Marked by cheers, tears and pride, graduates and their families celebrated both the end of coursework and studies, and the beginning of a new life at D.C. Central Kitchen’s (DCCK) Culinary Job Training Program 2025 graduation on July 16.
As graduates from Classes 172, 173 and 174 were lauded for completing the 14-week program, the phrase “the kitchen is where we come to understand our past and ourselves,” took on a new meaning as the event highlighted much more than newly gained knife skills — it honored growth, evolution and new opportunities.
“This isn’t just about job training,” said keynote speaker Jessica Zielke, senior director of community engagement and strategic partnerships for Hilton Hotels and Resorts. “It’s about life transformation.”
DC Central Kitchen is no ordinary nonprofit.
Founded in 1989 by nightclub manager-turned-social innovator Robert Egger, the organization pioneered the concept of using rescued food to prepare nutritious meals for shelters, while simultaneously training unemployed adults in culinary skills. Today, it stands as a national model of social enterprise — combating hunger and poverty not just with meals, but with job creation, empowerment, and dignity.
Once confined to a windowless basement of a Capitol Hill homeless shelter, D.C. Central Kitchen has evolved into a 35,000-square-foot hub of innovation on the banks of the Anacostia River.
While the company has evolved, DCCK CEO Mike Curtin Jr. insists the mission remains unchanged.
“Food will not end hunger. We will never, ever, ever feed our way out of hunger,” Curtin told The Informer. “We’re using food not just to strengthen bodies, but to empower minds and build communities.”
The Culinary Job Training Program is another DCCK initiative, offering hands-on culinary education, career readiness training, and real-world internships for adults who have faced significant employment barriers.
The program also supports young adults ages 18-24 who are not in school or working.
Trainees earn industry-recognized credentials, including the ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification, setting them on a path toward stable employment in food service. Through donor contributions, all students receive full scholarships, including two years of post-graduation support at no cost.
The graduation ceremony highlighted several students for their grit and growth, honoring DCCK MVPs, grade point average (GPA) leaders, and all-around achievers, with families of all ages filling the room to bear witness to the graduates’ resilience and excellence.
“These are folks, like all of us, who would prefer not to be defined by trauma or prevented from becoming the people we want to be,” said Curtin. “They talked about giving up… but they didn’t, not just for themselves, but so that their new family members — as they called each other — did not quit too.”
Chasing a Taste for Greatness: ‘We Made It to the End’
During the graduation, Joseph Tolbert shared his journey from incarceration to transformation.
After serving time, Tolbert enrolled in the program through Hope Village.
“Having a felony on your back was like a curse,” he admitted.
With determination and support, he transitioned from student to staff — working in school kitchens and eventually catching the attention of a representative from Hilton Hotels and Resorts.
Despite his doubts, Tolbert applied.
“I’m used to being turned down,” he said. “I went through the process scared.”
Having been hired as a banquet houseman in 2016, Tolbert commended the hotel company for seeing his potential beyond his record..
“You may not be a chef, you may not be a cook — but you take the job and find your career.”
Hilton’s connection to D.C. Central Kitchen runs deep.
As keynote speaker, Zielke, a new DCCK board member, shared how the Hilton Global Foundation has now sponsored two graduating classes.
“Our mission to spread the light and warmth of hospitality aligns with theirs,” Zielke told The Informer.
Jennifer Mull, a mother of two and Class 174 MVP — having earned the highest GPA among her peers — knows a lot about transformation and she now works to inspire others.
Mull, an ex-convict, used her time in the program to create the “Empowered Mothers” group, an accountability group. There were eight mothers in her cohort and they decided to group together and push each other to finish strong. The purpose of the support group was to make sure the mothers showed up, were wearing appropriate attire, and everything was done on time.
“We didn’t like the term ‘single mothers’ … it felt like a struggle. So we changed it to ‘empowered mothers,’” Mull said, noting how the support group blossomed into something far greater — a successful sisterhood. “The other classes had people who dropped out. Class 174, we all made it. Nobody dropped. All the moms made it.”
As Mull smiled and thanked her peers, the message was clear: hope is a powerful ingredient — and at D.C. Central Kitchen, it’s served every day.
Now, she plans to pass on the valuable lessons that she’s gained to her children.
“The lesson that I hope to send to my kids is to always keep trying,” she told The Informer. “Don’t give up because you got turned down or a door closed one way, another door will open up soon.”