Celebrity Chef Mentors 4 Youth

(NAPSI)—Noted Chef Tom Douglas cooked up a way for four youth who have experienced foster care to explore culinary careers.

What Douglas Did

The Seattle restaurateur, who defeated Masaharu Morimoto on “Iron Chef America,” mentored Paris, Skyler, Philipe and Journey through Treehouse. The nonprofit is dedicated to giving youth in care a childhood and a future. The youth spent time with Douglas getting his advice and learning to improve their cooking skills. He taught them the proper way to cut up a chicken and make three delicious meals—roast chicken, stir-fry and chicken piccata.

What Treehouse Does

Treehouse youth learn to set goals and make plans for the future as they work to graduate from high school, a key marker for future success. The organization, which operates throughout Washington and contributes to the national conversation on foster care, supports young adults well into their 20s—or until they achieve a degree or credential, living wage and stable housing.

Why It’s Important

Seventy percent of youth in foster care dream of attending college, but fewer than half earn a high school diploma and only 3 percent go on to earn a bachelor’s degree. In comparison, Treehouse’s youth enjoy an outstanding 82 percent extended high school graduation rate and ongoing access to career coaches, a variety of services and material resources such as clothing.

Where to Learn More

View video of Douglas and the youth at http://bit.ly/videotreehouse. This is the fourth mentoring video in the series. In other videos, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam created a song with five Treehouse youth, best-selling author Marissa Meyer of “The Lunar Chronicles” coached a young writer and renowned paper-cut artist Barbara Earl Thomas worked with three youth on a major project for EXPO Chicago.

To discover the many ways to support Treehouse’s mission, visit www.treehouseforkids.org.

 “Celebrity Chef Tom Douglas cooked up a way to mentor youth who have experienced foster care as they explore culinary careers through Treehouse. The organization gives youth in foster care a childhood and a future. There are many ways to get involved. www.treehouseforkids.org http://bit.ly/31Qaqr6”