When Terrance Bertrand lost his job as an electrician he found himself without a car, an apartment, or a chance for a stable life. When he started cooking to make ends meet Terrance discovered a passion he never knew was there: enter Chicago’s Community Kitchens.
Chicago’s Community Kitchens is a 14 week culinary training program offered at no cost to accepted applicants. The program teaches everything from kitchen skills to resume writing and culminates with a two week internship in a commercial kitchen.
Terrance’s internship was with Chef John Coletta at Quartino Ristorante on the near north side. Chef Coletta stressed the importance of hard work and the desire to continue to learn and grow, all of which Terrance learned during his time at Chicago’s Community Kitchens. As such, Terrance was offered a full-time position in Chef Coletta’s kitchen and the opportunity to, as Terrance says, “start living again!”
If you’d like to learn more about Chicago’s Community Kitchens please click here.
