Free food service training class offered by Green Ladle

PHOTO: Sous chef Kyle Bedell makes pasta at the Green Ladle before a meal on Aug. 25. The Lewiston Regional Technical Center culinary program is offering a free adult work program in September for people interested in working in restaurants and the foodservice industry. (Submitted photo)

LEWISTON — Aspiring chefs have an opportunity to gain kitchen skills and experience, for free, thanks to a class offered by the Green Ladle.
The free adult work program begins Sept. 28, and classes will run two days a week, from 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Green Ladle, the culinary program for Lewiston Regional Technical Center.
Students who complete the four-week class will receive ServSafe certification and learn basic food math, knife skills, cooking terms, sauté cooking, grill cooking, fry cooking, and baking and breakfast cookery. The Green Ladle’s Community Serving Community Food Truck Project is paying for the training, said Justine Burns, hospitality instructor at the Green Ladle. The 30-hour program would normally cost between $600 and $700, said Dan Caron, Green Ladle director.
Planning for the class began after Caron, LRTC Director Rob Callahan and Green Ladle instructors met with members of the local restaurant and food service community on Aug. 16, and featured industry professionals talking about job openings and the need for training.
“We proud to offer this program to our community partners at a critical time like this,” Callahan said.