The hospitality industry is changing rapidly, making it even more critical for aspiring hospitality professionals to stay on top of the latest innovations and network with leaders in the field. DC Central Kitchen’s Culinary Job Training connects the next generation of culinarians to hospitality careers—and it’s hard to imagine a better place to learn and network than the global headquarters of Marriott International, a leading and long-time partner of our training program.
This month, we continued a shared annual tradition of our job training students touring Marriott’s headquarters in Bethesda, MD, with an insider tour with leaders from both Marriott and DC Central Kitchen.
The morning began with DC Central Kitchen CEO Mike Curtin explaining the history of Marriott International’s many connections to our work. In addition to serving, along with The J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, as the lead sponsor of our 179th Culinary Job Training Class, Marriott helped us garner support for the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act in 1996. Since that early collaboration, Marriott’s investment in DCCK has grown in multiple ways. From Marriott celebrating their 80th corporate anniversary in 2007 at our previous home in the basement of the Federal City Shelter, to serving as the naming sponsor of the Marriott Training Kitchen in our new Klein Center headquarters, the partnership has created countless opportunities for meaningful service, new careers, and second chances.
Following Curtin’s remarks, the 24 members of Class 179 moved to the test kitchen Marriott uses to help develop recipes used throughout their hotels around the world. The students were greeted by a familiar face, Marriott International Vice President of Culinary for Global Operations Stephen Toevs. Toevs was one of four judges for Class 179’s Chili Cook-off, which took place on February 25. After a Q&A with our students, Toevs told us, “The students at DC Central Kitchen have all the ingredients, passion, willingness to learn, flexibility, to be successful employees. It’s up to them after graduation to continue to use ingredients, to make sure they hone them. They’re passionate about what they do and look towards the future.”
Speaking of the future, the students proceeded to take a tour of headquarters, learning about the different roles they might be interested in applying for and getting a glimpse of kitchens outside of our own. They also toured the Marriott Bethesda Downtown at Marriott HQ hotel, located across the plaza from Marriott’s headquarters, seeing the innerworkings of a hotel from another familiar face to the Kitchen, the hotel’s Director of Restaurant Operations Dupree Braswell, who also serves on DCCK’s Board of Directors.
The students’ Marriott visit concluded with a lunch back at Marriott headquarters, giving the class another opportunity to ask questions with Marriott staff about roles they might be interested in applying.
After the day at Marriott, CJT student Ashley H. told us, “It was phenomenal. It really encouraged me to become more passionate about my career and where I want to go. I feel with this industry, life is vast, and I have more opportunities and no reason to fail.”
Culinary Job Training instructor Ablawa Zounon agrees with her students. “I think it means a lot for the student to visit the Marriott headquarters,” said the instructor. “For 13 weeks, they stay with us at the Klein Center, and for them to get to go out and get to see something else bigger than any part of this kitchen means a lot. I think this group is so lucky to have the Marriott sponsor their class. The students were so excited about opportunities at Marriott. This class especially has a bright future because they’re hungry to get to the workforce.”
