Community Classroom Kitchen - Community Classroom Project

Community Classroom Kitchen Initiative

Using Kitchen Skills to Teach Culinary Lessons & Lessons for Life

Community Classroom Kitchen (CCK) brings life skills into the kitchen and kitchen skills into life and is tapping into South Florida’s top culinary talent for programming, expertise and collective creativity.

CCK is committed to gathering families and neighbors together around a healthy dinner table, and that starts with training a culinary workforce that is passionate and equipped for health and success. Inspiring young adults to become food entrepreneurs is what we do. By connecting chefs and culinary experts with those who are eager to learn, we are able to co-create the future of the vital industry.

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Restaurant Workforce Competition for Teens & Young Adults.

Earn Your Spot in Our Summer & Fall Culinary Training Programs

Community Classroom Kitchen, together with South Florida’s top chefs, culinary instructors, food entrepreneurs, restaurant groups and influencers, and in partnership with the Palm Beach County School District, has developed a pilot hospitality program to train a workforce of inspired young foodies to find their passion and purpose in the culinary space. CCK is a community-based solution for maximizing business potential through human potential for non-traditional, hands-on learners.

We will be selecting two cohorts of 15 students each for:

Summer Program • June 23rd – August 2nd, 2025

This pilot program is funded by Children’s Services Council and Community Classroom Project’s JP Kline Culinary Arts Scholarship Fund. Merit and need-based scholarships will be awarded.

Saturday, March 8, 2025 • 9am-3pm • Ages 14-18

The Hub at Space of Mind • 101 NW 1st Ave. • Delray Beach, FL 33444

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Culinary Classes

Space of Mind and Community Classroom share a campus in downtown Delray Beach. A portion of the proceeds from select Space of Mind programs & classes support the Community Classroom Project, which is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to reducing stress through creativity.

Cooking Class: Veggie Magic

Jan 9th – Ages 18+

Join us for a hands-on cooking experience where vegetables take center stage!

Family Baking Class: Sweet Treats

Jan 12th – Families

Bring your little bakers for a sweet adventure. This cooking class is for children ages 7 and up, accompanied by a participating adult.

Kids Cooking Class: South of the Border

Jan 14th – Ages 7-12

Junior chefs, get ready to roll up your sleeves and learn how to make restaurant-worthy Mexican food! This class is for children ages 7-12.

Roasted Duck Decadence

Jan 18th – Ages 18+

Join us for a hands-on cooking class that doubles as a decadent culinary experience!

Kids Cooking Class: Italian

Jan 21st – Ages 7-12

Get ready to roll up your sleeves and dive into the delizioso world of Italian cooking in this hands-on class. This class is for ages 7-12.

Vive la France: A Culinary Journey Through Classic French Dishes

Jan 23rd – Ages 18+

Step into the heart of France with this hands-on culinary experience.

Kids Cooking Class: Chinese

Jan 28th – Ages 7-12

Get ready to wok and roll in celebration of the Lunar New Year in this hands-on cooking class. This class is for children ages 7-12.

French Pastries: A Sweet & Savory Adventure

Jan 30th – Ages 18+

Transport yourself to a Parisian pâtisserie in this hands-on class, where you’ll master the art of French pastries.

View Full SOM Calendar

All CCK programming connects participants from varied socio-economic backgrounds, neighborhoods, and cultures, allowing everyone to learn – and be nourished – together.

CCK Programs include:

• Cooking classes, workshops and parties

• Dinners & events

• Full production set for production of food-related media

• Front and back-of-the-house workforce training for teens and young adults

• Lending library for students and chefs

• Commissary and test kitchen for chefs and young food entrepreneurs

• One-For-One Meal Box Project

• Culinary Industry Think Tank for professionals

Expanding access to culinary education

CCK is fueled by a passionate group of chefs, culinary instructors, food entrepreneurs, educators, mental health providers and community leaders who are coming together to provide industry-changing programming that will expand access to culinary education.

Launched via lockdown

The Community Classroom Kitchen was launched during Covid-19’s lockdown when Founder, Ali Kaufman, and Founding Chef, Blake Malatesta, sought to solve a local food crisis and donated one meal box to a family in need for each meal box sold.

CCK is currently building a commercial teaching kitchen and an entrepreneurial test kitchen on the Space of Mind downtown Delray Beach campus. CCK will be open for full cooking classes, workshops, parties and events in Fall 2024.