Yes, chef! Formerly homeless Miamians graduate from hospitality job-training programs

Angela Banks was in the hospital recovering from a stroke earlier this year when she found out she had been evicted from her apartment.

Even before the stroke, the preceding months had been trying — she had both lost her job and been diagnosed with cancer. Trying to stay afloat, she had blown through much of her savings.

Discharged and with nowhere to go, the 53-year-old mother of one was facing homelessness.

Banks and her son briefly stayed in a hotel before running out of money. They soon found themselves sleeping in a public park.

“Everything just fell apart,” she said.

She eventually found her way to Camillus House, a nonprofit that provides critical services, including shelter, to homeless and low-income people in Miami-Dade County. The organization served more than 30,000 people last year. On any given night, it provides shelter to as many as 700 families.

On Wednesday, Banks and 22 others took the stage at Camillus House to celebrate their graduation from two of the nonprofit’s job training programs. Camillus House launched the programs in 2019, and more than 313 graduates have since passed courses in cooking, hospitality, forklift operation, construction and other industries.

By giving people skills that will “empower them and give them the ability to participate,” said Camillus House CEO Eddie Gloria, “we also help Miami meet its workforce needs,” citing the prominence of the local hospitality and construction industries.

In one of the ceremony’s opening speeches, Chef Frank Ferrara — the course’s teacher, who handed out diplomas to thunderous applause from the graduates — lauded his students’ determination. “Some people didn’t have a bed every night,” he said, “but they made it through.”

Soon after arriving at Camillus House, Banks had an aneurysm. “I fell over into my food,” she remembers. “I was in the cafeteria eating lunch.”

As she recovered from her third health crisis in one year, Banks, a former first-grade teacher, learned about the Kitchen Cook program, one of the programs meant to equip participants with the skills necessary to reenter the workforce.

Offered in conjunction with Miami Dade College and the city of Miami, the intensive seven-week chef crash course trains students in the ins-and-outs of kitchen work. The syllabus includes everything from recipe reading and sauce making to plating and knife work — all skills needed for one to be a competitive, employable line cook.

Banks, who is still battling cancer, set her sights on becoming a fine dining chef and enrolled in the program.

“Being a cancer patient is very stressful, and you can be depressed a lot,” she said. “I love to cook. I have the opportunity to find peace and love in the kitchen, and it makes me feel good.”

Of Wednesday’s 23 graduates — some of whom received hotel property specialist certificates, qualifying them to step into roles as hotel maintenance workers — six have already found employment.

Camillus House aims to place at least 70% of its graduates in jobs within six weeks of graduating. To do so, the organization prioritizes assisting clients with resume building, interview preparation and networking skills.

Employment partnerships with local hotels, property management companies and restaurants help Camillus House reach its goal. The Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami and FirstService Residential, a property management company, are two such businesses that have hired Camillus House graduates, said Alessandra Laricchia, the nonprofit’s community and client engagement manager.

Another key collaborator is Miami Dade College. Overseeing the Kitchen Cook and Hotel Property Specialist programs, the college’s Hospitality Institute has raised upward of $600,000 over the last two years to help Camillus House residents take retraining courses.

Continuing education is a cornerstone of Miami Dade College’s partnership with Camillus House. Qualifying residents, like Kendrick Moore, get full-ride scholarships.

Moore, 37, said he was discharged from the Marines in 2017 with a knee injury. He struggled to find work and spent the next four years living out of his car, until he came across Camillus House.

“I never had any intentions of becoming a chef,” Moore said.

Nevertheless, he graduated from the Kitchen Cook program in 2022 and returned this year to help teach the course.

Occupying somewhat of a keynote speaker role in Wednesday’s graduation ceremony, Moore, soft-spoken and smiling, effused appreciation for Camillus House, Miami Dade College and the graduates of this semester’s Kitchen Cook class.

Departing the podium, Moore affixed his chef’s skull cap to his head and beelined to the back of the room, where he began arranging trays of food. He was doubling as the graduation’s caterer.

Moore is now studying culinary arts at Miami Dade College. This semester’s courses include baking and food production, as well as French, which Moore is learning to better understand certain recipes.

His post-grad plans? “I want to work at a five-star restaurant,” he said. “I’m knocking on Gordon Ramsay’s door.”

This story was produced with financial support from supporters including The Green Family Foundation Trust and Ken O’Keefe, in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald maintains full editorial control of this work.