SANFORD  |  Upon entering Pathways to New Hope’s commercial kitchen, the smell of sirloin steak and mushroom sauce, asparagus rolled in prosciutto, rosemary potatoes, and lemon garlic shrimp filled the air.

The vanilla mousse dessert adorned with raspberries and blueberries, and the mozzarella/tomato salad were almost ready. This was the graduation day menu for six adults reaching the culmination of the five-week Culinary Readiness and Formation Training — CRAFT — program. On Aug. 5, 2026, the class served a meal for 75, who included Seminole State College and Catholic Charities of Central Florida staff, Pathways residents, and special guests.

Pathways to New Hope is an affordable, transitional housing program offered through Catholic Charities of Central Florida. Joshua Weidenhamer, Pathways’ program director, said Pathways is developing a long-term vision for the commercial kitchen thanks to a Catholic Charities USA-funded grant.

“The goal is to create a sustainable social enterprise that provides catering services while serving as a workforce development program focused on culinary arts,” he said.

With added assistance of a Truist Foundation grant, Weidenhamer created the CRAFT 5-week program, then worked with Chef Matthew Thompson to fine tune it. Thompson teaches the Seminole State College Commits Culinary 1 and 2 courses at Pathways. CRAFT is an independent follow-up to those courses. Where the culinary courses offered ServSafe certificates, the CRAFT program offers “more advanced culinary techniques and on-the-job training,” including hospitality management.

“(CRAFT classes) require the entire team to be engaged in the kitchen. And we’ve been preparing 50 to 75 meals a day to really give them that hands on, hustle and bustle experience of a kitchen and working together,” Weidenhamer said. “We’re also focusing on durable skills or what some people might call soft skills. Those are things like professionalism, resume building, interview skills, working on communication with your employer and your team, and most specifically, self-empowerment, which is trying to give people hope towards the future, dealing with their day-to-day negative emotions that might come their way, and how to overcome those challenges.”

Some of those attending CRAFT classes are residents of Pathways to New Hope, but most are not. CRAFT is a pilot program open to Seminole County residents and so far, Weidenhamer called it a success and students agreed.

Caroline Wachtel is a local who said the course attracted her because she likes serving others. An active community resident, she serves at a shelter, but she’s never cooked. She said the experience of serving residents of Pathways to Care, a Catholic Charities recovery facility for the homeless, “opened (her) eyes to how much we need to care for others in a different level. I’m grateful to be here, to be able to serve.” She said hearing people compliment the cooking is particularly gratifying. “It actually brought joy to us and that kept us coming more.”

After 10 years as a maintenance technician, Robbie Harrison wanted a positive change. The job was getting stale and he wasn’t happy. So he went back to school, got his diploma, and began attending culinary classes at Pathways. He discovered he was a good cook.

“There are certain things I haven’t tried (to cook), but I’m not afraid to try it. This has given me peace of mind,” said Harrison, who now works as a manager at a local fast-food restaurant handling a multi-million-dollar store. “It’s also given me a chance to model positivity. It’s changed my whole world, my whole mental capacity. It’s developed a bigger sense of security.”

Harrison said the classes have assisted him in better managing the kitchen at the restaurant. From keeping track of produce and food stock to customer care, and employee relations, he said every aspect has improved. He said you must model the behavior you expect from employees and others.

“I’ve even changed the way I eat at my house, even all the way to the way I dress every day now. So, it’s helped me out a lot at my job,” Harrison said, adding CRAFT classes has improved his knowledge. “I’m so much smarter because of this course. It’s opened up so many doors and so much opportunity for me.”

Thompson, a former Teacher of the Year, said he finds teaching very rewarding, and he was eager to lead the CRAFT class during the final weeks of summer. “I just love teaching. I like making an impact on people,” he said.

Contributing the success of the program to the relationships he builds with the students, he also shared, “They all chose to come here because they see the end goal, which is getting more employable skills, being able to get another certification through this program that shows the next level up with the catering.”

For Weidenhamer, the participation of Chef Thompson has “been a great asset in consulting on the culinary side…” He said it helped him “solidify what will become the future of the CRAFT program” and working with him helps Weidenhamer as he develops the more self-empowerment, professional side of things.

Weidenhamer now looks to the future, identifying ways the kitchen might support diocesan events, Catholic Charities’ needs and beyond. The second term will start in January 2027.

“I’d like to see the kitchen here at Pathways to New Hope become its own catering operation,” said Weidenhamer. “It would be a social enterprise that would subsidize the cost of the residents here at Pathways to New Hope and the overall program operation, and it would also be a steppingstone for all of my graduates to work and be employed.”

By Glenda Meekins of the Florida Catholic staff, August 14, 2026