Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski and Times-Picayune/the New Orleans Advocate food writer Ian McNulty recently teamed up with 826 New Orleans for a food writing workshop for New Orleans 1st-4th graders. Kids jotted notes using their favorite descriptive words while sampling jumbo lump crabmeat and alligator pear with edible flowers, tomato & Taleggio tarts, grilled Gulf shrimp skewers with chow chow, and more. Then, the students used their notes to write reviews of what they tasted. The young people’s writing was later published and distributed at a community event at the 7th Ward youth writing center. Not surprisingly, the young New Orleanians’ favorite dish: fried alligator with chili mayo, mint and parsley. “The deep fried alligator was round like the size of an eyeball. It tasted spicy and meaty. It made me feel smart.” said 4th grader, Markia Jones. 826 New Orleans cultivates and supports the voices of young writers ages 6-18 through creative collaborations with schools and communities.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation is pleased to continue to financially support Youth Empowerment Project (YEP). YEP serves over 1,200 participants through its ten programs, including those that help students earn their high school equivalencies and offer mentoring and employment readiness training. At intake, 79% of YEP participants reported an annual household income of under $20,000. 34% reported justice system involvement. Since its inception, LSF has awarded YEP more than $150,000 to support its work to engage young people through community-based education, mentoring, employment readiness and enrichment programs to help them develop skills and strengthen ties to family and community. In YEP Co-Founder/CEO Melissa Sawyer’s words, here’s what LSF’s support means to YEP: “Youth Empowerment Project is beyond grateful to Donald and Stephen for their commitment to and investment in improving the lives of young people in New Orleans. They are generous, kind and humble. And, through their Link Stryjewski Foundation, they are supporting impactful local organizations like YEP. Over the years, LSF and YEP have built a trusting relationship that is grounded in a shared commitment to the youth of New Orleans. The holistic nature of our partnership and the mutual respect we have for one another makes it an exceptional relationship.“

This summer, Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski were happy to underwrite a “Shine & Dine” lunch organized by YouthForce NOLA for 50 rising seniors from nineteen New Orleans public high schools and young professionals from the health sciences, digital media/IT and skilled crafts job sectors. YouthForce NOLA is an education, business and civic collaborative that prepares students for successful pursuit of high-wage, high-demand career pathways by providing soft-skills training and paid summer internships.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation is proud to support Kingsley House and its mission to educate children, strengthen families and build community in New Orleans. Annually, more than 1,500 infants, toddlers and preschoolers have access to high quality early learning services at Kingsley House. More than 200 children ages 5-12 years attend the organization’s summer camp, where activities include sports, arts and crafts, field trips, academic enrichment programming, mental health counseling, and drug and violence prevention education. In recent years, LSF has awarded Kingsley House more than $150,000. “The incredible passion of Donald, Stephen and the Link Stryjewski Foundation to help nourish and educate the youth of New Orleans is inspiring. Kingsley House is honored to have a partner that generously supports our efforts to provide comprehensive family support solutions to disrupt cyclical poverty. With the dedication and commitment of LSF, Kingsley House is helping children realize their potential and creating a roadmap for our families toward self-sufficiency and success,” Keith H. Liederman, Ph.D., CEO, Kingsley House, Inc.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation was proud to once again compete in pedicab races at Youth Empowerment Project’s YEP Fest. In addition to winning both the hospitality industry race and being the category’s top fundraiser, the team also earned medals for best team costume. Funds raised through YEP Fest support the organization’s mission to engage underserved young people through community-based education, mentoring, employee readiness and enrichment programs to help them develop skills and strengthen ties to family and community. YEP serves over 1,200 New Orleans young people.

Link Restaurant Group (LRG) hosted Samuel J. Green Charter School 8th grade students for a day of exploring hospitality industry career pathways through a partnership with New Orleans’ Youth Leadership Council (YLC). Chef Link shared personal stories about his career path to being a chef and multiple business owner, as well as blueprints for LRG’s newest restaurant, Gianna. Students also met with LRG leadership, including chefs, general managers, human resources, communications and foraging staff.

Members of Youth Empowerment Project’s newly formed drumline sat in on Bal Masqué musical headliner RAM’s soundcheck. RAM, based in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, then offered a hands-on workshop for the group, discussing similarities between Haitian and New Orleans music and carnival traditions, and having the young people join them on stage to play their instruments.

Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski once again joined the Roots of Music for their end of the year holiday party, personally serving dinner for the youth musicians. Roots of Music offers music education and academic tutoring for nearly 200 New Orleans youth musicians ages 9-14 from low-income households. The students perform annually at the Link Stryjewski Foundation’s Bal Masqué.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation is proud to support Son of a Saint and the organization’s mission to enhance the lives of fatherless New Orleans boys through mentorship, emotional support, development of life skills, exposure to constructive experiences and formation of positive, lasting peer-to-peer relationships.

Join us in our efforts to nourish, educate and empower New Orleans youth by rounding up your check to the nearest dollar or making a $1 (or more!) donation to the Link Stryjewski Foundation at Herbsaint, Cochon, Butcher and La Boulangerie. Every dollar makes a difference. Together, we can help ensure a bright future for all New Orleans youth and for the city we all love.

5th grade students at Phillis Wheatley Elementary School were recently treated to boudin with spicy buttered crackers, gruyere gougeres with country ham, English peas & fresh mint, crab Louis and other menu items that will be served at an upcoming benefit to raise funds for the 826 New Orleans Youth Publication Center. Chef Stephen Stryjewski explained how each dish was made while students wrote about what they tasted. The students’ writing will be showcased at the event, featuring a panel discussion with youth writers, author and journalist Walter Isaacson and Chef Stryjewski.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation is excited to partner with Son of a Saint to raise funds for ten fatherless boys to travel to Costa Rica this summer. During their time out of the country – a first for all but one of the boys – the group will participate in service projects, tour cacao and pineapple farms, hike a volcano, take Latin dance lessons and dine with local families. Chefs Link and Stryjewski met with the boys to discuss Costa Rican cuisine and plan the menu for a benefit dinner for the trip, to be held April 18. Click here for tickets and more information.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation is the proud sponsor of a YEP Fest pedicab relay race team, powered by Chefs Stephen Stryjewski and Ryan Prewitt. On March 11, the team will compete at the festival, which raises funds to support the free educational, mentoring, employment readiness and enrichment programming Youth Empowerment Project offers for young people ages of 7-24. Donations of $10+ to Team Link Stryjewski directly benefit YEP and can be made at yepfest.org. Please be sure to select our Link Stryjewski Foundation team. Come out and cheer us on! YEP Fest (Sunday, March 1, 11am-4pm; 1600 block of Oretha Castle Haley Blvd.) is free and open to the public. Pedicab races called by Big Freedia start at 1pm. Sweet Crude and Water Seed take the stage from 2-4pm. Food and drink will be available for purchase. More info is available at yepfest.org.

Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski are honored to have been named Ambassadors for Son of a Saint, a New Orleans non-profit that provides group mentorship, tutoring, recreational outings and tuition assistance for boys fatherless due to incarceration, death or abandonment. Click here for the full list of ambassadors and Chefs’ reflections on fatherhood.

Over the course of the next year, New Orleans youth who receive job training at the Youth Empowerment Project’s Work & Learn Center will be eligible for externships at Link Restaurant Group.Through this career pathway partnership, YEP participants receive hard and soft skills trainings, work experience, stipends and wraparound support services. During 6-week externships, participants gain experience in fine dining (Cochon), private events and catering (Calcasieu), and counter service restaurants (Cochon Butcher). Pictured above is Destiny, YEP’s first Pathways to Careers LRG extern, educating Brazilian youth development experts via a translator about her experience.

The Link Stryjewski Foundation is committed to breaking the cycles of poverty and violence in New Orleans by investing in education, mentoring and job training programs for the city’s youth. LSF is pleased to provide financial support raised via its annual Bal Masqué to Youth Empowerment Project in support of its mission to engage underserved young people through community-based education, mentoring and employment readiness programs to help them develop skills and strengthen ties to family and community.

Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski created the Link Stryjewski Foundation to nourish and educate the youth of New Orleans. LSF is pleased to provide financial support raised via its annual Bal Masqué to Kingsley House to further its work educating children, strengthening families and building community.

Chefs Donald Link and Stephen Stryjewski joined Son of a Saint mentees for dinner at Cochon. Son of a Saint provides group mentorship, tutoring, recreational outsings and tuition assistance for New Orleans boys fatherless due to incarceration, death or abandonment. At dinner, Son of a Saint boys learned etiquette basics and chatted with Chefs about their life experiences, career paths and favorite things to cook.

A group of 3rd grade students previewed the menu Chef Donald Link prepared for a dinner in support of building a state-of-the-art youth writing center in New Orleans’ 7th Ward. The students dined on grilled spring vegetables with bagna cauda, curried leg of lamb with French lentils, frisee and mint, and blackberry buttermilk tarts, then wrote about their experience. Since 2010, more than 3,500 New Orleans youth have participated in Big Class’s innovative, free writing programs. “The menu had good food like lamb. The lamb was soft like a marshmallow. I’d like to have it again.” – Melvin “I really liked the buttermilk blackberry tart because it was creamy. When I saw that dish I felt drool forming in my mouth and it tasted like excitement.” – Jasey