Kelly

Generously Supported By: Individual donor from Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 18
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Californios, Chef Val M. Cantú and Pastry Chef Sophie Hau
Referred By: New Door Ventures
Intern Story:

Kelly began her internship with Sprouts Chef Training with the goal of learning how to cook more than microwave ramen. Ever since Kelly had seen Gordon Ramsay coaching kitchen staff on television, she had wanted to learn more about the culinary world. However, when it came to her internship, Kelly was nervous about the prospect of meeting new people and working in an, initially, unfamiliar kitchen. She was placed at Californios under mentors Chef Val and Chef Sophie.

The supportive team at Californios helped Kelly feel at ease quickly. She grew confident in speaking up and asking questions and became much more comfortable with her technical skills such as using a knife to make quick and even cuts. Kelly especially liked the feeling of being part of a team, like when the whole staff worked together to clean the kitchen. Because of the communal nature of kitchen work, Kelly’s professional communication skills naturally grew. Kelly additionally strengthened her organizational skills while learning how to properly label and put away various ingredients. 

Kelly values her internship for building her professional and personal skills (and she also wants to take home Chef Sophie’s shortbread recipe!). Going forward, Kelly is interested in continuing her education by studying physics and STEM topics. In her free time, Kelly enjoys reading classic literature such as Animal Farm by George Orwell, Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. She also likes taking her dog, May May, to the dog park. Kelly knows the skills she gained during her internship will serve her well in the future.

Jahasiel

Generously Supported By: Individual donor from Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 17
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Almond and Oak, Chef Rico Rivera
Referred By: Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
Intern Story:

Jahasiel has always enjoyed the communal nature of cooking. His philosophy is, “If everyone has to eat, and you have the ability to make the meal better, why wouldn’t you?” Jahasiel practices cooking meals on his own time; his friends enjoy his burgers, and his family likes the steak and pasta dishes he prepares. In 2023, Jahasiel got his first chance to work in a professional kitchen at Almond and Oak, under mentor Chef Rico Rivera.

Jahasiel is driven toward earning a career in the culinary industry. He appreciated working under Chef Rico’s guidance to learn formal food preparation techniques. Additionally, Jahasiel’s communication skills strengthened as he asked lots of questions during his shifts to ensure he was completing each kitchen task correctly. Over the course of the internship, Jahasiel became encouraged when recognizing his progress in his knife skills, a skill he is actively working to perfect. Throughout the summer Jahasiel grew closer with the staff of Almond and Oak and, as his relationships grew, felt he developed his ability to accept feedback without getting discouraged; instead, he learned to leverage feedback to make his cooking skills better. 

Jahasiel’s mantra is to continually improve himself, both inside and outside of the kitchen. Jahasiel’s internship helped him find his professional voice, which will aid him in his future dreams of someday owning a restaurant. When he is not perfecting his favorite dishes, Jahasiel enjoys reading philosophical books that change his perspective on things; at the time of his internship, he was reading I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. Jahasiel is grateful for his internship and knows his skills in responsibility, honesty, and determination will help him find a career in the culinary industry.

Hannah

Generously Supported By: Individual donor from Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 19
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Butter Love Bake Shop, Chef Esa Yonn-Brown
Referred By: The Arc
Intern Story:

Hannah began her internship at Butter Love Bakeshop at age 19, and enjoyed every minute of it. No stranger to kitchen work, Hannah is the self-proclaimed “Queen of the Dish Bin,” and had experience bussing tables from her past cafe work. As a chef trainee, under the mentorship of Chef Esa Yonn-Brown, Hannah gained experience in the back of house and learned how to make a myriad of tasty desserts. In fact, Hannah puts so much care into each and every pastry, that, when asked to pick a favorite dessert, Hannah replied, “I can’t choose a favorite! They’re like kids!”

In terms of career development, Hannah hopes that her internship with Sprouts will show future employers that she can work well with others and be a team player. Outside of gaining pertinent professional experience, Hannah’s number one goal for her internship was to have fun!

In terms of obstacles she’s overcome, much like desserts, Hannah has trouble picking just one to talk about. Hannah recalled a time when breaking a glass in front of her coworkers sent her into a spiral of embarrassment. However, in this instance, her coworkers were so kind and forgiving that she learned from her mistake and took the incident as motivation to learn to better work with purpose and focus.

In her free time, Hannah enjoys writing, watching movies and TV, and walking her Burmese Mountain dog, Odin. She hopes to be a writer in the entertainment industry and plans to use her attention to detail, her ability to work well with others and accept feedback, and her passion for writing to get there.

Gerson

Generously Supported By: Individual donor from Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 17
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: 3rd Cousin, Chef Greg Lutes
Referred By: Enterprise For Youth
Intern Story:

For Gerson, cooking became a way to make time pass during the Covid-19 lockdown. He started by making pancakes, tacos, and burgers for his family. Gerson then went on to perfect his signature dish, chicken parmesan. Gerson joined the Sprouts Chef Training Program in 2023 with the goal to learn new, fun recipes and also practice stepping outside of his comfort zone. He interned at 3rd Cousin under mentor Chef Greg Lutes.

Throughout his internship, Gerson improved his communication skills with other kitchen staff and became comfortable with his coworkers. Specifically, he became more confident in speaking up and asking questions. Gerson learned how to make a variety of pastries, and liked the process of plating them. He also greatly enjoyed learning how to make shortbread. 

Going forward, Gerson is interested in restaurant management and real estate. His internship gave him insight into the challenges of restaurant management, and he hopes to provide supportive working conditions for future employees. To further supplement his income, he would also like to flip houses, and possibly become a real estate agent. When he is not cooking or watching house-flipping remodels, Gerson enjoys playing soccer. We hope in addition to envisioning his future, Gerson also achieves his goal of perfecting his pupusas.

Guillermo

Generously Supported By: Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP LLP)
Age, at time of Internship: 19
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Osito, Chef Seth Stowaway
Referred By: New Door Ventures
Intern Story:

Guillermo (AKA “G”)  feels about cooking the same way he feels about drawing: it is an art. G especially enjoys cooking dishes for his grandma such as steak, catfish, salsa, guacamole, french fries, and, his personal favorite, carne asada. Though he has practiced in the kitchen, G made it a personal goal to learn new recipes in the summer of 2023. G received the opportunity to extend his recipe knowledge when he joined the Sprouts Chef Training Program at Osito restaurant where he learned under mentor Chef Seth Stowaway. 

During his internship, G enjoyed the kindness and hospitality of the restaurant staff who supported his growth and development. During his time at Osito, he was taught technical culinary skills and he particularly enjoyed executing the ins and outs of plating and garnishing. G also liked shucking corn, juicing, and practicing safe food handling. G started his internship with baseline knife skills but Chef Seth taught him extra knife safety and G credits Chef Seth for leaving his internship with all 10 digits. Working in a kitchen environment additionally helped G improve his professional skills, more specifically, his personal goal of bettering his time management. 

As far as culinary goals, G is most interested in learning how to make sauces such as bechamel and marinara sauce. To do so, he wants to use the freshest ingredients, as he believes “fresh ingredients are everything.” G gets his creative inspiration from his father, who wanted to attend culinary school before he, unfortunately, passed away. 

Outside of the kitchen, G enjoys drawing pictures of those he loves. He is also self-taught in MMA, as a form of self-defense. G loves animals, (especially his favorite animal, the squid) and intends to go to school to become a biologist. G is thankful to BCLP LLP for supporting his internship and knows that the skills he gained over his internship, along with his strengths of humor, resilience, and creativity, will help him build a bright future.

Devin

Generously Supported By: Chef Uniforms
Age, at time of Internship: 17
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Nopa, Chef Laurence & Chef Sean
Referred By: Enterprise For Youth
Intern Story:

Devin has been cooking and baking with his mom, aunt, and grandparents since he was seven. For him, cooking is about giving, whether it’s giving his time to his family to help get dinner on the table or baking his loved ones their favorite dessert on their birthday. His passion for food led him to a job at a San Francisco farmer’s market, and from there, his love of food has continued to grow.  

Devin was thrilled to start his Sprouts Chef Training internship where he worked closely with Chef Sean experiencing all that Nopa restaurant has to offer. During his internship, Devin learned everything from making a bechamel sauce to preparing duck confit and also slicing up portions of lamb with a hacksaw. 

Devin began his internship wanting to build his sense of teamwork. He noted it was daunting to come into a cooking environment where everybody already knew each other and had more professional kitchen experience. However, he quickly built relationships with the kitchen staff and learned how to be a helpful member of the Nopa team. 

Devin dreams of opening either a catering business or a bakery. To make his dream a reality, Devin plans on using both his experience at Nopa as well as his financial knowledge from serving as a student member of the SFUSD financial board. Devin’s high school was underfunded and it was there where he learned to enjoy stretching his number-crunching skills to make a little money go a long way. Devin is grateful to Chef Uniforms for supporting his internship. Sprouts looks forward to seeing Devin’s culinary business come to fruition and hopes he continues to perfect the croissants he enjoys baking in his spare time. 

De’Sean

Generously Supported By: Individual from the Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 17
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Alab SF, Chef Mikki Buñag
Referred By: Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
Intern Story:

De’Sean’s passion for food started young. Growing up, he remembers his aunt making mouthwatering food, like her homemade lasagna or her cubed, smothered steak with mashed potatoes and cabbage. As he got older, De’Sean wanted to learn more about how to cook and feed himself and being accepted into the Sprouts Chef Training program helped him do just that!

De’Sean was placed at Alab SF under Chef Mikki Buñag. There, he helped complete meal prep with farm-fresh ingredients including healthy greens like kale and various herbs. He especially enjoyed getting to try new foods every week sampling everything from ochre, to chocolate granola cookies, to sol fish rolls with crab in the middle. Over the course of his internship, De’Sean’s knife skills improved, and he was able to slice veggies with precision and make even cuts. He also learned to cook and plate a variety of delicious dishes, with a veggie frittata being one of his favorites to make. 

Aside from gaining confidence in the kitchen, De’Sean also learned discipline from his often early morning shifts. He felt he grew from the challenge of starting work at 7am, and enjoyed the productivity and structure that the early start provided. 

One day, De’Sean dreams of opening his own restaurant. Beyond his internship, he hopes to learn more about the culinary world, including making different types of cuisine, baking, and grilling. He is also passionate about creative endeavors, whether it be cooking a lamb curry, completing a detailed drawing, or making a ceramic vase. When he is not practicing cooking, you can find De’Sean spending time with his family and friends, playing sports outside, and hanging out with his dog, Dexter.

Charlene

Generously Supported By: Individual from the Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 16
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: Mägo, Chef Mark Liberman
Referred By: Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
Intern Story:

Charlene has enjoyed cooking for as long as she can remember. This passion turned out to be quite the necessary skill, as Charlene’s mom does not enjoy cooking and her grandma, who has historically cooked for the family, experienced a stroke and became unable to cook after her emergency. Charlene supplements her cooking knowledge with Youtube tutorials and recipes she finds online. Some of Charlene’s preferred recipes include BBQ, surf n’ turf, steak, and kimbap (Korean rice rolls). In 2023, Charlene received the opportunity to expand her knowledge of cooking even further when she joined the Sprouts Chef Training internship program. Charlene completed her internship at Mägo, under mentor Chef Mark Liberman. 

Throughout the course of her internship, Charlene learned how to julienne carrots and score squash. Since Mägo features a tasting menu, Charlene also had the opportunity to watch dishes being assembled during service and be brought to excited customers. Charlene appreciated the effort Chef Mark put into getting to know her, asking her questions about her music preferences even in the midst of preparing vegetables, and she grew to appreciate the family environment in the kitchen.  

Charlene’s variety of interests gives her lots of choices in what she plans to major in in college – the humanities, art, business, and culinary arts are possible options. Charlene plans on earning a business degree along with a culinary certificate so that she can open a restaurant that features in-season, sustainable ingredients with a focus on minimum-to-no waste. In the meantime, Charlene is involved in a variety of extracurricular activities including completing training in a peer mentorship program called “PeerForward” where she assists her peers in finding financial aid resources for college. Charlene additionally enjoys painting, especially sea creatures and koi fish. Charlene plans to continue to use her culinary skills, sense of responsibility, and ability to learn quickly to build the quality future she deserves.

Caeser

Generously Supported By: Individual from the Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 17
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: The Cannery Kitchen and Tap, Chef Humberto Villalobos
Referred By: BACR
Intern Story:

Caeser began his culinary journey at age 5. Like most young children, he woke very early, before his mom would wake, and would want to eat some food. Because it was the morning, he would not crave a snack, but an actual meal. A kindergartener, and not old enough to use the stove, Caeser got creative and discovered he could cook eggs in the microwave. As Caeser got older his curiosity for cooking increased. Caeser went from cooking spaghetti regularly, to learning how to make one of his signature dishes, parmesan cheese sauce with steak. 

Caeser’s passion for cooking led him to the Sprouts Chef Training program, where he worked at the Cannery Kitchen and Tap under Chef Humberto. There, his knife skills drastically improved as he cut onion after onion and potato after potato. Caeser especially appreciated learning how each new ingredient he prepped changed the dish he was preparing as a whole. 

Caeser dreams of one day owning his restaurant, specializing in a mix of Mexican and American cuisine. He regularly cooks for his family and likes knowing that he’s providing those he loves with important nutrients. When he is not cooking, he enjoys playing basketball or practicing sketching new graffiti lettering. Whether it be through his art or passion for cooking, Caeser’s goal is to create something fresh and new that folks have never experienced before. Caeser is very grateful for the opportunity to express his creativity through food. 

Andy

Generously Supported By: Individual from the Sprouts community
Age, at time of Internship: 16
CT Intern: Summer 2023
Restaurant Host: DAYTRIP, Chef Finn Stern
Referred By: OUSD
Intern Story:

Andy began cooking at age 10 out of necessity. His mom often worked evening shifts, and Andy found himself making the same things for dinner over and over again: scrambled eggs, white rice, and sliced meat. Wanting to improve the quality and health of his meals, Andy began learning additional, more creative, dishes he could make at home for himself and his family. 

To further explore interesting dishes to make, Andy joined the Sprouts Chef Training program working at DAYTRIP under Chef Finn Stern. At the beginning of his internship, Andy worried he would ask too many questions, and felt nervous to work with folks he didn’t know well (yet!). Over time, Andy became more comfortable with his coworkers and his communication skills improved. Andy also grew stronger in his technical knife skills and can now efficiently prep vegetables. Andy especially liked that cooking gives him some time away from his phone, and he found being alone with his thoughts while working to be calming and peaceful. 

Outside of his internship, Andy enjoys spending time with his friends by playing multiplayer video games or visiting the local gym for a workout. Andy continues to cook for his mom and younger brother, with fried rice being his go-to meal. Andy plans to use the communication and work ethic skills he learned throughout his internship to help him go to college where he wants to major in business or a business-related field. We hope Andy’s kitchen meditations allowed him quality time to consider his direction going forward and know that whatever direction he chooses, his hard work and ability to learn quickly will take him far in life.