A grant from Emeril Lagasse Foundation will sponsor Café Reconcile's current hospitality training class for 18 youth interns. The class takes six weeks to complete, and Emeril Lagasse and the foundation and restaurant staff will be participating in a variety of mentorship opportunities with the students throughout their training period. The foundation staff will participate in a visit and welcome the new class at Café Reconcile, and will also host a field trip visit for the students to tour the flagship Emeril's New Orleans Restaurant. Foundation signage and features can be found throughout the Café during the training period.
Cafe Reconcile's hospitality school provides at-risk teens and young adults with the skills they need to succeed in jobs in the hospitality industry. The practical on-the-job experience for interns over a 6 week period also helps them to develop essential life skills.
This six-week program for 18 students is currently in the hands-on training portion of the curriculum, and from there, students will move on to the internship stage. Graduation and job placement for the interns will take place during the week of June 9, 2014.
Emeril Lagasse Foundation has been a proud sponsor of Café Reconcile since 2006. After an eight month renovation and build out, Café Reconcile officially reopened to the public in March 2013, including the new expanded training and events space on the second floor, the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Hospitality Center. The award-winning nonprofit, which provides invaluable life skills and job training to disconnected youth from highly distressed communities in the New Orleans area, underwent the $5.9 million expansion to not only triple its program capacity, but to also create a new source of revenue through full-service catering and events on and off site. ELF provides financial support for the hospitality training programs that enable these youth to prepare themselves for the workforce.
The Café is open to the public for lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Consider eating lunch at Café Reconcile. See the students in person, working hard, making positive choices, developing their leadership ability, and striving for something better. Plus, while this class is in the café, every customer will recieve one of Chef Emeril's recipe cards.
