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  • January12th

    GO – KITCHEN READY TRAINING

    Posted in: Food, Life, Mountain Alchemy

    THE FULL PRESS RELEASE

    GO-Kitchen Ready Program To Provide Launching Pad For Food Service Careers And Life Skills Training

    ASHEVILLE, NC (January 10, 2012) – An innovative joint venture between Green Opportunities, Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, Inc., Asheville City Schools Foundation, AB-Technical Community College, the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association and MANNA FoodBank will provide career opportunities in the food service industry, life skills training and potential job placement for future students of the new GO – Kitchen Ready Training Program.

    The program, managed by Green Opportunities, will offer training in basic food service and technical skills in culinary, baking, food safety and sanitation, nutrition instruction, food vocabulary and kitchen math. A portion of the class will focus on such life skills training as interviewing, job search and retention skills, resume writing and management of personal finances. The use of local food products will be a key component of the program.

    Students completing the program will be certified with “kitchen-ready” skills, including a SERV-SAFE certification and a mentoring program supported by Asheville area restaurants. GO, in association with the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, Goodwill Industries and Asheville City Schools Foundation, will provide job placement support.

    Classes are scheduled to begin in March 2012 and will be held Monday through Thursday on the campus of William Randolph School. The curriculum includes 192 hours of hands-on kitchen instruction as well as 96 hours of classroom instruction over a twelve-week period. Two twelve-week sessions will be conducted in the first year of the program and classes will be limited to 15 students.

    Costs for participating in the program will be covered for qualified applicants. GO will use the training to produce meals for distribution through MANNA FoodBank as well as for some school meals for students and their families at William Randolph School.

    The GO Kitchen-Ready program is modeled after similar programs in other communities organized under the umbrella of Catalyst Kitchens, a network of organizations with a shared vision of empowering lives through job training, self-generating revenue through social enterprise and nourishing bodies and minds through quality food service. The Asheville initiative was launched with a start-up financial gift from the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, with leadership and vision for the project originating with Michel Baudouin of Bouchon Restaurant. Other key supporters of the project are Steve Frabitore of Tupelo Honey Cafe, Anthony Cerrato of Fiore’s and BB&T.

    Mark Rosenstein, founder and former owner of The Market Place, is spearheading the research, development and launch of the Asheville program as its project manager.

    Green Opportunities is an Asheville-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving lives, communities and the environment through innovative green collar job training and placement programs.  The Asheville Independent Restaurant Association’s mission is to unite the independent restaurant community as committed to local people, local philanthropies, local businesses, local food and the local economy through genuine food and signature hospitality.

    For more information about the program: GO – KITCHEN READY or contact Mark Rosenstein at 828-335-3328 or [email protected]

  • January11th

    TIME TO BRING IT HOME – FOR EVERYONE

    Posted in: Daily Bread, Life

    The next food trend is for everyone.  I call it “One Simple Truth.”

    Earlier this month I was contacted by Mackensy Lunsford.  She wanted to pick my brain about “big ideas” in food trends.  Needless to say, Food constantly is on my mind.  I shared my thoughts in an article for Mountain Express (read the article here).

    Her email came at the same moment that Green Opportunities (GO), Asheville City Schools, AB Technical Community College, MANNA Food Bank and Goodwill Industries of NW North Carolina had a meeting of the minds resulting in a training program, which was initiated by Michel Baudouin of Bouchon and supported by the Asheville Independent Restaurant association (AIR).  I have been working on the project for a year-and-a-half, resulting in the adoption of the proposal by GO on December 13.  Today, the project has been formally announced.  GO-Kitchen Ready Press Release

    The AIR led initiative is a pivotal event.  In the time I have been working on this project I have learned much and have arrived at a new relationship with Food.  I  learned is that food based training for individuals at risk has been happening for more than 25 years.  Here in Buncombe County, ABCCM and AB Tech have been collaborating for over 5 years, training veterans at the Veterans Restoration Quarters in east Asheville, the project is led by Eric Cox and Rachael Wilson. Culinary training is ongoing at Craggy Prison, AB Tech supports that as well.

    The first part of my food adventure was taken up with the creative and the particular.  The second, mature adventure will be about wholesome food for everyone.  It is no surprise that I will be training individuals at risk and working on  cooking based family training. Running a restaurant has many parrellels to both of these endeavors. It is a natural progression.

    Wholesome food habits are the foundation of good health.  I mean this is the broadest sense possible – physical, mental, spiritual, and communal.  If I had been lucky enough to be one of the framers of the Constitution, the First Bill of Rights would be access to wholesome food.  Then, you would be free to talk about it (like the French who are either talking about what they are eating, what they ate or what they are going to eat). Culinary training, on many levels, is keystone.

    Wholesome food cannot be an exclusive club.

    As we are getting ready to launch the GO – Kitchen Ready Training program, I want to thank everyone who has pulled together to make the project happen.  The board of AIR had the vision to support the feasibility study and the formation of the steering committee.  The work of steering committee comprised of Michel, Rick Jackson, Tom Ruff, Sheila Tilman, Kitty Schaller and Jen Waite was awesome.  Allen Johnson, Fletcher Comer and Eric Howard at Asheville City Schools worked to make the William Randolph campus available for the training.  AB Tech is providing instruction and Josh Pierce at Goodwill has been nothing but supportive.  Two chefs – Eric Cox and Jeff Bacon have shared everything they have learned form their own training programs.Giant thanks to Dan Leroy and Dewayne Barton of GO for taking the project on.  There are many others who have stepped up.

    As Allen Johnson, Superintendent of ACS said the other day, “it sure is nice to be working on a project that everyone is pulling together on.”  But, best and most humbling are the people I have met who are in training.

    Thank you.

    -Mark Rosenstein

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