A Chef’s Road to Sustainability

A chat with Chef Allison Sosna, Part I

The energy exuding from Allison Sosna as she launches into her story is palpable. I met her years ago as a fellow rower at American University, where she was studying and working part-time in the kitchen of a local restaurant. Four years later, I sat down with her to find out what that restaurant gig had turned into.

Allison’s life with food really began when she moved to Italy to study. “That was the game-changer,” she said, realizing then that her passion for food was something could not ignore. Returning to the United States, Allison knew she wanted to make this newfound passion her life.

Working her way through the kitchens of bars to the high quality fine dining in Washington D.C., Allison gained valuable skills not working with food but working with a plethora of people behind the scenes in the restaurant business. After working for a few years, she knew she needed the formal training; so she went back to school and graduated from L’Academie de Cuisine culinary school. But Allison knew that she wanted to bring her passion to something beyond the restaurant scene. She wanted to be a part of revolutionizing the food system—bringing together her passion of food with doing good for the people who consume it.

Finding an incredible opportunity at D.C. Central Kitchen, Allison quickly began to climb the ladder, bring the non-profit organization with her. Managing and cooking with ex-convicts to bring opportunity to the citizens of Washington, Allison found that her passion persevered through the challenges. She says, “it’s totally athletic” to survive in the business you have to have the ability to thrive through stress, long hours, and high-pressure situations.

Allison continues her work with the Kitchen, and now is the Executive Chef for Fresh Start Catering, working in the kitchens of D.C. Charter Schools, sourcing locally and sustainably grown food and bringing to the children. According to her, that is exactly the move that needs to be made, the kids are where it’s at and bringing real food to them will really make a difference to teach them the life lessons they need. “Kids do so much of their eating at school, we need to be teaching them the right things about food.”

To be continued…