CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For budding chefs an apprenticeship is an invaluable experience in their profession.

It’s an invitation to get highly sought-after, hands-on experience. In Charlotte, a barbecue restaurant decided to try something new. Sweet Lew’s BBQ recently hired its very first barbecue apprentice, Keywon Dooley

“We brought Keywon in because he’s young, he’s eager, he’s hungry, he wants to learn every day, he wants to do more,” Lewis Donald says.

Donald is the owner of Sweet Lew’s and is teaching Dooley the ins and outs of barbecue. Donald never considered hiring a barbecue apprentice until Adam Dietrich gave him a call.

“Once I knew that Keywon was looking for a job, I reached out to him because I knew he was always looking for great employees and I introduced the two,” Dietrich says.

Dietrich is one of the culinary instructors at Central Piedmont Community College. He not only trains students like Dooley but uses his networking skills to help them find apprenticeships within the city.

“It’s on-the-job training,” Dietrch says. “It’s an education without the formal books and tests. Every day is a test, and I think that with Sweet Lew’s BBQ being one of the best barbecues in Charlotte. I think that having that apprentice and being able for Lewis to essentially train the next generation, it’s invaluable.”

For Donald this situation not only gave him a valuable employee, but the opportunity to help Dooley grow in the culinary world.

“I want to give him as much as I can give him with what we have here in barbecue, and then at the same time I have the ability to put him in other restaurants and get him out there in the community and working with some of these other guys and other restaurants once the pandemic turns around,” Donald says.

The world of barbecue isn’t where Dooley thought he would end up after school, But Donald says this job will continue to be available for him as long as he wants it.

“My goal is to let him become something big with Sweet Lew’s,” he said.

Central Piedmont Community College offers a variety of culinary classes for students. You can find more information about its programs here.