About Us

Q. How can a catering company be a nonprofit organization?

A. Encore catering is not a stand-alone organization, but a division of the Community Culinary School of Charlotte.  Our mission is to extend the mission of the School by a) employing its students and alumni, b) giving our students a “real-world experience” opportunity in preparing food and beverage products that are sold for fair market value to the public, and c) returning our profits from catering to support the mission of the school.

 

Q. So where does the money go?

A. We employ a classically trained and experienced Executive Chef to supervise our company, an office manager to handle the day-to-day business of our company, and full-time and part-time staff, mostly Culinary School students and alumni, who produce our products.  We also employ a part-time bookkeeper who manages our funds and prepares regular audit materials to authenticate our profits and losses in accordance with our mission.

As a business offering goods and services to the public, we incur the same financial responsibilities that any other catering service does, including insurance, employee benefits, maintenance and upkeep on our company vehicles, equipment maintenance and repair fees, and normal costs of food and beverage products.  When all of our expenses have been paid, we make a substantial donation back to the School.  The average number of students in each class is 18-20, and it takes roughly $3,500 per student to take each one through the 12-week Community Culinary School program.  That program accepts no government funding.

 

Q. Don’t you get a lot of products donated?

A. The Community Culinary School of Charlotte depends largely on the goodwill of companies, other nonprofit organizations and private individuals.  However, as a business selling goods and services to the general public, Encore Catering purchases all of the products that we sell from reputable vendors at fair market value, just as any other foodservice business would.  And like all of our competitors, we go out of our way to practice good stewardship of our resources and get the best pricing we can from our vendors.

 

Q. Does “nonprofit” mean that you are a discount caterer?

A. We would love to just give our products and services away to draw attention to the difference our organization makes in peoples’ lives every day!  But our purpose is to earn resources with which we can continue our legacy of changing lives. 

We monitor our competitors’ prices, and we keep our prices competitive.  Our greatest selling point is that the resources you spend with Encore go directly to furthering a worthwhile mission of changing lives!

 

Q. Do the students and alumni that you employ get paid?

A. Certain Encore functions are built into our educational curriculum, and for those functions students are not compensated.  In fact, as the school’s program is offered at no cost to students, certain duties are expected as “payment” for their tuition.  However, the majority of work that is done by current students is paid.  The wages that we pay our students and alumni are comparable to the wages that they would earn in a similar operation anywhere else in our region.  We believe strongly in equipping and empowering people to succeed in all areas of their lives!

 

Q. How can I learn more about what you do to better the lives of your students and the communities around them?

A. Contact the Community Culinary School of Charlotte at 704-375-4500 to find out when you can stop by and see what we do!  Or check us out on the web at www.communityculinary.org.  We honor your time and interest in supporting us. Thank You!

 

Our History

Encore Catering was launched in 2001 as a revenue generating arm of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Community Culinary School of Charlotte (CCSC).  CCSC provides a free culinary arts training and job assistance program for adults who have experienced barriers to employment.   Whether that barrier is lack of training, incarceration, homelessness or substance abuse, our students are eager to enter the food service industry and change their life experience.

Located in Charlotte’s historic SouthEnd community, Encore and CCSC share a kitchen with Friendship Trays, Mecklenburg County’s largest meals on wheels program.  The three programs work together to improve the lives of thousands of people throughout the Charlotte region on a weekly basis.  With the exception of our Chef and administrative personnel, Encore Catering is staffed by students and graduates of CCSC.

 

Meet Our Staff

 

Ami Novak, Chef and Catering Director

E-mail Chef Ami at chefami@communityculinary.org.

 

 

 

 

 

Elise Barksdale, Event Specialist and Office Manager

Elise is a Charlotte native and has worked in a number of nonprofit settings, including the educational and the church communities.  She has also served on a wide variety of local community boards, equipping her with a keen interest in and an understanding of the nonprofit mission.  She has been a recipient of WSOC’s Nine Who Care award based on her leadership with the United Way’s Future Leaders youth group.

Elise is a graduate of Queens University, where she served as the university’s Registrar and has received the Alumni Service Award.  She is a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church where she has held many service positions, is an Honorary Life Member of the Presbyterian Women, and served on staff as Director of Youth Ministries.  Aside from her family, one of Elise’s greatest passions is participating in church mission trips, and she has led approximately 25 trips working with Mayan villages in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. 

Encore Catering would not be what it is today without Elise’s hard work and dedication to our cause since 2001!

E-mail Elise Barksdale at elise@encorecatering.org.