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Culinary schools grow efforts to boost Hispanic enrollment

Culinary schools grow efforts to boost Hispanic enrollment

SAN ANTONIO —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

But a partial scholarship from a new program changed everything. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Dominguez already has been promoted to sous chef at the Hilton San Antonio Airport Hotel since he enrolled in the Center for Foods of the Americas, a satellite program at a facility here that’s run by The Culinary Institute of America, based in Hyde Park, N.Y. Dominguez earned a certificate in culinary arts from the center last month and now has set his sights on attending the CIA in New York, which offers associate’s and bachelor’s degrees. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

“Instead of limiting ourselves to what people think we are supposed to be—a dishwasher, a cook—we want the education to become chefs,” said Dominguez, who was so proud of his accomplishment at the CIA’s new satellite center that he tattooed its name on his arm. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Hispanics long have been the largest minority group in the restaurant industry, working mostly back-of-the-house jobs. But their numbers decline in leadership and management positions, particularly chef jobs. As formal education becomes more critical to advancement in the industry, efforts to boost minority enrollments, especially among Hispanics, in foodservice and hospitality programs are growing at culinary schools and institutions, as well as in high school and scholarship programs backed by various benefactors. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

In 2006 a little more than 21 percent of the 7 million people in food preparation and serving-related occupations were Hispanic, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. By comparison, nearly 12 percent were black and 5.2 percent were Asian. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

In a breakdown of foodservice positions, Hispanics also were the largest minority of cooks—nearly 32 percent—and they represented 25 percent of “food preparers.” But they represented nearly 37 percent of the industry’s dishwashers. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

However, Hispanics held less than 20 percent of chef positions and only about 15 percent of the industry’s jobs for first-line supervisors and managers. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Their numbers shrink further at some culinary schools and institutions. Hispanics accounted for only 8 percent of students last year in culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University, which has four campuses around the country. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

The CIA reported that its Hispanic student enrollment has been around 5 percent for the past four years. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

“In our analysis, we saw in major cities anywhere between one-third and two-thirds of foodservice workers are Latinos,” said Tim Ryan, president of the CIA. “But the Latino workforce is not rising through the ranks and having ownership and leadership positions at commensurate levels.” —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Minority enrollment numbers improve somewhat in regions and cities with larger Hispanic populations. At the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, 20 percent of the students are Hispanic this year, up 5 percent from the 2003-04 school year. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

“There already is an established tradition in the Hispanic community of choosing cooking and restaurant work for careers,” said ICE president Rick Smilow. “But increasingly, young Hispanic men and women recognize that to get ahead in this field, it is important to have a formal culinary education.” —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Raymond Alvarez realized he needed to attend a culinary school after taking high school cooking classes in Southern California. Alvarez had been enrolled in the Careers in Culinary Arts Program, a New York-based curriculum that is carried out in high schools in eight regions around the country. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Alvarez heard that through C-CAP he might be able to obtain a scholarship for a postsecondary education. He did just that, winning a C-CAP competition that helped pay his tuition at the Art Institute in Los Angeles. He is now a sous chef at the critically acclaimed Ciudad, owned by chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Alvarez encourages other Hispanics in the kitchen to pursue an education. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

“For a lot of them, it’s just a job,” Alvarez says. “But I try to talk to them, to tell them about my situation and ask them what they want to do with their lives.” —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Educators say several barriers can keep Hispanics from pursuing plans for postsecondary education, including finances, language and cultural influences. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Amar Santana dropped out of a C-CAP program in high school because he did not speak English well enough to understand the teacher. He was 12 years old when his family came to New York from the Dominican Republic. He was mistakenly re-enrolled in the class the next year, but this time he not only understood, he enjoyed it. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Santana won a scholarship to attend the CIA, and the school matched that funding, allowing him to attend classes in Hyde Park for free. Santana is now an executive sous chef at Aureole in New York, a noted restaurant owned by the Charlie Palmer Group. He will help open two more restaurants for Palmer and then he’ll take over the kitchen of another Palmer concept being opened in Costa Mesa, Calif. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

“Without the scholarships, I could not have afforded to go to culinary school,” Santana said. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Programs such as C-CAP and ProStart, a school-to-career curriculum founded by the Chicago-based National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, have given out millions of dollars in scholarships to hundreds of students over the years. The NRAEF tracks the diversity of its scholarship recipients. Last year, 6 percent of scholarship recipients were Hispanic, 5 percent were black and 4 percent were Asian. Whites accounted for 64 percent of scholarship recipients. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

Scholarship donations from the restaurant industry help minorities to pursue careers, CIA chief Ryan said. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

A record-setting donation of $35 million from bottled-salsa mogul and philanthropist Christopher “Kit” Goldsbury made the Center for the Foods of the Americas in San Antonio possible, Ryan said. Goldsbury, who sold his Pace Foods company to Campbell Soup Co. in 1995, earmarked $20 million of his $35 million gift to the CIA specifically for scholarships. An expanded, 30,000-square-foot CFA campus in San Antonio is to be built and opened by 2009 with $7 million from the gift. —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

“There is a huge population in the foodservice industry that could use help to achieve upward mobility,” Ryan said. “We had a dream of a way to do that, and Kit Goldsbury provided the resources to make a real difference. We hope it will encourage others to follow suit.” —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

When the endowment was announced recently, Goldsbury said: “Our vision is for the CFA to help raise awareness of Latin American cuisines as being among the world’s leading culinary traditions, with Latino chefs at the forefront of this movement.” —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

He called his gift to the CIA “a chance to give back to an industry that was the source of my success by creating educational opportunities that will open doors for others.” —Cooking was just a job for Joseph Dominguez until he realized how much he enjoyed it. Like other Hispanics who may have considered higher-level culinary careers out of reach, he didn’t think he could afford to go to school to advance from cook to chef.

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