Our first Culinary Job Training class specifically designed for single mothers balancing childcare responsibilities while aspiring to a new career graduated in 2024. Class 174 continues this successful expansion of our acclaimed program with chef demonstrations, hands-on learning in the classroom and culinary kitchen, self-empowerment, and professional development.
During its first few weeks, Class 174 has welcomed an inspirational slate of guest speakers, including Terri Wilkinson from Saving Ourselves Wellness Solutions, Natasha Hewlett from National Credit Union Administration’s Office of Minority and Women Inclusion, Jasmin Saville from Amerigroup, Jennifer Lawrence from The J. Williard and Alice S. Marriott Family Foundation and more. These accomplished women, many of whom are also single mothers, have generously shared their experiences working in the finance, health and hospitality industries with our students.
Relish Catering’s founder Laura Calderone, a longtime volunteer at DC Central Kitchen and Capital Food Fight partner, recently shared some insights about juggling career, family and a high-pressure position in professional kitchens.
“I think the struggles I’ve had in my life and being a woman in a male dominated industry are not dissimilar from struggles that these women are encountering,” says Laura. “I’m a single mom, and they’re single moms, I think it’s good to see that you can do it, from people who have been through similar yet different situations.”
Laura founded Relish Catering in 2015. Before running her own business, Laura was trained at the Culinary Institute of America and worked in the kitchens of Napa Valley’s Terra and Michelin-rated Quince. Thirty years since her first job in the industry, making $8 an hour in a restaurant in San Francisco, she now oversees menu and team development, business growth, and expansion of her own business. “I’m not going to gatekeep my struggles or how I’ve made it to where I am, I’m happy to uplift,” says Laura.
After explaining her background to the students, Laura and the class went back and forth for over an hour, discussing how working in the culinary field isn’t an obvious choice for some. “I think a lot of women cook because that’s how you take care of your family. You don’t see it as a career. I mean, who would really want to do this as a paid career? I made $8 an hour in my first restaurant job in San Francisco.” Despite low pay and unstable hours, Laura stayed in the industry well after she became a parent. “I think a lot of women have to jump out of the management level because they become parents, they become mothers, and you can’t get the same commitment that a male chef can. We need to change it and that’s why I wanted to open a business because I couldn’t do what I wanted, career wise, working for men. So I opened my own business.”
Asked if there’s one lesson she hopes the students take away from her time in the classroom, she says, “Knowing that they’re worth it. They’ve all come from hard backgrounds. They can’t change what they did yesterday, but they can change where they go moving forward. Taking care of themselves is really, really important. If you’re only taking care of everyone else, which is also common for a mom and a working mom, then you’re going to flounder.”
Class 174 is currently working their way through the CJT program, about to embark on internships throughout the city. Laura encouraged the class to take advantage of their dedicated time in working kitchens. “There are lots of opportunities in this industry. If you want it, you can make.”
If you’d like more information on speaking to a Culinary Job Training class, taking on CJT interns or participating in mock interviews to prepare our students for their job search, please email our Workforce Development team.
