Culinary Job Training

At Second Helpings, we are passionate about fighting hunger and poverty. Our work goes beyond food rescue and feeding children, adults and seniors - one of our most important missions is our culinary job training program. Second Helpings' culinary job training helps unemployed and underemployed people transform their lives by learning the skills they need to be successful culinary professionals.

Each year, Second Helpings welcomes around 80 students to our training kitchen. Led by Chef Carl Conway, these students learn everything from chopping mirepoix to cold-calling potential employers. After a free, intensive 10-week course, each student is prepared to launch a career in the food service field, thanks to Chef Carl's day-to-day courses and a variety of lessons taught by local visiting chefs.    

Second Helpings' graduates receive 6 credits from the culinary program at Ivy Tech Community College, a certificate of achievement from the State of Indiana, and ServSafe Certification.

Second Helpings does everything possible in addition to culinary training – connections to financial literacy at M&I Bank, working with Dress for Success to find interview-ready attire for interviews, practice interviews to support our students. Students are assisted with job placement, follow up, and case management services from our partners at the John H. Boner Community Center. But ultimately, their successes are their own, which is exactly the point; Second Helpings seeks to empower people.

Chef Carl Conway puts it like this, "You leave Second Helpings with the ability to do what you want to do. The only limits are the ones our students might place upon themselves."

For more information about how our Culinary Job Training program is helping to break the cycle of poverty, contact our director of training at at carl@secondhelpings.org or fill out our online job training application.

How to Enroll & Apply

Want to transform your career? Find out more about our culinary job training program and apply to join a class.