The Genesis Center: Where New Beginnings Have A Tradition

It started out as a language school—very humbly, like many church-level grassroots movements. In 1982 Sister Angela Daniels of the Assumption Parish in Providence saw an Asian woman walking her child in snow with no coat, wearing sandals. The Sister inquired and asked different church leaders: Why are there Asian people not suited for the weather, walking around town, who didn’t speak English? She and Father Dan Trainor started to realize that RI was receiving a large percentage of the Hmong population that was coming out of concentration camps in Vietnam. Some of the men went to factories to work and were beginning to learn English. But the women would stay home with the children, so Father and Sister recruited a few accredited teachers who would go into their homes in the West End and South Providence.

At a certain point it got to where there were so many people that wanted to learn the new language that they were standing on chairs to make more room to squeeze into the homes, and that’s when the Sister realized they had to find a larger space. She and Father Trainor persuaded the bishop to allow them to use the old building of the Assumption School. It had been abandoned and was in a bad state of disrepair. The whole community came together to rebuild and renovate it.

It’s difficult to learn English and to become really fluent. “We believe that one needs to learn English in order to become independent,” says Mike Ritz, Genesis Center development director. “To achieve that true self-sufficiency, you need to learn the new language first, then [get some training]. But cooking…has a language all its own.” In 1993 the Board of Directors came up with the idea of a culinary program so that immigrants could rise through the kitchen ranks more quickly. Culinary was a field where immigrants could flourish, not only by providing entry-level jobs, but also by supplying upward mobility, even if English wasn’t their first language.

The students definitely get the foundation they need to get jobs in commercial kitchens. “When they leave, they’re getting a well-rounded curriculum,” says Chef Branden Lewis, who’s been leading the 13-week Culinary Arts Program for the past two years. “They not only can go out and get a job, but also grow in it.” He teaches them the basics such as mother sauces, knife skills and recipe conversion, then advances through customer service, barista work and more, ending the program with an optional ServSafe exam.

It’s the food safety training that puts the culinary grads on a different level. “A lot of jobs will say that you must have ServSafe certification,” says student Shawn Gallogly. “The ones that require it are the ones that are going to pay you better.” As a single father of an autistic child, keeping his head above water is challenging enough. But having been homeless for a time Shawn especially needs the opportunities afforded by the advanced training.

He and his son were sharing a duplex in Jamestown with Shawn’s mother when she passed away. “It was devastating. It took a lot out of my son especially,” remembers Shawn. “My mother and I were splitting the rent, so I lost that income. The landlord said, ‘Sorry for your loss; when are you getting out?’ I said I don’t really have a place to go.” But he needed a place to stay for his son, and eventually landed at the Crossroads family shelter, where he learned about the Genesis Center. “ServSafe is necessary for almost anywhere,” he added. “I hope to be making some good money when I get out of this program.”

The students also find opportunities through an annual event called Food For Thought. It’s a fundraiser, but it’s also a way for the Genesis Center to establish important links within the community—with restaurants that would be willing to hire the graduates. Food For Thought began in 1996 as a celebration of the Genesis Center's culinary training program. Participating restaurants and vineyards set up exhibits; foodies looking to explore new restaurants can talk to their favorite chefs or simply enjoy unique culinary delights from some of Providence's finest establishments.

Originally the students would have their own table at the event, displaying their products and showing what they could create. Last year, however, they began assisting with the restaurant chefs, helping to set up and providing other support. “It’s by far the best model,” asserts Mike. “Restaurant owners and chefs would say, ‘Any time you have students looking for a job, send them to us.’ They’re professionals; they have the work ethic to go through the course and not be absent or late.”

Another important exercise is the five-course culinary cook-off that Chef Branden designed to showcase what the students can do. He had the idea to take one of his classes and split them into two teams. He then invented a point system, a kind of Iron Chef competition; Mike recruited food critics, chefs and writers as judges. Though none of the students had gourmet food experience, each team had to plan a menu, create shopping lists and budgets, and learn wine pairings and plate presentations. “This competition is what really makes them grow as a group together,” says the chef. “There’s an evolution that’s fascinating. They went from being so green to being able to produce a high-end meal. In the end, everybody won because it was all about the amazing experience.”

Clearly, to be successful is the common goal. “Everyone has their own little dream of what success is,” muses Chef Branden. “Some of them dream to go really far, and those are the ones I can’t wait to see in a few years. I would be so happy if even one of my students wound up being a head chef somewhere, running a restaurant.”

But not everyone who joins the culinary training dreams that far. Many just want a job with benefits, a full-time schedule, good pay and work while their kids are in school. Shawn is one of them. He’s found a permanent apartment and is feeling confident about his future. “I want to work a regular shift, and to enjoy life with my son. I want to take him to football games and baseball games, and just do the things that we want to do,” he says, his face lighting up at the idea.

“It’s really pretty simple,” he says with a grin.

The Genesis Center

620 Potters Avenue

Providence

401-781-6110

gencenter.org

foodforthoughtri.org