GILROY — Crowded around a large kitchen island, a cadre of uniformed youth watch intently as chef Carlos Pineda takes a knife and makes short, deliberate work of the carrot before him as he explains proper peeling and cutting techniques.
Pineda then asks them to put his demo into practice, coaching them through knife skills as they break down the ingredients for chimichurri and seared tri tip. Soon, the bright bloom of freshly chopped herbs, the sharp scent of garlic and the acid bite of vinegar fill the industrial kitchen. With the erratic tapping of the students’ knives on the cutting boards as a background to their banter, they cry over chopped onions then ham up their tears: “she forgot me but I didn’t forget her” says one through sham sobs.
Behind the lighthearted chatter, however, lies a gamut of underlying struggles. Many of these youth have faced homelessness, abuse, gang activity, expulsion from school, the loss of family members, and mental health issues.
Their struggles are what brought many to The Kneaded Culinary Academy. The school uses culinary training to equip struggling or at-risk youth with the tools to move forward in their professional and personal lives. As it enters its 15th year, the academy celebrates teaching 3,000 students, and looks forward to growing to serve more.
“The common denominator among all of our students is that they need a safe place where they can come to feel connected, find community, feel successful, feel like they’re part of something,” said Rebecca Burdett, chief operations officer for Rebekah Children’s Services, which hosts the academy. “At the end of the day, I think it’s really just about meeting our students where they are as individuals and welcoming them and showing them that they are safe, that they’re cared for.”
The program began as part of Rebekah Children’s Services in Gilroy, a nonprofit focused on providing services and mental health resources to children and their families. The nonprofit provided a home for foster children but realized many youth were left without help once they entered adulthood.
“At the age of 18, there were no services available. (They were) kicked out to the street, put to the curb, their belongings (put) in trash bags, and told ‘good luck,’” said Pineda, director of the Kneaded Culinary Academy.
So in 2009, the charity used the kitchen where they cooked meals for their residents to begin training five foster youth the skills for food service.
Since then, the academy has bloomed into a handful of interlocking programs that have offered culinary skills and jobs training to youth from 15 to 25 and has helped victims of human trafficking, former gang members, homeless youth, foster youth, and those struggling with mental illness, drug and alcohol abuse, and more.
For Shaila Ashley Romero, the class helped her navigate challenging mental health lows. She lost her father at 12, and her home shortly after. After getting kicked out of a relative’s home, her family lived out of their car in Morgan Hill. She became “ashamed and felt suicidal thoughts” and began therapy. Her therapist recommended she enroll in the academy.
“(Being) around positive and thoughtful people … helped me grow as a person. That inspired me to do better in school, personal life and to move forward together,” she said.
Every class begins with a mental health check, both to check on the students and to ensure they are mentally ready to enter an environment with knives and open flames. Whenever emotions flare, assistants who are trained in de-escalation help calm students down.
Other students who need help with food or transportation are connected to resources and helps provided with bus vouchers or money for Uber. Romero said when her family car began faltering, staff picked her up from Morgan Hill to attend the academy.
Pineda receives dozens of applications for the classes, and often must turn many away. While the class is capped around 15, Pineda has stretched the limit to accommodate more students.
Those who are selected attend 20 three-hour sessions, earning their food handling certification and learning culinary skills – from meat and pasta preparation to high-volume food production. They also learn job skills – building résumés, filling out practice applications and performing mock interviews.
Since last June, 98% of students who participated in the academy found employment, continued their education, or enrolled in higher education according to a survey done by the program.
While many continue into successful careers in hospitality, others take their job skills elsewhere. Alumnus Jazmine Lee went to the academy in 2019 then decided to go to cosmetology school. She says the group at Kneaded offered their full support. They allowed her to take time off to study and even let her practice cutting or coloring their hair. Now she works as a hair stylist at Looking Good Salon in Gilroy.
“They were helping me chase my dream the whole way,” she recalled.
Some alumni also participate in the apprenticeship program, which offers graduates a position at Kneaded’s bakery and catering services. (Money from the bakery and catering helps pay to run the academy.) The gig serves as a first job for many of the alumni, helping them transition into the workforce in a familiar space.
For Davian Garza, the academy and the apprenticeship were part of a larger transformation. After Garza became involved with gangs and was expelled from school in Coalinga, he moved to Gilroy for a fresh start. He stumbled upon the academy classes and fell in love with cooking. Now, Garza dreams of being a chef with a business of his own and will soon start with a therapist who he was connected with through the program. “(Kneaded) really put an image in my eyes of what I could do,” he said.
Despite its success with so many students, some in the program still faced profound tragedy. Pineda says that over 14 years, as many students or alumni have died through accidents, violence, self harm or overdose. In one year, he lost three students, including two in a single tragic car accident, one of whom was pregnant.
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“You ask yourself these questions: ‘What could I have done differently? What did I miss? What could I have seen?’ … but you can’t control them … (you’re) not gonna see everything,” he said.
Still, even amid the grief that can accompany the work, Pineda labors to grow the program to help those he still can. He carries applications with him and often speaks with people in parks and on streets about the program.
Currently, Kneaded has begun partnerships with local high schools and continuation schools (where expelled students go to complete their education), works with Santa Clara County to support youth in the juvenile justice system and is developing mobile kitchens in order to meet students where they are. In the coming years, the program hopes to expand to a new Rebekah Children’s Services location and the Juvenile Hall in Hollister.
“We’re just gonna continue to grow and continue to build,” said Burdett. “I mean, we’ve come so far already … we’re just gonna continue to go where the need is.”
