Today, Rachel Lansang-Hidalgo whips up crème brulée cookies at the gourmet bakery Ruby et Violette in Hell’s Kitchen. But when she enrolled at Park West High School more than a decade ago, she didn’t exactly envision becoming a professional pastry chef. And she might not have, if not for the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, a nonprofit that helps improve food education in high schools and provides gifted students with mentors, workshops and scholarships.
“One of my teachers told me about the program, and it sort of dawned on me that I could do this for a living,” says Hidalgo, 28.
Cookbook author and educator Richard Grausman founded C-CAP in 1990 after giving a lecture at a city high school.
“I saw teachers having to buy their own flour and kids with D’s and F’s and no future,” he says. “I wanted to improve culinary education, but also provide students with entry-level job skills.”
Since then C-CAP has opened seven offices nationwide, donated more than $2 million in cooking supplies to classrooms and awarded $28 million in scholarships.
As part of their training, students learn kitchen skills and shadow established chefs. With his cooking-world contacts, Grausman has lured top talents to become C-CAP mentors, including Thomas Keller of Per Se and Aquavit’s Marcus Samuelsson.
“I got to get into the kitchen at Aureole and go with Charlie Palmer to the fish market at 5 a.m.,” recalls Hidalgo. “You can’t get an opportunity like that any other way.”
When their training’s done, students compete for scholarships “Top Chef”-style, preparing dishes for a panel of judges. Hidalgo wowed the pros and landed a full ride to the Culinary Institute of America.
“I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for [C-CAP],” she says.
C-CAP changed Hidalgo’s life in more ways than one: She met her husband, Angel, in the program.
Now Rachel whips up decadent desserts and Angel works the line at Laurent Tourondel’s BLT Prime. The couple have teamed up on at least one project — their twin 8-month-old girls.