Continuing our series of stories from our Inspiration Kitchens foodservice training program, we bring you one of our most recent successes, Samara.
Samara was enjoying an accomplished career in the insurance industry as a legal administrative assistant. When the economic downturn closed her department in 2010, she was out of work for the first time in many years. As a single mother of two she spent the next few years looking for work, struggling to keep her family together as her older son applied for college. When her unemployment insurance was set to run out, she came to Inspiration Kitchens – Garfield Park in May of 2012, after hearing about the program from a friend.
From her first day, she proved to be an exemplary student. Her chef trainers picked up on her talent right away. By the end of her 13 week session, she was immediately offered a job in the kitchen as a line cook. In just the past few weeks she’s moved up from that position, and is now a chef trainer in Garfield Park, a full-time, salaried position within the company.
She is thrilled to be in this new position, and plans to stay with it for some time. She knows there is a lot to learn about the restaurant industry from the staff at Inspiration Kitchens. Her dream is to one day open her own catering business with her sister. For now, Inspiration Corporation is glad to have her as a part of the team and is thrilled to be able to tell her story with a positive ending.