CCS Celebrates First St. Vincent's Kitchen Academy Graduate

Yesterday, Catholic Community Services staff and various community partners gathered to celebrate the graduation of St. Vincent’s Kitchen Academy’s first student.  

St. Vincent’s Kitchen Academy, the first program of its kind in Utah, is a twelve-week culinary training program designed to provide those impacted by homelessness with the culinary skills needed to enter the food service industry.    

During the program, students participate in classroom training, hands-on kitchen training, and an externship with a restaurant partner in the Salt Lake area.  

After twelve weeks of intense learning and training, Ouray, became the first person to complete St. Vincent’s Kitchen Academy. 

Alex DeAngelo, the Academy’s Chef Trainer, expressed her pride in Ouray at yesterday’s graduation, emphasizing that he just learned the same material taught in a three-year program in only twelve weeks. 

Ouray believes that everyone is born with gifts and talents. He’s always known that cooking is something he enjoys and is skilled at. But according to Ouray, “he thought he knew how to cook” before beginning his training.  

Over the course of the program, Ouray learned all the intricacies of working in a commercial kitchen. He also discovered that he really enjoys baking! 

During his externship, Ouray worked with skilled professionals at Gourmandise in Salt Lake City. He was later offered a position there and will be beginning his work there shortly.  

Ouray is the first of many people that St. Vincent’s Kitchen Academy hopes to empower through culinary and life skills. If you, or someone you know, are interested in training with St. Vincent’s Kitchen Academy, more information and an application are available here.