Chefs Center of California

Chefs Center of California is a licensed, commercial food preparation and education center located in Pasadena, California that is designed to help small business entrepreneurs start new food-based businesses and accelerate the growth and success of existing enterprises. It is an economic development program of the Episcopal Housing Alliance and Economic Development that was established by the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles in partnership with Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation, which was established by Dr. Henry Nicholas, co-founder and former Co-Chairman, President and CEO of Broadcom Corporation. The partnership promotes affordable housing and community development and entrepreneurship in Southern California. Chefs Center is affiliated with Mama’s Hot Tamales Café, another project of the partnership between the Episcopal Diocese and the Nicholas Foundation, located in the MacArthur Park neighborhood of Central Los Angeles.
Background
Chefs Center was conceived in 2007 by Joe Colletti, PhD., Executive Director of the Episcopal Housing Alliance and Economic Development, under the direction of J. Jon Bruno, the Episcopal Diocesan Bishop of Los Angeles. The Center opened in May 2009 as Mama’s Small Business Kitchen Incubator with $2.6 million in funding which included a $425,000 forgivable loan from the City of Pasadena Community Development Commission toward the $1.8 million purchase of a former restaurant site; $100,000 from the Schow Foundation for interior renovation; and a $50,000 grant from the Pasadena Community Foundation to equip the facility as well as other private donations. Due to the economic recession, the facility initially struggled financially. Renamed Chefs Center of California in September, 2010, the project received critical support from the Henry T. Nicholas, III Foundation, which invested $1,350,000 in the project. Also, the Schow Foundation continues to support the Center.
Food preparation areas
The food preparation areas consists of 2,000 square feet of shared commercial kitchen space for rent with equipment that includes six-burner ranges, convection ovens, deep fryers, rotisserie oven, gas grills, convection steamers, reach-in refrigerators and freezer, a walk-in refrigerator and freezer, and dining tables and chairs. Users pay $20 to $25 an hour to work out of the facility, which is based on a sliding scale determined by the number of hours of usage and financial need.
The Center now has more than 100 entrepreneurs using the facility annually including event caterers, specialty food companies that supply supermarkets, start-up restaurants and bakeries, on-line businesses, mobile eateries, and Farmers Market and street vendors.
Educational center
Another centerpiece of the Center program is an academic curriculum designed to equip participants with entrepreneurial skills to be successful in the marketplace. In conjunction with the Pacific Asian Consortium on Employment (PACE), a Southern California community development corporation, the Center offers courses coordinated by Chefs Center staff. Called “Entrepreneurial Keys to Success” the curriculum includes the following classes:
* Introduction to a Business Plan: Defining Mission and Setting Goals
* Market Analysis: Customers, Competition and Industry
* Marketing: Product/Price/Place/Promotion
* Budgeting and Cash Management including Cash Flow Projections and Break-Even Analysis
* Access to Capital.
Chefs Center staff
The Center’s General Manager is Larry Bressler, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY), with a B.S. in Hotel and Restaurant management from Florida International University. Bressler has more than 30 years experience in the food industry and currently teaches at the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. Another Chefs Center Instructor is Farid Zadi, who earned his culinary degrees in Paris and is on the board of Slow Food Pan-Arab, a division of Slow Food International.
Location
Chefs Center of California is located at [http://maps.google.com/maps?fq&sources_q&hlen&geocode&q=45+N.+San+Gabriel+Boulevard,+Pasadena,+CA+91107&sll33.745573,-117.867834&sspn0.211253,0.44323&ieUTF8&hq&hnear=45+N+San+Gabriel+Blvd,+Pasadena,+Los+Angeles,+California+91107&z=17\ 45 N. San Gabriel Blvd., Pasadena, CA].

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