Kate Rogers grew up in a big family where home-cooked meals and garden fresh produce were part of her every-day. Kate’s love for food and community drove her to launch a cooking club both in high school and again at UC Berkeley, where she organized culinary classes and events for her peers with local chefs and the mayors of Berkeley and Palo Alto. Upon graduation, she launched Culinary kids, a business that offered Bay Area youth cooking classes and family culinary immersion trips to France. The endeavor was later turned into the nonprofit she runs today, Sprouts.

After a personal family experience, Kate realized that food also had the power to generate financial and emotional stability for youth in need. In 2012, she worked with Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver to develop culinary job training programs for Bay Area youth experiencing hardship. Youth are placed at restaurants and commercial kitchens to learn everything they need to land a culinary job. Today, Kate’s full time focus is growing the culinary training program to additional cities.

She lives between the San Francisco Bay Area and her adopted home in Paris, France.

Chef Trainee Story on KPIX

Sprouts Makes Liam’s List

Sprouts on NBC

Chef Training Program Overview

Meet Sprouts’ Founder

Sprouts Chef Training: Sprouts’ Story