Cathedral Kitchen, in Camden, Releases a New Crop of Culinary Graduates
By Steve Tawa
CAMDEN, N.J. (CBS) -- A nonprofit organization in Camden, NJ, is serving up another round of graduates to work in area kitchens, following a 17-week culinary arts training program.
Cathedral Kitchen helps low-income people who are at risk due to a lack of marketable job skills.
One newly minted graduate, Isaac Dean, is opening up Freshkos, at Mt. Ephraim Avenue and Mechanic Street, near Virtua Hospital.
"We're doing paninis, hoagies, wraps, soups, salads -- a lot of stuff I learned here," he says.
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Going back some years, Dean admits to "dabbling in the underworld," and recalls being stopped by a young officer, Scott Thomson, who is now Camden County's chief of police.
"I was a young guy, driving a fancy car (that) I obtained through illegal proceeds," he admits.
Chief Thomson, who attended today's graduation ceremony, and Dean have followed each other's upward mobility.
"We have a long friendship," notes Thomson, "but at one point I was the cat and he was the mouse." Today, he refered to "my good friend, Ike Dean."