We’ve survived the first week of school, a student tidal wave of nervous excitement in seeing friends and renewed energy to get schoolwork done. But even on that first day, every student who had a summer internship with a restaurant stopped to mention to me how much they valued their experiences – and that they want to do more. That’s pretty amazing given the size and format of our school.
We have many industry people and businesses to thank for their involvement with Heat of the Kitchen and this year, we hope to keep expanding our student interactions with the amazing people in food (and the food itself) that we have in San Francisco. When you eat outside the Bay Area (like I did over the summer) you are reminded of just how lucky we are here.
Here is a quick list of restaurants, organizations and people who have stopped everything to help us, and we don’t want the rush of the new school year to let this get away for a moment more. Look for more in depth reports on these involvements in the future.
NOPA: for always, always being there for us, whether it has been donations to our Long Table Dinner Events, letting us visit and interrupt their busy schedule and supporting our latest student in his job shadow with Anna Lee – and for patience and thinking outside of the box with our garden challenges.
GGRA: for the cookware that still looks like new and works beautifully, for visiting our classes and helping with speakers, for the scholarship opportunities that have been lane changers for our students and for connecting us to restaurants like Pacific Catch & La Mar.
Pacific Catch: for understanding our students before even meeting them and giving them great experiences, from interviews to job shadows.
La Mar: for jumping in 110% with our student intern and supporting him so professionally.
De Young Museum Cafe – for fantastic interview experiences for our students and for going the extra distance with meetings and cookbooks as we prepare to work more together.
BiRite Market Divisadero: for featuring us in their monthly donation and for being so understanding about our calendar of chaos that is school life.
Alexander Ong and Betelenut: for extended interview experiences with our students and your ever present generosity and smile.
We’ve been so lucky to have this kind of involvement, thank you so much! Now to help a new batch of students get themselves ready to work – they are already eager!
