five reasons why Catalyst Kitchens members think the kitchen is the best place to train students for the workforce.

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