REDDING, Calif. — 14 students of the new Culinary Entrepreneurship Program in Redding are being celebrated with a graduation ceremony on May 20.
The program was led by workers from Sizzle’s Kitchen, as well as the Women’s Business Center at JEDI. It was developed in partnership with Alacrity Destination Services and BITE (Business Incubator for Tomorrow’s Eateries).
Every Tuesday for six weeks, instructors went over different subjects, giving food business owners insight on the food industry.
Sizzle’s Kitchen staff shared the benefits of working in a commercial kitchen with the class.
“You have a dream that you want to open a restaurant… So a commercial kitchen, you have almost all the equipment you need,” said Charity Abban-Saah of Amazing Alheri restaurant, who was an instructor and participant in the program.
One graduate, Mark Cable of Mark’s Salsa, said, “The part that really helped the most was scaling up and getting some financial questions answered that I needed to to help grow the company.”
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Donny Dichirico of Furnari Sausages Company also took part in the program, telling KRCR, “We gained a lot of fun time together and networking with people on the same scale of each other, and it was also nice to work with some consultants that specialized in things we may have fallen short on or learned something new about.”
Some other subjects the program covered: proper food handling, recipe scaling to reduce waste, and strategies for building a strong brand by reaching customers.
Program leaders said the entrepreneurs are now better prepared to keep expanding their businesses.
“These six weeks gives a mentorship, it gives them a community, and it also gives them resources beyond the six weeks,” WBC Program Director Victoria Rodriguez said.
$13,000 in grants, provided by Tri Counties Bank and FHL Bank, will be distributed among graduates to support their business plans.
The graduation ceremony is taking place at Sizzle’s Kitchen on May 20 through 7:30 p.m. The public is welcome to attend.
