Marianne Ali

Marianne Ali was an American chef who graduated from L'Academie de Cuisine in Maryland, who worked at DC Central Kitchen for more than 20 years and became the director of their Culinary Job Training Program in 2005.

Education

In 1974, when Ali was 17 years old, she started using drugs, later she decided to take 12th-grade English to become self sufficient, but the drug use stopped her to from reaching her goals.[1]

In 1994, after 20 years drug use, Ali looked for help and got detoxified and rehabilitated at the Marian House. The nuns who worked there referred her to a L'Academie de Cuisine. She funded her career with aid money and studied in their Gaithersburg, Maryland campus. L'Academie de Cuisine was a cuisine school founded in 1976 by Francois Dionot, it closed in 2017 after 41 years due to financial problems.[2][3][4][5][6]

Personal life

Marianne Ali was born in 1957 and was raised by her parents. Ali got pregnant when she was 19 years old and stopped using drugs for one year, and gave birth to Brandi when she was 20 years old. She then returned to drug use.[7] Her brother died when he was 40.[8]

Drug use and rehabilitation

Ali admired her brother and followed his marijuana use. She used heroin when she was 17 years old and used crack cocaine. She smoked marijuana during the day and crack during the night, some days without getting any sleep at all.

In 1994, after using crack cocaine she realized that if she did not seek help she would die due the addiction. She got detoxified and then entered the Marian House (a long-term transitional home run by Catholic nuns in Baltimore) where she received rehabilitation, and became free of drugs at age 37, she remained without drug use for 23 years.[9]

Career and activism

Marianne arrived at DC Central Kitchen in 1997 and worked there for 20 years. In 2005 she became director of the Culinary Job Training Program, a program that empowers unemployed men and women of the Washington metropolitan area, helping more than 1600 people to replace homelessness, addiction and incarceration with careers, helping them in job search, and linking companies in look for workers and new professionals in the service industry, improving their quality of life.[10][11][12][13]

Awards

was named a Champion of Change by the White House in 2014.[14][15][16]

Death

Ali died of cancer on August 30, 2017.[17]

Legacy

Marianne's Cafe, the coffee shop at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is named after her.[18][12]

References
  1. Kitchen, DC Central (2017-03-23), Marianne's Story, retrieved 2023-05-03
  2. "L'Academie de Cuisine, one of the nation's top culinary schools, abruptly closes after 41 years". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  3. https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/13471604/24/kelly-creekbaum-v-lacademie-de-cuisine-inc/
  4. Olver, Bill (September 3, 2020). "Court Dismisses Qui Tam Complaint Against Third-Party Hired by Defendant After Dates of Alleged Fraud; United States District Court for the District of Maryland No. DKC 17-3525, U.S. ex rel Christopher James Kelly-Creekbaum v. L'Academie de Cuisine Inc., et al".
  5. "Chef Francois Dionot, President of L'Academie de Cuisine Proudly Announces the Re-opening of the Recreational Cooking School in Bethesda, MD". PRWeb. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  6. "40 Years of Practice At L'Academie de Cuisine - Washingtonian". 2017-03-06. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  7. Kitchen, DC Central (2017-03-23), Marianne's Story, retrieved 2023-05-03
  8. Shaffett, Olivia (March 8, 2022). "The Lasting Legacy of Marianne Ali". DC Central Kitchen.
  9. "The Kitchen of Second Chances". The Daily Signal. July 19, 2015.
  10. "Marianne Ali". whitehouse.gov. June 27, 2014.
  11. "Chef Marianne Ali, the first Catalyst for Change Award Winner". Catalyst Kitchens. September 16, 2022.
  12. "DC Central Kitchen Works to Provide Training for Young Adults Facing Employment Barriers". April 1, 2022.
  13. Douglas, Maya (March 28, 2019). "30 years of DCCK: Our Staff". DC Central Kitchen.
  14. "Chef Marianne Ali, the first Catalyst for Change Award Winner". Catalyst Kitchens. 2022-09-16. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  15. "Marianne Ali". whitehouse.gov. 2014-06-27. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
  16. https://www.dclibrary.org/node/67541
  17. Douglas, Maya (November 20, 2018). "Marianne Ali North Star Award Winner: Christine Bates". DC Central Kitchen.
  18. Nellis, Nycci. "Marianne's by D.C. Central Kitchen". The List: Are you on it?.
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