Celebrating Culinary Arts Training Program Graduates

Our six-month Culinary Arts Training Program (CATP) has prepared over 1,300 low-income or formerly homeless New Yorkers for careers in the food service industry since it launched over two decades ago. The newest cohort of graduates recently celebrated their completion of the program and their future culinary endeavors.

New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh attended the celebration and addressed the graduates, encouraging them to keep working towards their goals. He applauded CATP, telling news outlet Patch, “I do think that the state ought to look at programs like this as a model… Its success speaks for itself.’”

Like every class before them, the graduates learned cooking theory and food preparation in a teaching kitchen, and then gained on-the-job experience through internships at local restaurants and corporate dining services.

Graduate Juan Berrios of Williamsburg has already earned a full-time job at his internship site, the popular Chelsea restaurant Cookshop. “Just the way that I learned and seeing the process was more than enough for me to know that this is not just a program I want to be in, but this is the career that I want to advance,” Juan told news outlet Patch, which covered the ceremony.

Juan is among over 80% of graduates who have been placed in jobs since 1996, making the CATP twice as successful as similar programs.

Congratulations to all!