Tacoma Goodwill offers an ideal, real-world training opportunity for people interested in the Food Services field. The Culinary Arts & Food Service Training Program is designed as a train-while-working program to prepare students for entry into the food service industry as a prep cook, pantry cook, line cook, pastry cook or dishwasher. Classes begin every 6-8 weeks.
For more information or to register for classes, contact Jeff Pratt, production chef trainer, at jpratt@tacomagoodwill.org, 253.573.6633.
The course takes place 30 hours per week, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Friday. Students will receive a stipend for time spent training in the kitchen. The cost to participate in the class is $1,950, with uniforms and equipment provided by Goodwill. Scholarships are available.
Program Overview
Training is provided in a real-world setting at Goodwill’s Restaurant, The Neighborhood Bistro. Participants will be assigned a work station and given production tasks. As participants progress through the program, they will rotate among work stations in order to learn a variety of food service skills, including:
- Hot Line
- Pantry
- Service Line
- Prep
- Soups & Sauces
- Pastry
- Dishwashing
The program consists of sixteen weeks broken into four levels. Graduation occurs when you receive satisfactory evaluations from Chef Instructors in all skill sets. Upon graduation, you will
receive a certificate of completion. Skill sets you will learn:
- Food safety and sanitation
- Knife skills
- Kitchen safety
- Cooking techniques
- Reading standardized recipes
- Weights and measurements
- Food preparation and production
- In-house catering
- Customer service
