CJT Graduate and Cafe Lead Mykel T. Is Committed to Growth
Mykel T. is interested in growth. His peers nominated him to represent Culinary Job Training (CJT) Class 125 at graduation last summer, but he spent graduation day at the hospital welcoming a new baby girl. As a father and a hard worker, Mykel is always looking for the opportunity to pursue new avenues for success. […]
Board Spotlight: Radhika Mohan
Hold onto your accomplishments. Set long-term goals. Remember your support networks. Accept failure as an inevitable part of the process. These were just a few pieces of advice DCCK Board Member and Culinary Job Training (CJT) Keynote Speaker Radhika Mohan shared with our graduates at last Friday’s graduation. These are lessons instilled in her by […]
Women’s History Month: Reflections from across DCCK
March is Women’s History Month, but the impact of women in the non-profit sector often goes unnoticed and without much celebration. Nationally, women make up more than 75 percent of non-profit employees, yet only account for 21 percent of executive-level positions at large non-profits. Long-standing issues such as inequities in pay, a failure to advance […]
Meet the Hunger Fighters: Aliyah N.
Aliyah N. poses for a portrait at the National Harbor. Aliyah is now working full time for her own catering business, “Takes Thyme Catering”. Aliyah N. first realized her culinary talent as a teenager when her picky brother loved the chicken she prepared for her family while her mother was at work. It wasn’t until […]
Meet the Hunger Fighters: Larry P.
Larry P. poses for a photo before distributing bags of groceries. Larry grew up watching his mother cook in his childhood kitchen. At a young age his mother taught him basic cooking techniques and skills that formed a knowledge base he would later use in his career. As Larry grew older and his mother became […]
Meet Ablawa.
“Do you really know what you’re getting yourself into?” was the question Ablawa asked herself as she started her first day as a Culinary Job Training (CJT) student in April 2017. After working as a home health aid, Ablawa was looking for something new and was excited to learn about DC Central Kitchen. It didn’t take long for her to know she was in the […]
Meet Rasheem.
This past January, DC Central Kitchen was excited to welcome Rasheem Rooke to our team as Director of Workforce Development. Rasheem brought with him an impressive background of supporting DC residents, including a leadership role at the College Success Foundation where he holistically supported DC students navigate their college experience and earn their degree. His experience and passion […]
A family that cooks together
At DC Central Kitchen Cafe’s November graduation, the audience watched as two generations, a father and a son, came together to celebrate new opportunities and a love of cooking. James, a DC Central Kitchen employee and graduate of our Culinary Job Training program, watched his 18-year-old son, James (Trey), take this big step, too. […]
DCCK employee and graduate awarded scholarship to kick-start counseling career
Each year, we award one outstanding DC Central Kitchen employee and graduate with our North Star scholarship to help them reach new career goals. This year, we were honored to recognize Manouchka Bolden, who enrolled at DC Central Kitchen in the fall of 2018 in search of one word – “change.” As a mother […]
Staff profile: Crystal
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw was once quoted saying: “The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them, make them.” That concept is embodied by one of our staff members and Culinary Job Training (CJT) graduates, Crystal. Crystal is […]