Catering program helps mental health patients pursue culinary dreams

    SAN FRANCISCO, California (KPIX) -- A catering company in San Francisco offers a second chance for patients and people who have been treated for mental illness.

After months of hard work learning all it takes to work in a restaurant kitchen, Humble Smith Francois was one of four graduating from Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital's Slice of Life Catering Program.

"I'm excited about it. I feel accomplished. I feel like I can move forward confidently having obtained everything I need to move forward successfully," Smith Francois said.

Humble moved to San Francisco from New Orleans last year.

They say they felt at the time like they just needed a change of scenery from their hometown but when they arrived here, the transition was tough.

"I was homeless. I ended up at a women's shelter here locally and getting better and finding myself in therapy," Smith Francois said.

Humble says it was during that therapy that they were introduced to the Slice of Life program.

"My passion has always been to just cook and serve and so when the opportunity arose I just could not see myself getting the proper training that I know that I need so that I can live out my dreams," Smith Francois said.

So for the past six months, Humble has been learning all they can through the paid internship program from food safety, to technique, to presentation.

"From learning the different temperatures of boiling water to learning the different internal temperatures for baking bread to just being more in-depth when it comes to my safety and keeping food handling safe," Smith Francois said.

Now Humble is officially a graduate.

Their last meal for the program cooked at Friday's graduation ceremony was a creamy seafood pasta.

"It's perfectly sauced through every noodle. The Salmon has sauce on it but it's also on the side," Smith Francois said.

With their certificate in hand, Humble says their goal now is to get a job at a restaurant or café while also attending culinary school to become a fully trained chef.

"And I'm going to take all the experience and to just be the greatest chef that I can be," Smith Francois said.

Humble said with all they've learned in this program, they feel confident that dreams will come true.

"It's possible. All I have to do is stay focused," Smith Francois said.