NYC ex-cons slice and dice their way through new culinary program

In this kitchen, justice is served – and finely chopped.

Nearly a dozen ex-cons graduated Monday from the city’s Department of Probation’s inaugural culinary-skills program, part of a range of new classes offered to parolees to try to bolster employment and slash recidivism rates.

“This is my yellow brick road,” said newly minted class graduate and parolee Angel Rivera, 52, of Brooklyn. “This is going to open up doors for me.”

The 11 graduates — who are serving probation for everything from weapons possession to assault to sex abuse — met once a week at Jasmine’s Caribbean Cuisine on Theater Row in Manhattan, led by chef Basil Jones.

The participants were taught food safety, preparation, nutrition, serving, management and event planning over 10 weeks, all of which is designed to prepare them for entry-level jobs in real-world kitchens, probation reps said.

“I like dealing with people … Everyone [in the kitchen] works as a team,” said Rivera, who previously worked in welding for more 15 years.

Fellow participant Davontay Covington said the class “reassured me that I am good in the kitchen, not just for work but for a career.

“This is a new side of myself,” declared the 24-year-old Harlem resident, who previously only worked maintenance jobs in restaurants. “I cook a lot, but I never thought I’d be in a [professional] kitchen.

“Coming here my world opened up a lot more.”

Brooklynite Lakim Francis, 36, who told The Post he never had the chance to taste beef before the class.

“I was just going with the flow – but the flow got me now,” he said.

The course is poised to ultimately help the ex-cons get a food handler’s license, which program leader Tamaya Butts said will give them a boost in the job market. The city will foot the $24 fee for the final exam up to two times.

“Coming out of the corrections system, it’s very hard for these individuals to find jobs based on their background,” said Butts, director of the Bronx-based nonprofit Pathways To Abundance, which helped to organize the initiative. “Obtaining your food handlers’ license puts you step above the competition.”

Jasmine’s also plans to offer jobs to at least two of the grads once they pass the city’s food-handler license exam.

Co-owner Jasmine Gerald said she will keep a roster of partner restaurants to connect the participants with gigs, part-time or full-time, with entry-level jobs ranging from dish washing to prepping.

“This gives people the opportunity to feel normal,” said Gerald, whose husband and Jasmine’s co-owner Lloyd Hollie was incarcerated. “Good people do bad things that’s not to say that they can’t be reformed.”

The news comes as city Probation reports a drop in recidivism this year, from a 4.1% monthly rate in January to 3.1% in June — and employment is a “huge” part of that focus, officials said.

The agency attributes the decline, at least in part, to the success of Neighborhood Opportunity Network programs such as the culinary class.

Vocational programs for aspiring electricians, commercial drivers, barbers and wigmakers are currently offered — and a welding program is slated to launch in the fall.

The agency said it has connected 847 parolees to “meaningful employment” this year so far and helped 5,207 others obtain high school diplomas or GED equivalents.

“That’s the key to being successful in probation: tapping into their interests,” Probation Commissioner Juanita Holmes told The Post.

“They need guidance and opportunities to keep them on a straight and narrow path — I think it’s essential that we take an interest in the people we’re supervising.”

Mayor Eric Adams added in a statement, “Under our administration, the Department of Probation is using new, innovative ways to get our probation clients on the right path.

“This new culinary program is already a success, and we can’t wait wait to see what these New Yorkers will do with these valuable skills in the culinary arts, customer service, and event management.”

The agency is already looking to tap another wave of culinary enthusiasts from its 25-person waitlist. New classes begin in mid-September.

“When I got two scholarships to go to culinary school, I was very fortunate to learn,” chef Jones said of his decision to lead the free-of-charge class. “One of the instructors told me whatever we learned there will be of no use to us if we didn’t pass it down to others. 

“Doing this for these guys it’s an honor for me to do because it’s something that I’m passing on to them that, if they choose to use it, at least they have the opportunity.”