Brenda Lucas began her educational journey at Berkeley College, where she graduated with a degree in business in 2015. With dreams of opening her own restaurant, she then enrolled in CFBNJ’s Food Service Training Academy to bring her business smarts and culinary skills together.
“It was really challenging,” Brenda emphasized. “It was like going through boot camp, but it paid off for me. It’s something I’ll keep with me for life.”
As an FSTA student, she learned food safety, proper preparation and timing, how to deal with pressure – and above all, perseverance.
“Even if it’s hard, you can’t give up because when you go out into the industry, you’ll see that they’ve trained you so well,” she shared.
Brenda reflected on both of her graduations, which occurred within a year of each other:
“When I graduated from college, it was a big graduation at the Prudential Center with 2,000 people. But the graduation I had with the FoodBank was so amazing. I will never forget it. It was the best graduation and the best feeling I’ve ever had.”
Through the Food Service Training Academy, Brenda got a job with OTG, the company that owns many of the restaurants in Newark Airport’s Terminal C. She’s worked there as a cook ever since.
“I take my job very seriously. I’m one of the people who gives 110%,” she said. “When I’m put at a station, the managers and chefs feel safe. They know that I’m going to do the right thing because that’s the way I was trained at the FoodBank.”
Brenda enjoys getting to make different types of food each day, depending on which restaurant she’s working in. She got her ServSafe Food Protection Manager Certification at CFBNJ and then recertified through her job at the airport several years later. Though she’s had to keep up with changes to food safety standards, passing the test a second time was easy thanks to her training with FSTA.
“They were impressed at work when I passed with flying colors!” she recalled.
The road to success has been a long one for Brenda, who was one of eight kids growing up. While her mom worked hard to make ends meet, she stayed home and watched her siblings, so she never got to go to high school. After getting her GED, she worked different jobs over the years – as a bartender, a preschool caregiver, and more – before attending Berkeley College. But cooking has always been her passion. She especially loves to grill and invent her own recipes.
On top of excelling at her job, Brenda is still working towards opening a restaurant. At 65, she knows that it’s never too late!
“Another thing they taught us at the FoodBank is that you can never be too old to achieve your dreams,” she said.