C.H.E.F. aims to create opportunities by providing recovery focused culinary training, leadership development, and restaurant education for individuals who have experienced addiction, mental health setbacks, homelessness, or involvement in the justice system. Our Executive Director/Chef has over 35 years of experience in the culinary industry, and a Masters Degree in Organizational Leadership. He is currently teaching culinary and hospitality classes at Johnson and Wales, and he has also taught at the University of Colorado Denver, and Metropolitan State University of Denver. We have a CCAR and HeartMath Certified Peer Recovery Coach with over 8 years of food service industry experience and 10 years of experience with individuals experiencing addiction, homelessness and recovery. Our third staff member is a Case Manager/Employment Coordinator with over 16 years of experience working with underserved populations, as well as a Bachelors Degree in General Communication, and over 20 years of working experience in the food service industry.
Our staff has achieved a combined 47 years of recovery; a living example of what students could become. The lessons we have learned in our own recovery journeys allow us to support our students in theirs. Our students are our top priority: we provide a space where they can relearn -- or learn for the first time -- how to maintain recovery and thrive in a social environment, while being productive members of society. Being in recovery, especially with involvement in the justice system, finding support can feel like scaling an impossible wall. C.H.E.F. is here to break that wall down. We believe in our students and encourage them to set high expectations for themselves and take steps toward reaching their goals. Whether it’s addiction, mental health, housing insecurity, incarceration, or just life that our students are recovering from, we are here to support them; because we truly believe that the opposite of addiction is community.
Our program offers: 1) one week simply certs for individuals with experience in the food service industry 2) a four week program for individuals who need more training and/or more recovery support, and 3) an apprenticeship for individuals who want to continue focusing on recovery and pursue a career in the culinary industry. We are currently training line cooks, kitchen managers, and restaurant managers through the apprenticeship. For holistic wraparound support, our students have weekly individual check-ins with our case manager, daily HeartMath sessions and recovery meetings with our peer recovery coach, and weekly yoga classes taught by a trauma-informed yoga instructor. During the 0ne week program our students get their industry recognized ServSafe Certification, complete their resume and get practice doing interview skills, get a revamp om their knife skills and then get straight into Job search. They also have the ability to obtain their CPR and First aid certification if they so choose. During the four week program our students get all of the afore mentioned, and they also receive a bike from a partnered nonprofit to help lower the transportation barrier that many of our students face. Upon graduation of the four week program, our students are awarded with a certificate of Completion as well as a knife kit, a chef coat and a chef hat. All of this is free to our students. If our students then choose to take part in our paid apprenticeship program we are able to provide them with monthly bus passes which eliminates the transportation barrier all together. Depending on the type of apprenticeship program the student chooses, their program can last from 6 to 18 months and they will emerge with the skills to work in, or even manage a fine dinning restaurant.
Opening our own training facility for our students is our next exciting endeavor. Increasing our student operations will expand our ability to retain more apprentices to serve as mentors and leaders for our pre-apprenticeship programs. In a new facility, we will be able to support more individuals on their path from student to employee, and from employee to manager. C.H.E.F. has had 35 students come through our program in this first year up and running as a registered 501(c)3, with a 77% graduation rate. Giving folks the support they need and getting them placed in a career in the culinary industry can lower recidivism, end the cycle of homelessness, break the chains of addiction and empower individuals to reclaim their lives.
Your contribution will not only provide essential resources for those in recovery but will also contribute to building a stronger, healthier community. Together, we can make a difference. Partnering with C.H.E.F. through donating funds will directly support our students' growth and recovery. When the facility you've helped to fund is up and running, come on in and meet our students, hear their stories and how this program has impacted them. We need the help of the community to help the community. Thank you so much for your support.
With the holiday season approaching, C.H.E.F. has also launched our catering menu (linked below) If you or someone you know is planning an event and would like to support our students on their recovery journey, let us cook for you.
