Young participants prepared a full meal, served customers, and learned that a skill picked up in childhood can one day become a business.
The kitchen at Dee’s Kitchen looked a little different when Skills2Stars participants stepped in — for day 6 of their summer skills workshop, the young people were not there simply to eat. They were there to cook, serve, and experience what it takes to run a restaurant.
As part of the Skills2Stars Free Summer Academy, participants took part in a hands-on cooking and restaurant management workshop led by Chef Dayo “Dee” Agbaje, owner of Dee’s Kitchen.
From preparing ingredients to taking customer orders and cleaning up at the end of the day, the young people had the chance to experience different sides of the restaurant business.
The participants worked together to prepare a complete meal of coconut rice, puff-puff, coleslaw, and sauced chicken.
Rather than simply watching a cooking demonstration, the young people were involved in the process, learning how food is prepared in a restaurant environment and how different dishes come together as part of a meal.
The experience also gave them a chance to practise teamwork, food preparation, organization, plating, and time management.
And, of course, their food had to pass the taste test.
A parent joined the group as a guest tester and scored their meal 9 out of 10, congratulating the participants on a job well done.
Student making puff puff
Learning what happens beyond the kitchen
Cooking was only one part of the workshop.
Participants also learned that running a restaurant involves much more than preparing good food.
They had the opportunity to take customer orders, giving them a glimpse into customer service and the day-to-day responsibilities of running a food business.
At the end of the session, everyone helped clean the kitchen and restaurant, reinforcing another important lesson: the work does not end when the food is served.
Chef Dee also spoke with the participants about restaurant management and shared her own journey from learning to cook as a young girl to eventually turning that skill into a source of income and opening a restaurant.
“I was the only girl in a family of boys, so I used to always be the one who had to cook. At the time, I felt it was a punishment, but now that I look back, I am happy I kept cooking and learning more kitchen skills because now I have applied my knowledge to owning and running a restaurant,” she said.
Her story reflected one of the central messages behind Skills2Stars: young people may not immediately know where a skill they learn today could take them tomorrow.
Students learning how plate
“I hope to own a restaurant someday”
For at least one participant, the experience opened up a new possibility for the future.
“I hope to own a restaurant like Mrs. Dayo someday. I am growing to enjoy cooking, just like she did when she was a little girl,” the participant said.
That moment captured exactly why Skills2Stars was created.
The goal is not to tell every participant that they must become a chef, photographer, author, DJ, makeup artist or entrepreneur. It is to give young people enough practical exposure to discover what they enjoy, what they are good at, and what they may want to pursue further.
A young person who learns how to make coconut rice today may simply prepare dinner for their family tomorrow. Another may eventually use that same foundation to earn extra income, pay their way through school or, like Chef Dee, build a restaurant of their own.
Sometimes, it starts with just one skill they don't even like.
