Chef Joe Daboul

How did you arrive in Carbondale? Do you have formal training in culinary arts?

After receiving my undergraduate degree from Michigan State University, I worked as a corporate retail sales representative for Kraft Foods in Detroit, Michigan. I found the industry mundane and moved to Denver, Colorado on a whim to go to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University – now closed. After working in notable restaurants in Denver, including beast + bottle – also, now closed -- and working as a private chef around the U.S., I settled down in Carbondale to start my private chef business to offer culinary services to the Roaring Fork Valley.

How did you arrive in Carbondale? Do you have formal training in culinary arts?

After receiving my undergraduate degree from Michigan State University, I worked as a corporate retail sales representative for Kraft Foods in Detroit, Michigan. I found the industry mundane and moved to Denver, Colorado on a whim to go to culinary school at Johnson & Wales University – now closed. After working in notable restaurants in Denver, including beast + bottle – also, now closed -- and working as a private chef around the U.S., I settled down in Carbondale to start my private chef business to offer culinary services to the Roaring Fork Valley.

What drew you to working with youth? Do you have any side projects we should be aware of?

I feel it is important to give youth an opportunity to learn how to cook, whether as a means to become a professional chef or to gain a critical life skill. For me, food is much more than just eating. Food represents culture, togetherness, emotion, expression, and artistry, and if I can share this insight on food with youth, it is my hope that they can gain a respect and love for food as I have.

As mentioned above, I also have a private chef business here in the valley. Whereas I thoroughly enjoy opportunity my own business, being the Lead Culinary Instructor at Youthentity is extremely rewarding.

What have been some of your most gratifying moments with Youthentity?

There have been many gratifying moments since I began working with Youthentity, including watching four of my students compete in the Colorado ProStart Culinary Competition this February and winning 2nd place! Seeing the amount of dedication and hard-work these students put in to achieve such an accomplishment was beyond rewarding.

Every day, I see these students develop lasting relationships with each other and watch them grow both as people and as chefs. Seeing their confidence grow with every accomplishment while considering what they want their futures to look like is quite rewarding.

What’s coming up that we should be on the lookout for?

Youthentity will soon be rolling out a new pilot program called High Five Your Life. High Five Your Life is an online platform that aims to be a life-planning tool for kids to research and compare different jobs and careers - including the cost of education - and create a roadmap to future success. With High Five Your Life, we hope to take the mystery and ambiguity out of planning for careers and higher education.

How do you source your food/ingredients? Any local farm collaborations?

At Youthentity we do our best to source all organic, non-GMO, local produce. Whereas we often have to rely on Whole Foods for many of our ingredients, when the season permits, we will source from the vendors at the Carbondale farmer’s market.

We work. very closely with out friends at Highwater Farm in Silt, CO. Sara Tymczyszyn, the director of Highwater Farm, and her team have done a wonderful job of producing beautiful herbs and vegetables which we at Youthentity have had the pleasure of using in our kitchen.