Four SoDel Concepts employees graduate from apprenticeship program

Erick Rawding, Kevin Ortiz, David Inman and Owen Crass are recent graduates of the Cook Apprenticeship Program, the state’s first registered apprenticeship program for culinary professionals. The program is a collaboration between the Delaware Restaurant Association and the Delaware Department of Labor’s Division of Employment & Training.

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 USDOL. 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 located on Route 1 near Rehoboth Beach. Ortiz cooks at NorthEast Seafood Kitchen in Ocean View, and Crass is at Papa Grande’s Coastal Taqueria near 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 & 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.