Delgado and Café Hope Announce Partnership for Free Online Culinary Classes

June 03, 2020

Café Hope and Delgado Community College are pleased to announce a partnership to offer Café Hope participants and alumni free online culinary classes this summer.

This collaboration is facilitated through the Portable Bridge Program and is made possible by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

The Delgado program is providing two online culinary classes to Café Hope while their on-site training is not in session during this time. The first class, created by the Delgado Culinary Arts department, is called Culinary Pathways and Careers, and runs for four weeks starting on June 1.

The curriculum for the second class, called Culinary Principles, comes from KP Education Systems, which is a leading provider of digital culinary education. This class will commence on June 29 and last for 10 weeks.

Both culinary classes are being taught by a Delgado instructor.  To round out the offerings, Café Hope is offering an online Life Skills class. Altogether, the program lasts 16 weeks, keeping to Café Hope’s in-person training schedule.

Café Hope Executive Director Luis Arocha, Jr. said: “This incredible collaboration between Delgado and Café Hope is an awesome opportunity for young adults to gain both personal and industry knowledge, receive an industry certification and benefit from our connections when it's time for job placement.  All of this free of charge. You don't have to want to be a chef to benefit from this curriculum.  The skills (communications, organizational, time management and goal setting) gained from our classes are applicable to any industry that you decide to enter. We invite all young adults, regardless of your background, to come get your future started on the right foot. We look forward to being a part of your success.”

“We are so proud of our community collaboration with Café Hope. Delgado welcomes all Café Hope trainees to discover academic and career opportunities through our Portable Bridge Program designed around their needs,” said Harold Gaspard, interim vice chancellor for academic affairs and provost of Delgado Community College.

For more information about the program and questions about enrollment, contact Luis Arocha. Jr. at luis@cafehope.org or 504-388-4631.

Café Hope is a nonprofit culinary arts and life skills program for opportunity youth ages 17-24 throughout the Greater New Orleans area. Café Hope was established in 2010 with a goal to meet the needs of the opportunity youth population so they can further themselves along the path to self-sufficiency and have fulfilling futures as valuable and contributing members of their community. www.cafehope.org

Delgado Community College will celebrate 100 years of service to the New Orleans region in 2021. The oldest and largest community college in Louisiana, Delgado provides instruction online and at seven locations. Fully accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Delgado offers students the most comprehensive array of education and training services available in the 10-parish New Orleans region. Additionally, Delgado has articulation agreements with most of the state’s four-year colleges and universities that allow students to transfer their Delgado credits to bachelor’s degree programs. As well as offering degrees and transferable college credits, Delgado provides diplomas and certificates in many professional and technical areas. Workforce development is a priority at Delgado, hence the college’s well-known motto: “Education that works!” www.dcc.edu