Ryan’s House for Youth has teamed up with Glass Alley Cafe chef Tom French to offer a pathway to culinary careers for at-risk and homeless youth.

The brand new internship program, a brainchild of French’s, aims to give adolescents going through Ryan’s House’s youth outreach program a taste of the restaurant industry while also teaching them self-sufficiency and other life skills. The internship program is beginning with Glass Alley Cafe, but more restaurants are excited about the prospect of participating, French said.

The internship program also addresses an issue in the restaurant industry: recruiting, training and maintaining well-trained staff. It’s a common issue throughout the industry but particularly true in small rural communities such as South Whidbey.

“The lack of properly trained staff is probably one of the single most difficult challenges within the industry,” French said. “For me, if someone is trainable and reliable, I’ll train them from the get-go.”

Interns will learn basic culinary skills, technique and kitchen protocol under the tutelage of South Whidbey chefs during the multi-week internship. The program isn’t limited to training within the restaurant industry, though. Participating students will also receive assistance with an array of practical job seeking skills such as resume building, job placement and mentorship.

This practical skill training is a regular yet crucial aspect of what Ryan’s House offers their kids, French says. South Whidbey businesses have also offered a helping hand in the job-mentoring process. Wells Fargo has offered to set up checking accounts for those at Ryan’s House and coach them on how to monitor their accounts.

“The impact this could have on the kids is huge,” said Nicole Sorensen, Drop-in Center manager at Ryan’s House. “The impact ripples throughout the rest of their lives when we are able to match a youth to a job and teach them the basics such as keeping the job and getting to work on time.”

The culinary internship also facilitates growth within the culinary arts, if the student so desires. According to a news release, more educational opportunities are available for students who show an interest in the industry. With so many South Whidbey restaurants struggling with staffing, the chances of upward movement for interns is high.

“This is really a pathway to employment for these kids,” French said. “If you have the basic skills in the culinary industry, you can go anywhere in the world. That’s what we want to show them.”

French sees the internship program as a long-term strategy to build relationships among chefs throughout the county and get everyone collectively behind the idea of making an impact on the lives on adolescents. He’s plugged away at the idea for years, as he has been working with young people in the community for some time. French said he has been doing his part to push for legislation to increase the amount of resources available to at-risk youth statewide.

“We need to do a better job of improving the resources available to the kids, and raise public awareness of [that] fact,” French said. “There are no bad kids. There are only kids in bad situations.”