BALTIMORE — A meal at Pigtown's newly-reopened Groundwork Kitchen isn't just a meal - it's also helping to train the next generation of restaurant workers and give back to the community.
Groundwork Kitchen, on Washington Boulevard at South Poppleton Street, is now open for carryout and will open for dine-in service in February. As the social-enterprise arm of nearby Paul's Placesoup kitchen/community resource center, it's not just a restaurant but also a culinary training program that offers hands-on experience for residents interested in the restaurant industry.
"Every time we get someone into our restaurant, it helps fuel our culinary training program," explained executive chef Jonathan Hicks, who's part of the new management team along with general manager Melanie Molinaro.
Hicks, known as "The Uneek Chef," has worked at several upscale restaurants, including Birroteca and Cosima in the Hampden area. He also worked at The Local in Fallston, Harford County, with a manager "who's doing amazing things up there," before Molinaro invited him back to Baltimore for Groundwork Kitchen.
He said:
"Me and Mel, I would say are just extremely passionate about food. We love our craft, so we're going to bring an elevated dining experience to the Pigtown area but it's not going to be so elevated and out of reach that the local community can't come in and enjoy it as well. We wanted to do comfort food and things that you can identify very well, but we wanted to elevate and do them with a twist in ways you may not have seen or may not have had at home."
He also appreciates the chance to showcase the next group of restaurant workers - "people who may not have had a chance to shine or may not have gotten an opportunity."
Groundwork Kitchen offers a 12-week culinary program, open to anyone 18 and older, with classes capped at about 20 students.
"We cram a lot of knowledge at you in 12 weeks, but you walk out of here ready to go into kitchens at the entry positions, prep cook. Some of them come out ready to be line cooks. But they come out with certifications and general restaurant experience, because they integrate through the restaurant here with us"
"We give these students opportunities to not only grow in the kitchen industry but to actually get real experience before you walk out the doors... Our motto is, we cook meals with meaning. We cook from the heart. we pour ourselves into every dish... Every time you enjoy one of those dishes, you're making it possible for the next student to come through."
Hicks also explained that Groundwork Kitchen exists "because of the work of Paul's Place. Paul's Place has been taking care of the Pigtown area for a long time now and we are basically their social enterprise extension, so we exist because of the work at Paul's Place. Everything that goes on here goes to just keep all the programs going on between Paul's Place and Groundwork Kitchen well-funded and moving... Everything we do here goes right back into the community we serve."
