A new pop-up restaurant opened this week, serving some first-rate food to the Boston community. The chefs are high school teenagers with sharp knife skills and a huge passion for cooking.
Under the mentorship of the nonprofit organization Future Chefs, these teens have worked hard to serve out some incredible food, while also making an impact in the community. Future Chefs aims to help high school students learn and develop both culinary and essential life skills, supporting their development along the way.
Founded by Toni Elka in 2008, programs include a short-term introduction into the culinary world, a paid after-school work-based learning program to further their culinary skills, and a program providing continuing support on their culinary path after graduating high school.
“Young people come to us with an interest to cook, they come to us with an interest in food. They come to us with interest in art and creativity, or they come to us where they’re just looking to be around a community of caring adults,” said Mark DaCruz, executive director of Future Chefs.
Young line chefs preparing to fry tofu which will be used later in different dishes, Monday, Aug. 4. The programs offered by Future Chefs give teens hands-on cooking experiences inside a real commercial kitchen. PHOTO: ZHI ZHU
Much of their work has been centered around mentoring these teens, providing a safe space for them to grow their skills in the kitchen and supporting them in their early success. “We try to provide an environment where they feel connected, supported, safe, while they’re learning a skill that they can take with them beyond our doors,” he said.
This year was Future Chefs’ 4th annual summer lunch pop-up cafe, which included a global summer fusion menu designed by the young chefs. From August 5 through 7, these teens served up a delicious international menu from paneer tikka masala to a berry habanero chicken sandwich, and even a kimchi fusion burger, just to name a few items.
“The pop-up itself is one of our social enterprises that a lot of our work is based around. We do a lot of project-based learning,” DaCruz said. There are also other enterprises in which Future Chefs helps engage teens throughout the school year, like baking and creating pastries during the winter holiday season and a spring small plates event.
Behind the scenes, the work in preparing the summer pop-up restaurant has taken nearly five weeks. During that time, DaCruz explained how the young chefs learned different cooking techniques, recipe creation, and tasting, which helped create a cohesive menu. “They’re really figuring out how to work together and to agree on find[ing] consensus on a recipe,” he said.
Through workshops, the teens also learned marketing and studied the logistics of running a restaurant.
“At its core, it’s really an opportunity to showcase their work, but also try to be a hub for the community and provide an opportunity for the community to get a peek behind the doors of what’s going on [at] Future Chefs,” said DaCruz. “It always feels good to feed people. Food is a love language.”
Sharing the work of these young individuals and their growth is one of the fundamental goals that the organization strives to achieve for the community.
“The other important thing that we really stand on is our idea of teaching these essential, transferable skills that could be used in any work environment, but also just in life. Things like problem solving, critical thinking, initiative, and giving and receiving feedback. These are some of the central skills that we stand on, where we really make sure we embed them into our lessons,” he said.
Future Chefs students learn alongside mentors as they prepare food inside the kitchen, Monday, Aug. 4. PHOTO: ZHI ZHU
Arman, a high school graduate who has been learning and working at Future Chefs for about a year and a half, described how cooking has been an important aspect in his life.
“Growing up I would always help my grandmother with tasting food, setting up seasonings, making sure everything’s where it needs to be, cleaning the kitchen, making dinner with them, it was mostly like a tradition,” he said.
When it comes to cooking, Arman explained how it can be a powerful way to gratify others. “I feel like cooking is more like a means to bring happiness to a person. Food is the thing that will unite the world and bring people together. Personally, I see [Future Chefs] doing that currently with the pop-up and in general. My cooking, whenever I bring things to friends, to family, to my mom’s co-workers, always makes their day better. So I find that cooking [is] like an uplifting spirit sort of thing.”
Melia, who is a high school junior, has been a part of Future Chefs for nearly two years, and it has taught her skills that have stuck with her to this day.
“I’m really introverted but here I have to come out of my shell because you have to speak up so [people won’t] get hurt in the kitchen, when you’re going through with something hot, you have to scream ‘It’s hot!’ and ‘Move out of the way.’ You have to be vocal here, I’ve learned how to be more vocal, and I’ve also learned how to come out of my shell and talk to people more,” she said.
Being at Future Chefs has also provided Melia with an opportunity to express her love of cooking outside of her home. “I really like cooking in [this] environment, because at home it’s a small place, but here, I get to actually be a professional and cook in a standardized kitchen,” she said.
For Melia, understanding how to cook is something that she thinks should be universal in people’s lives. “Cooking is an essential skill that everybody needs, and I feel like you can’t really survive without at least knowing a little bit about cooking. I really gained a passion for cooking here because I learned about different tastes, different elements to make a dish better, how to take a family recipe and make it something everybody would like to suit anybody’s palate, and I really enjoyed that.”
Important life skills like cooking are essential. Eating at home is also both healthier and cheaper than eating out. Cooking meals can also help promote healthy eating, especially with the rise in obesity.
“The fact that their palate is being exposed and they are experimenting with food, they’re building a comfort with food and how to prepare it, that’s a skill that they bring home for themselves, for their families,” DaCruz said.
Clarence Joseph, a youth work specialist at Future Chefs, explained that supporting these teens is a way to help develop their growth into adulthood. “Our goal is to make sure that young people feel like they have a voice in our program, that they feel safe in our program and communicating their needs.”
Joseph added that Future Chefs is a space that helps young people feel empowered to have conversations and build relationships with adults. “There’s a space where you can be yourself, that we can sit down and have dialogue whenever there is conflict.”
He explained that creating these avenues to discuss and learn with trusted adults helps build teens’ autonomy.
“Future Chefs has become a space where young people can make those mistakes and have the support of caring adults that are willing to guide them into adulthood.”
Whether it’s cooking or mentoring, Future Chefs is a place where teens can develop their skills, learn along the way, and be a part of a community that cares about them.
“It warms me to know that we are part of that work and that full development of who they are. The fact that they allow us to stand alongside them and learn with them, is really, really powerful, and it speaks to the community and the safe environment that we are really trying to stand on.”
To learn more about Future Chefs, visit futurechefs.net
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