Sometimes life requires a restart.
That can be great, like discovering a brand new career path that is the perfect fit. Other times, it can be scary, like leaving your home to a place with a new language, or suddenly having to provide for yourself and your family in a way you never expected to.
The
culinary program at
Zaman International in Inkster is a place where all those stories and more converge, and it offers a path to success for women wanting to learn a new profession.
Chef Kim Marks-Ball runs the culinary program, which offers both an accelerated program for English speakers and an extended program for English language learners. Most students are immigrants and refugees, and all are in need of skills for sustainable employment.
Zaman has an intake process where people first work with social workers to meet basic needs until they become ready to pursue employment. Once clients have successfully completed that process, they move into the culinary arts training program or the sewing program.
Through the culinary program, students rotate through several stations where they learn every aspect of culinary arts, from kitchen prep to assembling a finished meal. The goal is for students to be ready to step into a variety of culinary careers or start their own food-based business.
They earn in-demand certifications while there, including ServSafe food handling and the American Hotel and Lodging Education Institute’s Certified Kitchen Cook credential. Students who want to go even further can pursue the Department of Labor Approved Chef de Partie apprenticeship.
Marks-Ball says that the atmosphere at Zaman’s culinary program is more supportive than a typical culinary school. “A lot of our students have barriers, so being a little smaller and being in a space that’s all women, it’s a safe space to fail. I tell them at the beginning of class they can burn things, and they will set something on fire, and that’s okay.”
Marks-Ball is herself in her second career, so she understands students come with a variety of life experiences as well. She started working in the municipal sector, handling election administration, but always baked cakes on the side for fun.
Eventually she decided to attend culinary school and specialize in pastry, but quickly progressed through the entire spectrum of the
culinary program at Oakland Community College. She worked briefly in restaurants, and also discovered she had a talent for teaching. That led to a job with a nutrition education program at Eastern Market, teaching youth cooking skills. When the pandemic shut that work down, a former instructor at OCC referred her to Zaman. “I had carte blanche to create a program from where I started,” she says. “We are really supported here.”
The program runs concurrent with school schedules, so women in the program don’t have to worry about arranging child care in order to complete training. Lessons are written by Marks-Ball to be understandable despite limited English skills.
She cites her relaunching of the cafe lunch program after Covid as an achievement she’s proud of. On Wednesdays, Zaman staff, volunteers and community members can order a special lunch from a menu created and cooked by the students. She also launched a bakery program, which caters special events and operates a counter service for purchasing bread and treats.
Once students have completed the program, they can go on to an apprenticeship role in Zaman’s kitchen or the on-site bakery -- or find work at any commercial kitchen in the area.
Marks-Ball works with Sienna Health and some of the food service companies at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport to place graduates of the program; she also partners with OCC to help find jobs for graduates. Some especially talented students have gone on to the culinary program at OCC as well.
It can be hard for Marks-Ball to watch students struggle with barriers that can be difficult to surmount. The women who enter the program typically are already good cooks, but have barriers around language, confidence or outside-the-home work experience.
On the other hand, watching students learn, achieve and develop self-esteem and a belief in themselves is incredibly rewarding. In fact, the thing she’s most proud of is the growth of her assistant, who started as an ESL student with low English comprehension and now has blossomed into an invaluable friend and colleague.
“I see it as a cocoon to butterfly situation,” she says. “My favorite part of the job is seeing someone who is so shy and timid starting out, and seeing that confidence build and grow.”
This story is part of the Nonprofit Journal Project, an initiative focused on nonprofit leaders and programs across Metro Detroit. This series is made possible with the generous support of our partners, the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, Michigan Nonprofit Association and Co.act Detroit.
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