Hope and Hustle: A Culinary Celebration

Tags: Caridad, Culinary, Kitchen

Honoring his wish for privacy, Angel’s dishes take center stage: Tres Leches Rice Krispie Treats, Calabacitas con Queso, and Green Chile Pollo Enchiladas

The classroom at Caridad Community Kitchen was packed with proud friends, family members, alumni, and staff on July 11th, all gathered to honor the 40th graduating class of the kitchen’s life-changing culinary training program. The heartfelt celebration was filled with laughs, tears, and plenty of applause.

A member of Class 40, Angel, sat at end of the row of the five proud graduates until it was his time to speak. When his moment arrived, he stood and spoke softly—but his words more than filled the room.

“Coming from a life deeply rooted in gangs and violence, I honestly never thought I’d live to see this day, let alone to be standing here celebrating,” he began. He paused, then added with quiet pride, “This is the first time in my life that I’ve attended graduation. Not as a guest, not watching from the sidelines, but as a graduate.”

And though the ceremony may indeed mark the beginning of a new chapter in Angel’s life, his last ten weeks in the program have been quite the story.

A few months ago, Angel’s career path had reached a crossroads. He had numerous years’ experience working in the food industry for the Tucson Unified School District, but was unemployed and couldn’t catch a break. That is, until he stumbled upon an ad on Craigslist for the Caridad training program.

Though his culinary background consisted mainly of heating up food and packing trays at school cafeterias, the idea of working in a kitchen was a “no-brainer” for Angel and he quickly applied.

After making it through three rounds of interviews, he was eventually offered a spot in Caridad’s Class 40. “Without hesitation, I said yes”, he recalls. “I was excited, I was the one that got chosen. I got picked!” Nervous but eager, Angel embraced the chance to turn the page and pursue his passion in the kitchen.

The ten-week program is both hands-on and intense, and the typically reserved Angel struggled early. “They kept telling me ‘You gotta’ move, you gotta’ move.’ I’m more kicked back,” laughs Angel. “I told them, I am moving.”

But he quickly learned to manage his time more efficiently and soon gained something far more important than his newly sharpened knife skills: a renewed sense of self-confidence.

He credits Teresa, a longtime cook at Caridad and a mentor for many chefs entering the program, for giving him that. In his speech to the attendees, Angel spoke of what her help has meant to him.  

“She saw something in me during one of the hardest chapters in my life, at a time when I was struggling to hold it all together. She reminded me that I have greatness is inside of me.”

“Every day!” Teresa echoed from across the room.

Angel seems determined to repay the faith entrusted in him, ready to both give back and move forward. “This program didn’t just teach me how to cook. It reminded me that I have a future, that I am more than my past, that I am capable of building something real – with these hands, with this heart, and with my hustle. This isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning.”

Caridad Community Kitchen’s Culinary Training Program began in 2012. The free program is designed for motivated individuals facing employment barriers seeking a future in the food industry.

For more information, please visit www.communityfoodbank.org/caridad-community-kitchen-culinary-training/