Chef Paul Wahlberg arrived in GR last Thursday at the onset of the Winter Storm Warning. He was invited to be a celebrity chef at the annual Wine & Food Show on Thursday evening and started his GR visit at Wahlburgers where he hosted students from Kitchen Sage. In coming to GR, Chef Paul asked to meet with an organization that aligns with the mission and purpose of the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, which is “to remove and eliminate barriers that prevent youth from succeeding.” The organizers identified Kitchen Sage due in large part because of its work with youth who have more significant employment barriers.
The three chefs who welcomed Chef Paul are Chef Karen Henry, Director of Kitchen Sage, Chef Tanya Henry, Director of Lonia’s World Center and a renowned trainer in the food service industry, and Chef Mandy Thompson who oversees the kitchen operations for Revive & Thrive. It was through the combined efforts of these chefs that Kitchen Sage was able to offer three culinary training camps this past summer exclusively for youth who are clients of Michigan Rehabilitation Services. In addition, Kitchen Sage has also established a recent partnership with the Bureau of Services for Blind Persons who also has referred many of its clients to the Kitchen Sage culinary training. It is through the coordinated efforts of these three chefs that so many youth are gaining incredibly valuable training. And the added value is that most of their training is directed at feeding children at various preschools throughout GR.
Chef Karen shared that Chef Paul’s visit was super inspiring. His message was simple, which is that perseverance is key to success, and that an owner or head chef have to be willing to do whatever they ask their employees to do, even taking out the trash. Chef Tanya commented on Chef Paul’s message of it being okay to try new things and to taste it (experience it) before you ask others to do the same. Chef Paul promised that on his next visit to GR he plans on working with he students over at Kitchen Sage On this particular day there were not too many chefs in the kitchen.
