STAGE Culinary- FOUNDING MEMBER!

BECOME A FOUNDING MEMBER TODAY!

Welcome to STAGE Culinary.  Bringing creativity, art, food, cooking, and entrepreneurial spirit to students.  STAGE Culinary is student culinary arts experiential learning that puts our youth into the kitchens of today’s top restaurants, working in collaboration with today’s top chefs.  STAGE Culinary students are working directly with the most established chefs in the culinary world, while building real life pop-up restaurant business’ for public consumption.

WE NEED SUPPORT!

The majority of a STAGE Culinary project is funded by the support of the public and through generous partnerships, sponsors, and supporters.  This is education at the next level and is truly a gift to our public school students.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR FOUNDING MEMBERS!

As we navigate becoming a Nonprofit organization that offers all of programs as a gift to the public schools we are faced with the cost of establishing that 501(c)3 status.  We are seeking an initial Founding Member capitol fundraiser.  We have been extremely grateful to have been granted the legal services of Ballard Spahr Law Firm who has graciously taken us on as a Pro-Bono client, but the expenses associated with a start up are still immense.  Our current $5000.00 fund raise is offset the costs of our 501(c)3 filing, the costs of Trademarking, and the expenses associated with the launch of Stage Culinary and it's parent company Do Rad Things Co.

Founding Members Pledge incentive:

1-  ALL CONTRIBUTIONS of any size are massively appreciated!
2-  Pledges of $200 & up receive a Stage Culinary T-Shirt and early access to ticket sales to our next Stage Culinary Dinner.
3-  Pledges of $1000 & up receive a Stage Culinary T-Shirt and two tickets to our next Stage Culinary Dinner. 
4-  Pledges of $2500 & up receive a Stage Culinary T-Shirt and four tickets to our next Stage Culinary Dinner.
5-  Pledges of $5000 & up receive a Stage Culinary T-Shirt and an 8-Top table with  special sponsorship recognition at our next Stage Culinary Dinner.
(*Please specify size in comments/email.)


WHO WE ARE:

With an unparalleled approach to the student experience, STAGE Culinary aims to build on the creative and artistic spirit of it’s students.  We believe that the term ‘Artist’ should be further associated with professionalism than “starving”.  In a STAGE Culinary program the artistic expression is the food.  It is our passion to push an emphasis on food knowledge and cooking technique, while learning about the health and benefits of better eating, all plated beautifully as a true work of art.  Our students develop a respect for the culinary art form, as well as a stronger awareness of what they eat, while gaining knowledge for ingredients and process.  Our students leave a STAGE Culinary program with the ability to feed themselves and their families for the rest of their lives and the confidence to represent themselves as true professionals and future entrepreneurs.

STAGE Culinary students are responsible for maintaining a viable business that represents the standards of their partnering restaurants.  In a STAGE Culinary program our students are developing business awareness and skills while tapping into their creative motivations.  Enrichment thrives in the process of seeing an idea from conceptualization into a product and experience that the public enjoys and actively participates in.  Every STAGE Culinary program is a student voyage into professional, creative, healthy, real world experiences.


The History of STAGE Culinary:

STAGE Culinary is an offspring of the highly successful Experiential Education platform developed by artist and entrepreneur Mark Rivard.  Rivard Art LLC launched in 2004 with a focus on creativity, fine arts, and education through youth culture and skateboarding.  Developing the Rivard Art Education in 2011 the mission was to change the educational experience through creativity and real life entrepreneurial spirit.  Eventually Rivard’s unique format would find it’s way into his other passions, food, hospitality, and the world of cooking.  With a successful platform based in fine arts, Rivard along with Chef Jim Christiansen of Heyday Restaurant piloted The Heyday Project, an experimental student menu and popup style dinner.  With that project a new form of Experiential Learning programs was born and the seeds for STAGE Culinary were firmly planted.

In the fall of 2017 Chef Shane Oporto, Restaurateur Laurel Elm, and creator Mark Rivard built upon the skeleton of what would become STAGE Culinary through a collaborative spirit and shared ambition.  Chef Shane Oporto’s own personal story of success exemplifies the inspirational spirit of STAGE Culinary programs.  The Executive Chef of Octo Fishbar, Oporto now adds Executive Chef, STAGE Culinary and Educator to his stable of accomplishments.  With the caliber of authentic, proven talent leading the STAGE Culinary experience, students learn first hand what it takes to become successful, professional, and creative individuals.

With the model built and the test run a success, it was time to put STAGE Culinary into motion.  In the Spring of 2018 STAGE Culinary teamed up with the St. Paul Creative Arts Secondary School and a team of industry professionals including Sarah McDonough, Anna Morgan, Chef Adam Eaton, Chef Kevin Manely, Chef Jesse Marks, and Restaurateur Laurel Elm.   With 16 students over 12 weeks a restaurant take over of Saint Dinette and 5-course menu was developed by the students. On May 17th, 2018 the first ever STAGE Culinary Dinner was a sold out Pop-Up success at Saint Dinette.  From Rabbit Pho, to a family style Whole Baked Arctic Char, the audience was delighted with a unique and cultural dining experience.  The night was capped with special recognition of the team of incredible volunteers and partners, as well student speeches.  In true-to-form entrepreneurial style, the students were then surprised with paychecks for their accomplishment.  The model for the most intensive and impressive Culinary Arts experience was born, STAGE Culinary had found its stride.

STAGE Culinary continues to evolve and improve.  We believe that STAGE Culinary can change the way our kids view food and cooking across the nation.  The history continues to be written, and the students of STAGE Culinary are all eating well.
One of the aims of a STAGE Culinary project is to offer an incredibly ambitious and authentic learning experience for our students.  Often the extent of these programs comes with an expense a public school can’t fund independently.  We are looking for the public and private support to bring these incredible opportunities to our students.  This exists in the form of press attention as well as financial donations, sponsorships, and partnerships. 

“When I dreamed up Rivard Art Education & STAGE Culinary I wanted to make a difference in the way our kids experience education.  I wanted to prove that no idea was to big, and no goal was too insurmountable.” - Mark Rivard, Founder and Creator STAGE Culinary/Rivard Art LLC.  It is with that spirit that we seek financial support for our students and the schools that share our ambition in giving these kids honest, rewarding, and enriching projects that build our communities future professionals and leaders.  This is experiential learning at it’s very best.  We aim to create meaningful partnerships through sponsorships that not only create opportunities for our students, but highlight tangible, real interactions with our supporters and guests.  We seek your involvement as much as we need financial support!

There are numerous levels of support, sponsorship, and partnership.  Please contact Mark Rivard directly at [email redacted] to set up a brainstorming conversation about how we can build an outstanding partnership through your generous support.

www.STAGECulinary.com 

LET’S GET INVOLVED!