Are you a chef or other culinary industry professional that's interested in giving back to your community? Railroad Street Youth Project's apprenticeship program could be the perfect fit for you!
If you're interested in volunteering, please fill out the form below!
Our apprenticeships typically run for 6-8 weeks, one day a week (on weekdays) from 3-5pm. There is some flexibility in the number of weeks and time the apprenticeship is offered. We typically choose the 3-5pm timeframe because it accommodates participants who are in school.
A culinary apprenticeship usually takes place at a restaurant, bakery, or cafe. This involves a chef and/or business volunteering their space, time, and resources for the apprenticeship (any equipment, tools, and food needed). The program can be focused on teaching and improving cooking skills, teaching how to prepare a specific type of cuisine, and other essential elements of working in the culinary industry. This is not an opportunity for free labor. It is an opportunity for you to pass on knowledge and skills to the next generation of chefs and culinary industry leaders! It is meant to be fun and engaging for both the young people participating and the person/people leading the apprenticeship.
If you do not have the capacity to run a full apprenticeship right now, we are looking for chefs or other culinary industry professionals to volunteer for a few sessions as part of an existing culinary apprenticeship. This spring we will have 2 culinary apprenticeships, one on Mondays and one on Thursdays, starting the week of March 25th. We are hoping to bring in people to teach one session, ideally to both the Monday and Thursday groups, on a specific skill or cuisine. Examples of skills that could be taught are pasta making, butchering, baking, etc.
A typical apprenticeship will have 6-8 young people aged 14-25. If you are interested in volunteering to lead an apprenticeship but aren't sure if your space can accommodate that many people, we can talk about a smaller apprenticeship group or explore finding alternate locations for the apprenticeship.
Are you interested but worry about teaching or working with youth because you've never done it before? Our apprenticeship coordinator, Kate - a former teacher and current youth worker, is here to support you! She can assist with planning, and Kate or another RSYP youth worker will be at all apprenticeship sessions.
Want to see pictures from previous culinary apprenticeships and other RSYP programs? We're on instagram and facebook!
@kate_rsyp @railroadstreetyouthproject
If you have any questions please reach out to Kate.
work cell: (413)717-0822
email: kate@rsyp.org
