We recently connected with Arnyce Foster-hernandez and have shared our conversation below.
Arnyce, thank you so much for joining us. You are such a positive person and it’s something we really admire and so we wanted to start by asking you where you think your optimism comes from?
I grew up with my identical twin sister and mom. My mom is a single parent. She loved us dearly but couldn’t provide for us as other parents did for their kids. Our grandmother died from breast cancer when she was only 48 years old. My mom was 25, and my sister and I were 6. This was traumatizing to my mom. Not only did our father leave my mom when we were one years old, but then her mom died, leaving her to raise us on her own. And that she did.
Since we were kids, we didn’t realize that we were poor. My mom loved us dearly. We were always together, even with her at work. We eat at church pantries and school most days. She always made sure we were safe. We didn’t get Christmas gifts or birthday gifts. We did not have much food in our apartment, and at times, we didn’t have lights. We only realized what we didn’t have once we got older and saw what other people did have. We went down to our family farm in North Carolina in the summer months. We ate directly from our garden. We didn’t have a bathroom. We bathed from a water hose in the yard. Our life was simple. Growing up from barely having things to now having four college degrees, a business, a family, and countless miracles in my life, I am always asking God to use me to bless other people. I also reflect on what I’ve accomplished and know that patience and faith yield more than I could have ever prayed for or hoped for. My optimism comes from knowing that, just as before, everything is going to be ok.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
My name is Arnyce Foster-Hernandez, Harlem NY native, and I currently continue to live with my husband and our seven-year-old son. I was born and raised by a single, loving mother in Harlem New York. Back in the 1980s and 1990s living in Harlem was a matter of survival, and as a family, we endured many struggles. I saw family and friends succumb to drugs, become drug dealers, alcoholics, and/or incarcerated. Although I managed to graduate from Borough of Manhattan Community College, I became a product of my environment and was engulfed in everything I tried to avoid, a drug addict, and eventually, I was homeless.
After I met my rock bottom after a year and a half of being on drugs I was admitted into a drug and psychiatric institution. While in the facility, I had a revelation that reminded me of how much I loved cooking for people. I knew then that I wanted to pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a professional chef. And that’s what I did! Not only did I graduate from the French Culinary Institute in 2008, I performed my culinary externship in Toulouse, France. Culinary school changed my life forever. I’ve since obtained my graduate degree in Business Administration and have over three decades of experience working for NYC and NYS.
I know firsthand how life can be difficult. However, I also know how much it means to have a community of people who provide support and structure to survive. Collectively, as a community, we can do that and much more for all people with challenging circumstances, especially those who were formerly incarcerated. The criminal justice system is not designed as a catalyst for black and brown people to succeed after being incarcerated. But we can be that catalyst. We can be good by ourselves, but together we can make significant and tangible impacts in our communities and worldwide.
FEATURING has been a passion of mine for over 18+ years. I formed the organization because my culinary experience helped shape and steer my life in the right direction. And it will do the same if not more for so many people.
Our mission is to provide social and economic food and hospitality services that will stabilize and grow the economy in our community. We are dedicated to providing employment and training opportunities for individuals in challenging circumstances. Through our efforts, we will empower them to become valuable contributors to society while equipping them with transferable skills that can be utilized globally.
I am a professional chef and owner of our first storefront cafe. My husband and I opened our cafe in June 2024. We serve seasonal fresh products we curate ourselves. We source from other local small businesses to ensure we highlight their products and missions as well as serve the best products we can simply because our community deserves it.
I have four college degrees, I have over 33 years of upper management experience working for NYC and NYS Governments, including raising and managing over $30 million in budgets and construction projects and extensive human resource policy development, training, elected official relations, and community engagement.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
1. I trust my intuition. Our intuition is our compass and life coach. 2. Literacy. Being able to access and understand information was vital to my career growth. 3. Empathy. I am very aware and conscious of human nature and needs. It drives every decision I make.
People should be patient in general and early in their journey. Every little action taken towards a goal moves mountains in the future. People should visualize themselves where they aspire to be and tell that person you’ll see them soon.
One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
We want to collaborate on social, economic, and/or food justice. Our goal is to hire people first and then train them in fine culinary arts, hospitality, and humanitarian relief. We want people to have money to take care of themselves and their families while learning a transferrable trade.
One of the most essential things in our program is that employment begins immediately! This way, they can focus on the program and not worry about caring for themselves or their family. They begin their training by learning the fundamentals of cooking, sourcing and utilizing seasonal products, and team collaboration. Finally, they will learn how to engage with and contribute to humanitarian relief efforts by working with organizations such as the World Central Kitchen and God’s Love We Deliver. This exposure teaches them to continue service to themselves and to others, ultimately improving the quality of life for their family, community, and worldwide.
We want to partner with organizations that can provide sponsorship and/or funding to host at least one participant a year.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.featuringculinaryarts.com
- Instagram: @featuringachef
- Facebook: Featuring Culinary Arts and Arnyce Foster-Hernandez
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnyce-foster-hernandez
Image Credits
None
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