Overview
The hospitality and culinary industry is one of Colorado’s largest employers, yet many young people never see it as a real career path. Students rarely get hands-on exposure to professional kitchens, food careers, or the people who work in them.
To change that, Upskilling U launched Next Gen Kitchen (Cocina Next Gen), a free, bilingual culinary workshop series where parents and teens cook, learn, and grow together. The program is hosted and sponsored by Thr National Western Center and CSU Spur in Denver, with culinary partner The Echelon Chef among many other volunteer chefs.
The Challenge
Youth career exploration in culinary arts faces two common hurdles:
1. Limited Hands-On Access: Most students learn about careers from a classroom, not a working kitchen with real equipment and real chefs.
2. Missing Career Connections: Students and families often don’t see how cooking skills connect to jobs, training programs, and long-term careers.
The goal was to create a fun, practical program that builds kitchen skills, confidence, and a clear picture of culinary career pathways.
The Solution & Strategy
Next Gen Kitchen is built around three core pillars:
Families Cook Together: Parents and students work side by side at hands-on stations, building kitchen skills, healthy eating habits, and meal ideas they can use at home. Industry Chefs: Professional partners, including The Echelon Chef and A Cake Occasion, lead sessions and show what a culinary career really looks like.
Bilingual & Community-Centered: Every workshop runs in English and Spanish, with outreach through Denver Public Schools to reach families who might not otherwise have access.
The Results & Impact
Next Gen Kitchen is building momentum with students, families, and partners:
A Growing Season of Workshops: Next Gen Kitchen has run four workshops since June 2026, from family cooking and nutrition to a Halloween cookie decorating class and a weekday culinary workshop for Denver Public Schools families.
High Demand: The October cookie workshop filled right away, with families placed on a waiting list. The DPS culinary workshop registered 14 families.
Strong Community Partnerships: The program has built collaborative support with CSU Spur, the National Western Center, Denver Public Schools, and Regis University. A Pan de Muerto workshop (Nov 1) and a Multicultural Holiday Dinner for 15 families (Dec 17) are next.
Looking Ahead
Next Gen Kitchen shows that career exploration works best when young people can see, touch, and taste what a career looks like.
Upskilling U is building on this program with a culinary pre-apprentice pathway, so students who discover a passion in the kitchen have a clear next step toward a culinary careers.
