Culinary School Spotlight: Shavonne Fair
June 13, 2018
By Ashley Stahmer, Communications Intern
With plans to open her own bakery, Shavonne Fair applied to The Culinary School at the Food Bank of Delaware. She learned about the program through Delaware WONDER, a job readiness program of Delaware Health and Social Services. While classes for her bachelor’s degree in social work at Delaware State University kept her busy during the fall and winter, Shavonne knew she wanted to spend her summer break sharpening her cooking skills. Even though she has worked in the food industry before, she had never had any formal training and wanted to expand her expertise.
The Culinary School has gone beyond Shavonne’s original expectations. When asked her favorite part of it all, she said, “The people, honestly. We’re learning stuff, and I’ve learned something every single time they teach me. Everybody else is learning, so I don’t feel bad learning the things I missed along the way.”
Shavonne is also a participant of the West End Neighborhood House’s Launcher Program, which helps young entrepreneurs get business training, learn about financial planning and more. Through the skills she has learned through the Launcher and culinary programs, Shavonne has plans to open her first bakery in Dover by the end of the year. The bakery is the first step towards eventually starting her own restaurant, and Shavonne feels that The Culinary School is preparing her for both “The class has helped with techniques, and I’m seeing people who could potentially work in a restaurant with me and have the same passion that I do,” she said.
The Culinary School is just one of the reasons why Shavonne is thankful to live in Delaware and have these opportunities. “Delaware’s the perfect market for expansion in any opportunity,” she explained. “I’ve never heard anybody else do a program like this. It’s different. It teaches people the things that they really need to know in the food industry. This is a really good program. I really like it.”
Interested in a career in the food service industry? Click here to learn more about The Culinary School at the Food Bank of Delaware!
