March 22, 2017
edition
CAREERS special
Mississippi
Alberta
North Portland
Page 11
Vancouver
East County
Beaverton
Po’Shines founder E.D. Mondainé and his nonprofit Teach Me to Fish organization have launched a kick starter campaign to open a culinary school at 501 N.E. Alberta St.
Cooking Up Culinary Careers
Teach Me to Fish eyes
Alberta Street expansion
C hrista M C i ntyre
t he p ortland o bserver
E.D. Mondainé and his Teach Me to Fish nonprofit or-
ganization are cooking up a new venture following the
success of his Po’Shines Café De La Soul restaurants in
Portland, a catering clinic and culinary school which will
offer on-the-job training with investments back into the
community.
Since 1988, the senior pastor at Celebration Tabernacle,
a multiracial and multiethnic non-denominational congre-
gation in the Kenton Neighborhood of north Portland, has
been on a mission to create businesses and cultural insti-
tutions which foster employment skills and financial inde-
pendence in the black community.
Teach Me to Fish is at the heart of those operations as an
outreach program that gives at risk youth and adults train-
ing in job and life skills, empowering the underserved with
by
guided training in the workplace, life and culinary arts.
The name comes from the old saying: “Give a man to
fish, and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish, and
you feed him for a lifetime.”
Starting with a coffee shop, which grew to a chain of
soul food cafes in St. Johns, Kenton and the Moda Center,
Po’Shines Catering Clinic and Culinary School will be the
biggest project yet that Mondainé has on the table.
The plans envision one class of 10-15 people for each
graduation.
“My hope is to have a broad demographic, it’s kind of
fairytale thinking, but I’d like to see a group as diverse as
ages 18 to 60. That makes up an entire family. It makes up
an entire village,” Mondainé told the Portland Observer.
As part of the planned 18 month curriculum, the stu-
dents would develop an aggressive business plan while
learning culinary skills. They’ll be taught professional
skills such as business projection, business planning, mar-
keting and research. Three students would be chosen by
lottery to start, operate and own their own eating establish-
ments, with five percent of the revenues being reinvested
back into the culinary school to benefit future students.
The overall goal would be to place all of the graduates
in competitive jobs in the hospitality industry.
“When you graduate from our school, you’re top draw-
er. Our curriculum is one of the toughest, I’ve ever seen,”
Mondainé said.
He said Chef Bruce McFarlane of the famed Wellington
Academy flew from England to help Po’Shines develop
the course of study.
Teach Me to Fish has secured a space for the catering
clinic and culinary school kitchen in a building owned by
Central City Concern at 501 N.E. Alberta St. The space
came with some restaurant equipment.
Mondainé also is excited to see the catering clinic and
culinary school as an avenue to bring black culture back to
the heavily gentrified Alberta neighborhood.
A kick starter campaign is underway to raise the nec-
essary donations for the venture to get off the ground this
spring. You can help and learn more by going to a Go
Fund Me account that is linked to the Po’Shines website
at poshines.com.