Soon-to-be Durango High School ninth grader Dylan Reynolds dipped his gloved hands into a bowl of fresh pico de gallo, tossing diced tomatoes, onions and peppers while his culinary cohorts watched.
Megan Feuerbacher, culinary manager at Manna soup kitchen, offered Reynolds a spoon and encouraged him to try the pico with freshly mashed avocado. Surrounded by his peers who each dipped their own spoons into the guacamole, he beamed.
Feuerbacher asked him what he thought of the taste. Does it need more lime juice?
“Use your intuition,” she said.
Several students noted a strong salt flavor, and Feuerbacher admitted it was a bit much.
July 16 marked the third day of Manna soup kitchen’s summer culinary program, organized in collaboration with the Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative to teach teenagers how to work in a commercial kitchen. It provides a foundation of kitchen skills students can use to springboard into restaurant jobs.
Feuerbacher has previously led adult culinary programs and worked with high school students in Durango and Bayfield. Now, she is fine-tuning a program at Manna to provide a job skills development course designed to prepare students for hospitality work. This summer marks the program’s second round.
Students attend class for six hours a day, three days a week for four weeks and learn from guest chefs from Durango-area restaurants. A competition will be held at the end of the program on Aug. 7, which will be judged by community members and guest chefs, including Areli Sanchez, owner of Salvadoran restaurant Pupuseria Torogoz in Durango.
Students aren’t learning how to wield cutlery, mix recipes and maintain prep stations for free – they’re getting paid.
The Southwest Colorado Education Collaborative is providing students stipends, thanks to a Destination Advancement grant from Visit Durango. Feuerbacher said she has tested stipends in her adult culinary classes for two years, resulting in increased interest, participation and retention.
Other organizations are helping too, she said.
The Durango Workforce Center will tutor students on résumé building. The Bank of Colorado is hosting a financial literacy course. La Plata County Public Health Department will review standards. In the Weeds will discuss self-care and mental health.
Feuerbacher said she hopes her students pursue hospitality jobs, but even if they don’t, culinary knowledge is an important life skill and a strong fallback job.
“You have to cook. You have to eat. It’s a good fall back. But also, they’re going to go to college and they can’t eat ramen every day,” she said. “… Having that basic skill in their belt is going to be really helpful for their future.”
Jon Gonzales, a rising sophomore at DHS and is fond of stir-fries and homemade pasta, said he’s not looking to make a career out of cooking but sees the value of having culinary skills for part-time or in-between jobs.
He said he hopes to develop teamwork skills in a kitchen setting and learn to use commercial kitchen equipment. He had his eye on a deep fryer in Manna’s kitchen.
Parker Hughes, an incoming sophomore at Big Picture High School, said he is firmly set on a restaurant career. He’s off to a good start – he already has a food-handler’s license and an internship-turned-job at Durango Diner.
He said he’s just washing dishes at the diner right now, but hopes to build his repertoire of skills through Manna’s culinary program and eventually cook professionally.
Pasta with tomato vodka sauce, teriyaki chicken, cheesecake and banana bread are among the students’ favorite dishes.
Reynolds said he especially enjoys improvising and experimenting with different ingredients to create sauces. He’s most proud of a “pony buffalo” sauce he came up with.
“I was shocked how much it actually tastes like buffalo sauce because I don’t super like looking at recipes,” he said. “I’ll just grab random things, and that’s what I loved about making the buffalo sauce.”
He said he wants to be a chef and run his own business some day – and Manna’s culinary program is helping him build – and write – his résumé.
cburney@durangoherald.com
