Culinary Employment Pathways Program
Mon, Aug 11
|First Presbyterian Church of Oakland
Get ready to spice up your culinary skills and empower yourself to explore a new career path! 🌶️👩🏾🍳 Learn essential cooking techniques, explore new flavors, and start your culinary career by gaining valuable skills through internships at our partner food businesses.
Time & Location
Aug 11, 2025, 1:00 PM – Nov 16, 2025, 5:00 PM
First Presbyterian Church of Oakland, 2619 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94612, USA
Details
Applications for FALL 2025 Cohort are Open
The Culinary Employment Pathways Training program provides hands-on instruction on basic culinary and food safety and workplace soft skills.
In the first 5 weeks, you will learn the basics, such as kitchen safety and knife skills before moving on to more specific skills such as cooking methods, personal wellness practices, workers' rights education, plating techniques, and more.
Participants who complete the training and their Food Handlers test are placed into an 8-week internship at a local food business in Mandela Partner’s small business network. When matching participants with internships we consider schedule, interests, and transportation to find the best fit that emphasizes a continued learning environment. Participants will work with the business to set their schedule, with a max of 24 hours a week. Throughout the 8 weeks, our team provides ongoing support to both the participant and business as they navigate the internship. Program graduates will either gain long-term employment at their internship site or will be provided support to gain employment through our broader workforce network.
Best for:
Oakland and East Bay Area residents facing significant barriers to employment ready to take steps toward a first job in the food industry.
Cohort size:
8-12 participants
Time commitment:
Training: 16 hours per week for 5 weeks Monday - Thursday, 1pm to 5pm
Internship: 24 hours per week for 8 weeks
Where:
Oakland, CA at First Presbyterian Church of Oakland
2025 dates:
Upcoming: August 11, 2025 – November 11, 2025
Participant stipend:
$21/hour
Questions about the CEP program?
Please contact Natasha Nazer - natasha@mandelapartners.org