Work Options - Denver, Colorado

Eric B.

I attended the Culinary Work Options program and found it interesting and informative. The introduction to the Culinary, cooking, food prep industry was exactly what I was looking for. Currently I'm working in the industry making decent money. It's a part time position but the hours work well for my needs at this time.
The staff from the classes to the kitchen are refreshingly pleasant. The case management staff take the time to help manage issues of concern both on a academic and personal level.
The knowledge that is taught is relivent, current and exactly what is utilized in the industry.
My thanks to the Work Options Program...

Samuel M.

Work options is a back-to-work programme specializing in cooking skills.

I was a student there.

There is free lunch each day. However, the cost of a free lunch is to listen to someone talk for seven or so hours from 8:00 to 3:30.

In my opinion, most of the lectures were not useful.

In the first three weeks, we did not get to learn how to cook the lunch that we ate.

We got to chop up some melon on one day and lettuce greens on a different day.

There is at most 15 minutes per day of hand-on cooking practice for students, but students are there for 7 hours.

I quit during week three. On my last day at work options, all of the students in my group were allowed to chop up cantaloupe melons for 10 minutes, but the other 6 or more hours of the day were a waste of time.

If it were up to me, the rules would be that students would not listen with their ears unless the instructor also provided food or equipment for the student eyes to see. "I need you to not just listen; but watch me" is not somthing anyone said, but it should put a burden on the teacher to provide a visual aid, such as a food ingredient or piece of kitchen equipment. That might reduce of the amount of audio-only education.

Maybe after a "listen and watch" session the senior chefs and instructions should not be allowed to touch anything.

While students are practicing, the chef should tell the students what to do, but it should be the students hands doing the work.

The chef or senor student should physically keep their hands off, but use words to tell the new student what to do. I suppose that instructors could intervene if someone was about to hurt themselves or break somthing. However, when the students put butter and flour in a pan with their own hands, the student might retain what they learned better than by watching only with their eyes.

When I was a student at work options, we students almost never physically touched the ingredients, pots, pans, knives, or kitchen equipment.

On our second or third day at Work Options we practiced knife skills for 15 minutes, but that was temporary and then we returned to the listening-only style of learning.

There is no "try-it-yourself" aspect to the Work Options cooking school. The first three weeks are a lot of standing or sitting while listening to different people talk.

One day they let me chop up three or four bell peppers, but - again - chopping up bell peppers required only 10 or 15 minutes of time.

Each day students get 10 or 15 minutes to practice somthing, and the rest of the day is nothing but talking and hands-off.

Students only learn how to make food or do things around a commercial kitchen from the Work Options cooking school by listening to words without using their hands.

My group was not shown in the first 3 weeks how to cook the food that we were allowed to eat at lunch time. I wish I had chopped the potatoes myself, mixed them with herbs myself, put them in the oven, etc... How about, you be the decision maker while I be the hands?

The cost of a free lunch is to listen to someone talk for seven or so hours. We never prepared the lunch that we ate, except for fruit or chopped lettuce greens.

I was hoping that each lesson would be at most five minutes of listening to an instructor talking. After hearing the instructions, we would go and do somthing. In the future, I hope that the instructions on what to do, and how to do it, are very short. Then student can go do what they were told about. They can do it slowly, with supervision, because many of them are practicing for the first time.

Please, show me how to dice a tomato, ask me to go dice one, and then I will go and dice a tomato; but don't talk about it all day with no actual tomatoes in the students hands.

There is too much talk going on and not enough doing.

JoAnn S.

This is an amazing opportunity for anyone who is looking for a step into the culinary arts. I really got alot out of this program! Chef Carrie Chef Thomasina are very patient and kind. Melissa in the food court always made sure the ship was tight. Karen Jan and the administration team really want to see you succeed.
I graduated April 2018 and they had a wonderful ceremony. I recommend this course 100

Rosa B.

This is an amazing program! They have helped me gain skills and certificates to become employable in the culinary arts and they have helped me overcome roadblocks in my life that were preventing me from moving forward. The guidance, encouragement and support that this program offers is unlimited and I am so grateful to everyone that works here for helping me achieve my goals towards a better future for my family and for myself!

Katina Y.

New Hen Cafe is outstanding

Simon D.

Tina and Brittney are great I like work options

Harley N.

I love it so engaging and very helpful

Tawnya M.

The best thing I ever done!