A little less than two years ago, Sandra, age 47, made the difficult decision to uproot her family and leave her life in Cartagena, Colombia behind. In Cartagena, she owned a restaurant, clothing store, and also sold kitchenware. “But when you have your life together,” Sandra explained, “People would take advantage. Guerilla groups took all the money from my businesses. When they asked for more and I didn’t have any, I said I would report them to the police. When they found out I had made a police report, they threatened my life and my family.”
Sandra eventually made it to New York seeking asylum, in hopes of new opportunities and ways to support her family. At first she lived with other new immigrants in temporary housing, but was shortly moved to a city shelter in the Bronx. She lives there now with her husband and 19 year-old son, while her remaining family members are in a combination of shelters and a rental room nearby.
Sandra learned about Hot Bread Kitchen while getting her work permit. “I saw they offered English and cooking classes and I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Sandra shared. She began Hot Bread Kitchen’s newly launched Culinary Career Pathways for New New Yorkers program in April and excelled in the training. Her favorite show in Colombia was MasterChef and she aspired to have that life.
“Cooking has been my life since I was little. Cooking is passion, innovation. I always love making different dishes. This kitchen isn’t MasterChef in Colombia, but it gives me great inspiration. This is a dream come true. I love cooking and want to share my cooking with the world.”
Sandra learned so much each day in “Caminos Culinaros Para Nuevos Neoyorquinos,” or the New New Yorkers program. “I have learned a lot of things in the kitchen, there is always something new to learn. I’ve learned a lot about safety and the proper ways to do things in a work environment. I’ve learned how to work with my coworkers- caring for my coworkers and making sure we have no accidents. It’s been so wonderful to learn English, to have that base in the kitchen.” She sees lots of opportunities in the restaurant industry here in New York.
Her goal in her new country? To open up her own restaurant. She had a successful restaurant in Cartagena that featured typical Colombian food. “I have a lot of experience with food from my country,” Sandra shared. “Where I lived in Colombia was a place that a lot of tourists from other countries visited and they used to ask me to make them typical Colombian food. They always loved my food and if they liked my food there, I think they would like it here as well.”
New New Yorkers is a customized culinary training program for newly arrived New Yorkers to prepare for work in NYC’s food industry.
