Fruit Carving Demo by Chef Jimmy (www.artchef.com)

Award-winning fruit and vegetable carver Chef Jimmy (www.artchef.com) dropped by to give a demo/lesson on the basics of carving exquisite food sculptures. Trainees were mesmerized-- there has never been so many ooooohs, ahhhhhhs and applause in any kitchen ever. Thanks Chef Jimmy!

Check out some photos (more to come!):

Final product(s)!

3 hour watermelon

5 minute melon

10 minute melon

watch the birdie...

Chef Jimmy with a daikon radish...

Chef Jimmy takes a leek and does with it things we'd never seen before.

Curling the leek...

Pictured (from left to right): Deric, leek.

Field Trip!! Berkeley Bowl West

The kind people of Berkeley Bowl West had us over for a lecture/discussion/demo on fruits/vegetables/herbs today just 2 miles up the road. Produce supervisor Caesar and general manager Bev Hop took turns enlightening trainees on the ins and outs of local produce.

Pictures!

Chef Michael with former Kitchen graduate Shamate, who was conveniently celebrating her 1 year anniversary with Berkeley Bowl West. She was recently promoted to a supervisor role in the bulk produce section.

Trainees surround Shamate during our tour of the floor.

Caesar lectures/trainees listen

Obligatory group photo

"How about them apples," ponders Ricardo.

Kitchen on Fire Knife Skills Demo

Our good friends Chef Mike C. and Gilad of Kitchen on Fire came to give our trainees an epic 3 hour knife skills demo that resulted in no casualties!!!(!) We look forward to working with them again very soon. Here are some sweet pics of the affair.

Graduation of Cohort 23/Intro to our first SUPER COHORT

We graduated more culinary trainees this past Friday and welcomed a supergroup (no, not Them Crooked Vultures) to the SVDP family yesterday. Here are some pictures of the graduation, featuring Deacon Jacobs from Healthy Oakland, an organization dedicated to decreasing violence and promoting health within communities of color.

Pictures!

Seamstress Program Instructor Grace with recent grads

Culinary Cohort 23!

Deacon Jacobs of Healthy Oakland giving an inspiring keynote speech

Executive Director Philip Arca introducing Deacon Jacobs

SUPER COHORT (#24)

Farms!

Staff of the Kitchen of Champions represented SVDP and its WasteNot Electronics Recycling program at the Jack London Square Farmers' Market this past weekend. We have a booth there where you can drop off e-waste and get information about some of the wonderful programs at St. Vincent de Paul of Alameda County. Please visit their web site for more info: http://www.svdp-alameda.org/wastenotse.php

We are also currently doing some information gathering to work much closer with local farms. Here is a photo from the Terre Bella Family Farm in Sunol. Headquartered in Pleasanton, most of their produce is grown in Sunol.

SVdP Welcomes Moreau Catholic to the Campus

Moreau High spent the day volunteering in our Free Dining Room, working alongside our culinary trainees and long-term volunteers. We look forward to the next time they share their enthusiasm and great work ethic! Hayward in the house!

Fiscal Impact of Kitchen of Champions

Fun facts:
-75% of ex-felons go back to prison within 2 years
-Incarceration costs $51,000/year per prisoner for California taxpayers
-60 ex-felons going back to prison would cost California taxpayers $3,050,820/year
-60 ex-felons who go through the Kitchen of Champions and gain employment pay $252,000 in taxes/year
-The net impact for California taxpayers for 60 Kitchen of Champions trainees gaining employment after graduation is $3,302,820 million dollars every year and counting.
-We have placed 62 graduates in the past year.