The Humane World for Animals Foundation’s Forward Food program recently collaborated with Chef Ric’s, a social enterprise of the Ottawa Mission, to deliver hands-on plant-based culinary training for students in the Food Services Training Program (FSTP). The FSTP offers individuals facing barriers to employment — including those who have experienced homelessness, poverty, or other challenges — the opportunity to gain skills for meaningful careers in the foodservice industry.
On May 29 and 30, 2025, Forward Food and Chef Ric’s co-hosted two culinary workshops. Nearly 30 chefs-in-training participated, building practical skills and gaining inspiration for preparing not only delicious, but also approachable, nutritious and cost-effective plant-based meals.
These sessions marked Forward Food’s second and third trainings for Ottawa’s charitable food sector in 2025, following an earlier successful workshop with Shepherds of Good Hope in March (read more here). All three training sessions were generously supported by the Community Grants Program – Ottawa Community Foundation. This initiative is helping to make healthy, sustainable, and compassionate food more accessible across Canada’s capital.
Participants prepared more than a dozen tasty dishes each day, including yam and coconut curry soup with red lentils, black bean seitan burgers with avocado lime mayo, sweet and smoky tempeh kale salad, rhubarb ginger cobbler and more. For many, it was their first time working with ingredients like kale, arugula, fresh basil, tofu and tempeh. The meals were enjoyed by staff at Chef Ric’s, receiving enthusiastic praise for their flavour and visual appeal.
The students shared overwhelmingly positive feedback. One participant expressed, “It was amazing. I have been trying to incorporate more plant-based products. Now I have a lot of recipe[s] to try thanks to you guys.” Another added, that the training has “Given me the courage to eat more vegetable food because before, I thought plant-based food tasteless but it changed my point of view.”