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Sean Brekke-Miesner had spent a decade working in kitchens when he noticed application stacks were growing thin. As housing costs soared and workers were being pushed farther from Oakland restaurants, hiring became a problem. He decided he wanted to be part of the solution.
“I was tired of cooking only for people who could afford to eat at the restaurants,” said Brekke-Miesner, a third-generation Oakland resident. ”I wanted to use my skills to help make a difference.”
So the former sous chef — who began his restaurant career as a dishwasher — took his skills to Mandela Partners, a West Oakland nonprofit with a track record of bringing healthy food to communities where liquor stores abound, but affordable produce is hard to find. He now manages Core Kitchen — soon to have the new name of Oak Harvest Kitchen — which was taken over by Mandela Partners a year ago.
At the eatery located in Oakland’s City Center, Brekke-Miesner works side-by-side with a kitchen manager who previously served 17 years at San Quentin State Prison. They hire and train formerly incarcerated people, and others looking to enter the restaurant industry, all about food safety, kitchen skills and customer service while serving up vegan and gluten-free meals. The kitchen serves about 100 customers a day.
“For some people this may be the first job they ever had and simple things may be difficult,” Brekke-Miesner said.
That’s true about Jasmine Butler, a 19-year-old Oakland resident who had little kitchen experience beyond slicing potatoes in her grandmother’s kitchen. Unlike some of her co-workers, Butler was not incarcerated but is an example of the program’s mission to train people without much of a work background. She was referred to Core Kitchen by her older brother.
For Butler, even interacting with customers was a challenge at first, but she said for the first time she feels like she is working with friends, and not just colleagues. In her first six months, Butler has worked as a cashier, in food prep and at catering events. She laughed about learning how to crack open a coconut — something she did at one event about a “thousand” times, or so it felt.
“I’ve learned how to manage myself better, not to get overwhelmed,” said Butler, who grew up in Stockton. “I’ve learned a lot about patience.”
Mandela Partners has received funding this year from Share the Spirit, an annual holiday campaign that serves disadvantaged residents in the East Bay. Donations helped support 49 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The grant will be used help kick off a grand re-opening event and a new name — Oak Harvest Kitchen — to promote an expanded menu and highlight the eatery’s reentry training program.
The agency also operates produce stands and partners with family farmers and corner stores to provide healthy food options.
Brekke-Miesner he added he’s already sent trainees to work at Ashland Market & Cafe, which Mandela Partners operates in unincorporated area between San Leandro and Hayward.
Butler’s dream is to make it as a singer or an entertainer, but working as a chef is her backup plan.
“Everyone deserves a chance,” she said of the customers she deals with Monday through Friday at the downtown eatery. “You don’t know what kind of day they are having.”
Share the Spirit
The Share the Spirit holiday campaign, sponsored by the Bay Area News Group, funds nonprofit holiday and outreach programs in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
To make a tax-deductible contribution, clip the coupon accompanying this story or go to www.sharethespiriteastbay.org/donate. Readers with questions, and individuals or businesses interested in making large contributions, may contact the Share the Spirit program at 925-472-5760 or sharethespirit@crisis-center.org.