Well, your final story tonight: starting over isn't always as easy, especially when you're trying to build a new career.

But there's a place in Charlotte where people get that opportunity, and what they learn goes well beyond the kitchen.

Carolina Impact's Chris Clark takes us inside a program that helps people build a future one lesson at a time.

- Look at that flakiness.

That's the best part.

- [Chris] Almasi Cooper grew up around her mother and grandmother's restaurant on the Outer Banks, and Grandma had her own way of measuring.

- If she say, "Don't use a tablespoon, just sprinkle it," and she said, "Sprinkle it."

- [Chris] But she's not in Grandma's kitchen now.

- The measurements, I want to be precise, so they'll tell you I'm very hard on measuring.

- [Chris] The Community Culinary School of Charlotte helps people facing barriers to steady employment.

Some are rebuilding after incarceration or recovery.

Others are trying to move beyond low-paying work.

Chef Ron expects a commitment from everyone.

- We have systems and standards, policies and procedures, just like any other place of business.

Our school is tuition-free.

It does not mean it's free.

It's tuition-free.

We still demand their time and talent.

- It's the beginning of all soup stocks and sauces, so we did that, remember?

- [Chris] Sheryl Bauknight already has a catering business, but she's still working a regular job and wants this training to make cooking her career.

- This is the first time in my life that I'm able to put me first and come to the school and make it happen for me, so I was excited.

You're not going to let anything stand in the way of that.

- [Chris] Meanwhile, Chef Alvin Howard keeps an eye on more than what's cooking.

- Knife skills are the most important thing that we try to push in and pushing and keep going, keep going.

Hold on one second.

- [Chris] The interview can wait, but in this kitchen, the teaching can't.

- Put that in the oven now, guys.

- I thought that was already in the oven.

- We're not really creating chefs.

We're creating really good employees.

They'll know all aspects of the kitchen, from pot washing to sautéing to high-end dining experiences, to the business model that a lot of our folks want to open, whether it be a catering company, a food truck, selling plates from the home.

They'll understand the back of the house, the finances, and, of course, the taste of what they're trying to do.

- [Chris] The program lasts 14 weeks, and nobody's expected to walk in knowing everything.

- You didn't do anything wrong.

- I got it.

- You knew what was happening; you just didn't know what to do next step, which is not a problem.

So what we do, that's why you're in school, to learn this stuff.

- [Chris] Ron wants them aiming beyond that first job.

- I want every student to want my chef instructor's jobs.

I want them coming gunning for the chef instructors, because that's what's going to really charge them, because we do hire from every class, just about.

- Chef Anthony Watkins started here as a student.

He continued his education at Central Piedmont Community College and then spent more than 20 years at The Capital Grille.

- Worked my way up from the line, from prep to line, to boil cook to sous-chef, and actually made it to executive chef.

- [Chris] Now he's back teaching, and his connection with Almasi started outside this kitchen.

- I was at my job, and I saw Chef Anthony walk in with a chef coat that said Community Culinary School of Charlotte.

And I felt like that was my sign, like that was my confirmation to go ahead and enroll.

- So you want to add a little bit more?

- [Chris] Now she's learning from someone who once stood where she stands.

- Just giving back.

Just giving back what was given to me.

- And for a student to become a mentor to a student, oh man, that's as delicious as it gets.

- [Chris] A new mentorship program connects students with business owners, and a life and job coach helps them work toward employment.

- Cooking, but I also teach my students how to be successful in anything they're doing, whether it's cooking, being at home with the kids and family.

- [Chris] Before lunch, Alvin wants someone to explain what the class made.

- You're gonna do the speaking today, you're gonna do the speaking today 'cause you said you don't want to, so you're gonna tell everybody what we did today.

- [Chris] Almasi remembers worrying about meeting everybody.

- Well, I'm not technically the most social person, so when I got here, I'm like, "I'm gonna have to talk.

I'm gonna have to tell people about myself."

- Just keep that right here, and we'll get it set up for lunch.

- [Chris] For Alvin, the payoff comes long before graduation.

- That student who's been struggling, you ask him a question, and the answer comes right off the bat.

He remembers.

He's like a computer over there.

Makes you feel like, all right, I am doing my job.

They are participating.

- [Chris] The school's café is part of the operation, too.

Ron says the place sold 35,000 baked goods in 2025, and its customers extend way beyond the people walking through the door.

- We are in partnerships with a bunch of coffee shops so that purchase our baked goods, which is a great revenue-generating income stream, but most importantly, it puts folks to work.

- [Chris] Not everyone who walks through the door is here to buy lunch.

Some arrive with something for the kitchen.

- What do you got today?

This is Ken Steiner.

His family grows for us.

These are end-of-season peppers, eggplant, little eggplants, and this was not staged.

This is absolutely... He just comes in when he has product and donates it to us.

- [Chris] Donations give students fresh ingredients to work with, but receiving help is only part of what happens here.

- We also feed a lot of folks in need.

We feed a lot of organizations in need.

It's something I'm proud to say we do.

It gives a nice pat on the back to that community part of Community Culinary School of Charlotte.

- [Chris] Sheryl is still deciding where she fits in the food business, but she already knows who she wants to cook for.

- I wanna be able to give really nice home-cooked-type meals from where I'm from, which is Charleston, so Gullah-type meals, to people who can't really afford those types of things.

- [Chris] Almasi's career is still taking shape, too, but these classes have already changed what she expects from it.

- We're worth benefits.

We're worth pay over the minimum wage.

We're worth being respected as chefs and not just as workers.

- I'm hoping that they're creating a community for themselves and even more community for those around them.

- [Chris] For Carolina Impact - - Does that makes sense or is it too esoteric?

- [Chris] I'm Chris Clark.