Ex-Cons Unemployed, Until This 5-Star Chef Stepped In

Patrons savor the 5-Star French cuisine at EDWINS, one of Cleveland’s finest eateries.  But it’s what goes on behind the scenes that is even more remarkable.

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Nearly the entire staff have been previously incarcerated. But that’s exactly what Head Chef Brandon Chrostowski was hoping for.

EDWINS

Chrostowski founded  EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute specifically as a culinary arts training program for ex-cons and offenders.

We have a community of individuals coming out of prison who don’t get a fair and equal opportunity because of their past. We give them experience in the culinary arts. They get the fundamentals, but also a perspective on the business – which means they’re employable. It worked in my life, it works in others’.

EDWINS

Students enroll in the EDWINS culinary institute for six months, where they train for 40 to 50 hours a week. They learn the essentials of high-end cuisine, from culinary math to wine selection, and then are able to apply their new skills by working in the restaurant.

Depending on their situation and dependency issues, Brandon helps find them sponsors, housing, and gives them a $300 stipend as part of the free culinary course.

“It’s about building a vessel to take someone from not having a skill to having the right ones,”Chrostowski said. “If you give someone a fair chance, and some mentorship, they can forge a way for themselves and turn the stars around.â€

EDWINS

Chrostowski knows what it is like to be given a second chance.

I was a reckless teenager, and one night, I was arrested and thrown in jail. Fortunately, I had a judge who gave me a break instead of 10 years in prison. While I was on probation, I met a chef who mentored me. Once I was in that kitchen, I knew that’s where I belonged for the rest of my life. CNN

Now he’s paying it forward to dozens of others.

In the last two years, more than 130 students have graduated from his course. Not only is EDWINS making a huge difference in the lives of these people, it’s giving them skills and an earning potential they’d never have otherwise.

EDWINS

One man’s passion has given people in need the chance to ‘change their stars’. How can you make a difference in someone’s life today?

Share and spread some perspective.