On Friday June 6th, Director of Grants and Membership Jennifer Quigley-Harris joined Chef Jesse Perez, Chef Claude-Olivier and other staff of The Salvation Army Boston Kroc Center to celebrate their Spring 2025 Culinary Training Program Graduates.
Honored to be invited as a speaker at the ceremony, Jennifer read from Jacques’ autobiography The Apprentice, choosing to share with graduates a selection that tells the story of Jacques’ first day on the job at Howard Johnson’s culinary headquarters. Jacques describes the glares that greeted him from his new coworkers, and how he felt that the other workers in the kitchen were not feeling very friendly towards someone like him who spoke with a “funny accent.”
Fortunately, Jacques persevered, working as hard as anyone else in that kitchen and earning their respect and friendship. In Jacques’ words, “Restaurant kitchens are the ultimate levelers. When you’re slammed and orders are starting to back up, you could care less about the color of the hands of the cook who is working next to you, as long as they are moving fast and effectively. Personal life, sexual preferences, accent, addictions, criminal record — none of them matter.”
We applaud The Salvation Army Boston Kroc Center’s Culinary Training graduates, and all of the participants of the training programs supported by the JPF. We know that no matter what challenges they have faced, these outstanding students can walk with confidence into a new chapter of their lives and careers and prove that, as Jacques says, “We are all equal in the eyes of the stove.”
Image credit: The Salvation Army Boston Kroc Center
