Verite News: ‘Yes, chef’ — How New Orleans is preparing its youth for success in its hospitality industry

Last year, Brianna Blunt was hired at Cochon, an upscale Cajun restaurant in New Orleans. As a prep cook, she spent hours each day prepping ingredients for a range of Louisiana delicacies they might offer on a given day: catfish, crawfish, gator, rabbit, gumbo, oysters and all types of pork. 

She worked alongside seasoned cooks, some with decades of experience in culinary arts around the world. It was nerve wracking. After all, she had only graduated high school two weeks prior. Her coworkers were initially skeptical of this teenager tasked with keeping up in the James Beard-nominated restaurant.  Read More