Free Culinary Training Courses Offered at Allie’s Place Center in Soundview Neighborhood

“My passion is cooking…”

A passion that María García continues after learning that at the Allie’s Place Culinary Education and Employment Center, located at 1600 Randall Avenue in the Soundview neighborhood, she could take free training courses in the culinary industry.

“This is something very excellent and benefits for which we cannot afford an advanced cooking course,” Garcia said.

Maria only had to commit to a short and intensive five-day training.

“Getting a good grip on the knife, oh, I’ve learned to make different dishes and I’ve learned a lot because the chef is good, he explains well, you know, he’s very communicative.”

This would not be possible without the help of Chef Gabriel Rodríguez, whom the students describe as an excellent teacher and who, in addition to worrying about the mix of flavors, is committed to his community.

“It feels amazing, I was born and raised in The Bronx, so to be able to give back to the community in this way is awesome. I love cooking and I love teaching, passing this kind of information on to students is just great,” said Chef Rodríguez .

And although the classes are taught in English, this is not a limitation for those enthusiasts who do not speak the language, since as the chef says, the culinary language is universal.

“It’s a kind of language without using words.”

And as they say from the garden to the kitchen, everything is harvested here and all the materials are included.

The course is available 3 weeks of each month for all those who meet the following requirements:

• -Be vaccinated against COVID-19
• -To be over 18 years old
• -And have authorization to work in the country.

To register, visit the website: hfhnyc.org/culinary or send an email to Culinary@HFHnyc.org

Once ready to conquer the palates of many, they offer help for the next step.

“If the person has or wants to look for a job in this field of cooking, we have an employment specialist who teaches them how to do their resume, they also teach them how to go to interview,” said Jackeline Loyola, administrative assistant, Allie’s Place Center for Culinary Education & Employment.

Learning about dessert and coffee cannot be missed.

Upon completion of the basic cooking course, interested students have the opportunity to take additional courses, either to become a barista or a pastry chef.