"There is grace in this program."

Our Foodservice Apprenticeship Program gives people the skills they need to take the next step in their career. Apprentices learn skills geared towards their chosen pathway – server, line cook, catering cook or catering captain. Along the way, they learn soft skills and have access to specialized assistance provided by their career specialist. The program is endorsed by the Washington Hospitality Association and Kathleen, a recent graduate, took full advantage of her time.

Kathleen is a FareStart Adult Culinary Program graduate, so she knew what we could offer in terms of training and support. When her position with a foodservice delivery company ended after the company shut down, she came back to FareStart for help in finding work. We offer support to our graduates even after they go out into the world.

“I heard about the Apprenticeship Program through the FareStart job club,” she said. “They encouraged me to go for the Apprenticeship and I did because I knew that FareStart would always do right by me.”

She went into the catering pathway as she had always enjoyed the catering work she did as part of the Adult Culinary Program.

“I loved working with the chefs and creating things,” she said. “The art in the food.”

Kathleen thrived in the Apprenticeship Program enjoying the challenges of working in three different catering kitchens throughout the duration –  the catering kitchen at 700 Virginia, Pacific Tower and Maslow’s. She learned a variety of catering skills from the creation of menus to how to scramble when plans fall through.

“I learned so much,” she said. “I learned that you need to say ‘yes, chef’ a whole lot and you need to listen to other cooks and not take yourself so seriously. I learned to be flexible and go outside my comfort zone and how to react when things go differently than you thought. That’s what I love about FareStart. There’s grace in this program. It’s a learning environment and everyone wants you to succeed and lift you up.”

Kathleen is working at PCC and loving her co-workers, customers and work.

“I have stability now,” she said. “That stability, that routine is so important to me. I got that through my time at FareStart in this program. It is just a great opportunity and if you treat it like a job, a real job with responsibilities, you can succeed.”

You can help apprentices just like Kathleen by supporting FareStart