Chef Chad Houser and intern Adolph Martin

SECOND HELPINGS

How top Dallas chefs are cooking up opportunities for young men who need some

by ALEXIS WULF

Three years in the making, chef Chad Houser’s pipe dream is finally a reality. After more than 35 pop-up events at some of Dallas’ favorite restaurants, his unconventional eatery, CAFÉ MOMENTUM, is finally taking up full-time residence in downtown’s Thanks-Giving Square. The nonprofit culinary-training foundation for juvenile offenders, conceived by Houser and chef Janice Provost of Parigi, is set to open its permanent restaurant space in January. The location at 1510 Pacific Avenue, chosen for many reasons — one being its proximity to public transport — includes seating for 85, banquet and catering services, and a classroom to further the education of the Café Momentum interns from the Dallas County Youth Village. Seasoned chefs Eric Shelton and Justin Box have signed on as the chef de cuisine and sous chef, respectively, to assist with the restaurant and catering as well as mentoring services.

Café Momentum is a training ground for young men who have committed nonviolent crimes to learn not only the basics of the food industry but essential skills to foster succeeding in life. The classroom space, which was a deciding factor for the location, will be used to teach the interns courses in anger management, parenting, financial literacy and more. The development plans don’t stop there: The Crystal Charity Ball will be giving a sizable donation in March for expanding Café Momentum’s programming to include the Letot Girls’ Center. Café Momentum says its interns are about four times less likely to repeat delinquencies, compared with offenders across the state. (And it says that lower recidivism rate saves Dallas County taxpayers $7 million.) Food for thought. Information cafemomentum.org

Share.