What We Do

At Food Hero, we empower individuals and communities through food, tradition, and innovation. Our mission is to cultivate the next generation of culinary professionals, entrepreneurs, and health-focused food leadersespecially those from historically marginalized communities. We honor and preserve traditional cultural cuisines while reimagining them for today's modren, health-conscious table.

Through our agile and bilingual model, we provide accessible, high-quality training and support that reflects the evolving needs of both learners and employers. By integrating education, entrepreneurship, employment, and wellness, we help build a more inclusive, sustainable, and thriving local food ecosystem.

Why Food He.ro

Food Hero is designed to serve the community by the community. In Chicago, Latinos make up a great majority of the food service industry. However, there isn’t a space in the Southside that offers and promotes upward mobility in the food community. That is where we come in.

• We are the only culinary school in the Little Village and Pilsen area which makes us accessible for residents in the area or its surrounding neighborhoods.
• Our bilingual programs are designed to empower our students by enriching them with a second language – whether that be English or Spanish – which they can leverage to compete in the workforce.
• Our educational approach goes beyond the traditional classroom setting. In collaboration with chefs, community partners, employers, and funders our programs are developed based on our participants needs. We ensure that our approach and resources serve as a pathway to progress for our participants.

What Food Hero offers is key to building that confidence participants need to find their voice whether it be to step foot in a culinary career with livable wage or starting a food business.

Our Programs

Food Hero Education programs are designed for adult students who intend to pursue a career in the foodservice industry. With a multitude of flexible course choices, students have the opportunity to choose from a variety of pathways that suit their lifestyle and career goals. Hands-on and online instruction includes food safety and sanitation, food costs and operations, employability skills, presentation and service, and familiarity or mastery of a wide variety of techniques and cuisines. Online resources and continuous learning opportunities will also be available out of class to supplement knowledge and skill. Various technological tools will be taught throughout so that students may become more efficient in the kitchen, build their career portfolios, and be able to adapt to current and future market trends.

• • Culinary Career Pathways
• • Culinary Foundations
• • Chef Level 1
• • Chef Level 2
• • Baking Level 1
• • Baking Pastry Level 2
• • Consumer Packaged Goods
• • Culinary Medicine

Accreditations

• • American Culinary Federation

Certifications Available

• • Food Handlers Certification, National Restaurant Association
• • Rouxbe Certificate of Completion
• • Food Service Sanitation Manager, National Restaurant Association
• • Certified Chicago Food Service Manager, Health Department of Chicago
• • Allergen, National Restaurant Association
• • BASSET License/ ServSafe Alcohol, National Restaurant Association
• • Certified Fundamentals Cook, American Culinary Federation
• • Certified Restaurant Professional, ServSuccess - National Restaurant Association
• • Certified Guest Service Professional, American Hotel and Lodging Association
• • START Certified Kitchen Cook (CKC), American Hotel and Lodging Association
• • FoodHe.ro Certificate of Completion