SoDel Concepts congratulates cook apprenticeship graduates

Four SoDel Concepts employees, Erick Rawding, Kevin Ortiz, David Inman and Owen Crass, recently received diplomas from the Cook Apprenticeship Program, the state’s first registered apprenticeship program for culinary professionals.

The program features on-the-job training in a restaurant setting and access to nationally recognized credentials from the restaurant industry and the U.S. Department of Labor. It includes front-of-house and back-of-house knowledge, hard culinary skill sets, and food safety and sanitation knowledge. Apprentices achieve pay increases when they complete measurable skills.

All the graduates are employed at SoDel Concepts’ restaurants along the Delaware coast. Rawding works at Crust & Craft, and Inman is at Bluecoast Seafood Grill + Raw Bar. Both restaurants are on Route 1 in Rehoboth Beach. Ortiz cooks at NorthEast Seafood Kitchen in Ocean View, and Crass is at Papa Grande’s Coastal Taqueria in Fenwick Island.

“I was thrilled to watch the chefs graduate after all their hard work,” said Ronnie Burkle, a corporate chef for SoDel Concepts. “Overseeing the program at our company was one of the best parts of my job. They have really bright futures ahead of them and have put themselves in a position to keep growing with the company.”

The program is a collaboration between the Delaware Restaurant Association and the Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Employment and Training.

“I am so proud of our graduates, mentors and everyone involved - this pilot was such a success and SoDel Concepts was honored to launch the program,” said Scott Kammerer, president of SoDel Concepts.

By 2022, SoDel Concepts will have 14 restaurants, including two brewpubs.

To learn more, go to sodelconcepts.com.