meet kendry
Where are you from and what high school did you attend?
I am a Dominican born in Bronx, New York, living in Boston, MA, Dorchester attending Natick High School as a part of the METCO program.
Besides cooking, what other passions and interests do you have and how do you fulfill them?
I love interacting with other people and playing video games. Which is great because I often get to combine both through the new people I meet and talk through every day on the subject of gaming through several media outlets, in person, or in game.
What would you tell other young people about Future Chefs who are interested in joining our program?
There really are no downsides to joining. As someone who doesn’t particularly like cooking (at least when I started, now I love it) and someone who tends to keep to themselves, I found many friends and staff at the program I wholeheartedly love and wish to stay a part of their community for as long as I can. Everyone, and I mean everyone, can find people who not only share their interests but genuinely love them - just ask Toni. I'm sure she views every student at FC as an extension of her own family and extends that warmth to them. At least that’s how I felt at every event and class I went to.
What are your school, career, and life goals over the next 3-5 years?
Graduating from UMass Dartmouth with a major I enjoy and growing a personal brand filled with like-minded people. Other than that as long as I can come home to a good company at the end of the day I’ll be happy.
Did you have an interest in food before joining Future Chefs?
I thought it’d be a useful skill but not much else. The more time I spent with FC the less it became about the food, ironically enough. What I mean is sure we cooked and it was great but what really satisfied me more than that was going to our big events as a family and seeing other people enjoy the food we made together. Even when we were helping other restaurants the one thing that remained constant was good people, with interesting stories to tell, enjoying food together with my family. I can’t think of many programs that can even come close to emulating that feeling.
Do you have any mentors who have guided you?
Tawanna wasn’t here when I started at future Chefs, she joined soon after and we immediately hit it off. I remember our first interaction was her questioning me over some document or other I had yet to fill out (like always). From then on she knew I would be trouble. I can’t even count how many times I’ve been late with something or we’ve just needed to check up and Tawanna has been there helping me. She’s always in the background managing, working, making sure others are good to go. As great as the program has been, I think my talks and check in’s with Tawanna will forever be the memories of FC I cherish the most. Thank you, Tawanna.