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Culinary training at FoodBank is second chance for students

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The free program helps low-income residents start a new career in the culinary field Watch video

TOMS RIVER -- To chef Ray Cattley's students, his culinary class is more than cooking: It's about reincarnation and second chances.

Cattley, an instructor for the FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties' culinary training program, prepares his students for the kitchen, but the program prepares them for life.

And now with the first class starting at a new location at the same center housing Jon Bon Jovi's restaurant in Toms River, officials at the FoodBank aim to give more low-income residents a chance at turning their lives around.

"This is a very important program for the food bank," said FoodBank executive director Carlos Rodriguez. "This really goes to show how we're not only feeding the long lines throughout our community but with programs like this working to shorten those lines by giving families and individuals the opportunity to learn a new career."

The FoodBank started the culinary training program a decade ago at its headquarters in Neptune as a way for the unemployed and underemployed to find work - or even a career. The students, subjected to a rigorous application process, include people who were laid off, who were victims of domestic violence or who were incarcerated. They could be homeless people looking for a leg up or they could be stay-at-home mothers whose children have flown the coup.

But usually they're people who are looking for a career change.

Whatever their background, they all have one thing in common - the love of cooking.

Of the 11 students in the first class at the B.E.A.T. Center in Toms River, several are there for career changes, one is homeless and another is a caterer who wants to expand his business. Two students - one a recent college graduate and another a divorcee who never went to college - are looking to start careers.

Janet Wilson, 56, was married and raised two children. Through a series of situations in her life, she became homeless and is now living in Seaside Heights. This training, she said, is her shot at becoming a cook - a dream she's had since she was a teenager, she said.

"I know it's going to be a bit of a struggle to get there but at least I'll get the proper training," she said. "It'll open up a lot of doors for me.

Tony Jones, 22, of Toms River, wants to start a catering business and eventually expand to a lunch truck before owning his own restaurant.  He was attracted to the free program, he said, because he couldn't afford more formal cooking schools that sometimes run as long as six months.

"I got into the program because I love cooking," Jones said. "I just love food."

As the former part-owner of two diners over the past 25 years, James Mitchel, 54, of Millstone said he knows the managerial aspects of the business but now wants to learn how to cook so he can be more versatile.

"I know the front of the house. Now I want to know the back of the house," said Mitchel, who either wants to work in a franchise restaurant or open his own restaurant.  "If a guest asks me 'what's in this dish,' I'll be able to tell them."

The FoodBank aims to graduate between 30 and 50 students annually from its two locations, but the number of classes held every year in Toms River and Neptune depends on funding, which is part of the organization's ongoing fundraising efforts, Rodriguez said.

Bon Jovi puts some soul into the fight against hunger in Ocean County

As part of their training, the students prepare more than 140 meals a day for a children's after-school program and help prepare hot meals for 134 feeding programs in Ocean County, including Meals on Wheels.

The first few weeks of the 13-week program is a mix of recipes and kitchen instruction - on everything from how to properly use a knife to how to prepare food safely. Farther along into the program, students cook all day long. The last week they spend job shadowing at Bon Jovi's JBJ Soul Kitchen next door.

Anthony Brown runs a catering business from his Tinton Falls home and he hopes the culinary training program can help him open his own restaurant one day.

"I always wanted to be a chef," Brown said. "I was trying to go to Brookdale (Community College) but I couldn't afford it."

Mary Applegate said she needed to find a career that pays a higher salary that what she's been earning. She works in a garden center but gets laid off every winter because it's seasonal work. She's taken a number of odd jobs to help make ends meet over the years but none seemed to suit her.

"I spent my whole life doing things that didn't fit me," said the 53-year-old Waretown resident. "I need something creative. I need something I can do in a short amount of time."

Throughout the course, life coach Andrew Coleman sprinkles in instructions about the challenges associated with finding and landing a job, including resume writing and job interviewing.  Reaching out to businesses, institutions and non-profits, Coleman also helps the students find jobs.

MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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