Jose Alvarez, 17, a Western High School student, rubs his hands together in anticipation of starting the Hatch Culinary Lab progam at the OC Fair & Event Center on Feb. 28.

There aren’t very many cooking jobs to be had in Camden, only about 30 percent of Chef Shawn’s students get placed after the 14-week program. He finds that students outside detention are more eager ...

"But I was still thinking about culinary school, to get the hands-on training in different techniques," he says. After 16 years of formal education, he wasn't interested in the longer, CIA program.