Patina announces apprentice program for high school students

 

Teenagers with a passion for cooking will get a chance to work in the four-star kitchen at Patina under a new apprentice program. The restaurant will work with Santee Education Complex, a high school near downtown Los Angeles, and a Place Called Home, a social-service center in South Los Angeles for young people, to select apprentices for the program, scheduled to begin next month.

Chef Joachim Splichal, who opened Patina restaurant in Walt Disney Hall in downtown L.A., said he was honored to work with Santee and a Place Called Home. Participants -- one or two at a time -- will shadow Patina’s executive chef, Tony Esnault, to learn the workings of the kitchen and basic skills in the contemporary French restaurant, which received four stars from Los Angeles Times reviewer S. Irene Virbila last year.

“Working with Patina restaurant and a Place Called Home elevates the future opportunities of our youth in this community,” said Young Choi, college and career coordinator at Santee. “This is truly an exciting relationship.”

After a three-month apprenticeship, students will prepare a meal at Patina and will have the chance to interview for a job with Patina Restaurant Group, which includes about 60 restaurants and other outlets.

-- Mary MacVean

Photo: Joachim Splichal. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[stwsr]

This is indeed fantastic.

And rather disturbing that such a wonderful item gets so little attention.

[Bob Green]

Be forewarned, high schoolers, this cantankerous Napolean in a chef's blouse yells at underlings. He's not a friendly man if you're a regular working stiff. What's more, this is an obvious ploy to drum up business. Joachim Splichal has no interest in mentoring anyone. And this is me being very fair... except perhaps for the Napolean comparison, which is only a bit of a stretch.

[Brooks Walker]

This is truly a fantastic opportunity for teens who are interested in a culinary arts career. Apprenticeships like these build solid foundations whether you run a kitchen from a restaurant or a household. Learning on the job, in a real world scenario behind the line of a kitchen, will tell an aspiring chef quickly if he or she can take the heat. I was fortunate to have Patrick Terrail pluck me out of a college course for my first kitchen job at Ma Maison, an amazing experience that has served me well. Bravo to the Santee Education Complex, a Place Called Home and Chef Joachim Splichal!