Student Chefs Run Niagara Falls Restaurants With F-Bites Program

NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK (WKBW) — People from all over the world come to check Niagara Falls off their bucket list.

After taking in the view, they can enjoy grilled chicken and cold lavender lemonade prepared by high school students from Niagara Falls.

“It’s usually a lot of crazy, funny reactions, like you’re only 17?” said Saquan Mitchell, one of the student chefs.

Mitchell has been working with chef Bobby Anderson for three years. This is his first job offer at BBQ and Sunshine, their food truck on Rainbow Boulevard.

“So I take kids from middle school, high school, train them in middle school, high school, give them soft skills and on-the-job training, and they go to Niagara Falls,” Anderson said.

Taylor Epps

Davon Wade has been working with Chef Bobby since the seventh grade, now he is 19.

“Having Chef Bobby in our lives is a blessing because there aren’t a lot of Black adults and Black chefs here who really care about the youth,” Wade said.

We first met Chef Bobby at a Starbucks run by his students, and then we saw him in class teaching these skills to students who are now using them hard and working on them.

Chef Bobby says it’s important to him that these kids get paid and get exposure, meeting people from all over the world at food trucks, F-Bites Cantina and Cataract House on Rainbow Boulevard.

“Niagara Falls, that’s… kind of crazy,” Mitchell said. “So it helps us gain a lot of discipline, and it also teaches us life skills, how to cook, how to be organized.”

Taylor Epps

We hope to prepare them for the future and help them pay tuition for future programs.

Saquan’s dream is to become a chef. Davon’s dream is to give back to his community.

“I want to help young people, I feel like I have a big influence on them, I want to motivate them to live a better life and stay off the streets,” Wade said.

Chef Bobby Anderson

But it’s not just about students. F-Bites works with Erie and Niagara counties on reintegration programs to prepare inmates for careers in the culinary industry.

As a non-profit organization, all our activities are carried out thanks to donations. You can support F-Bites by clicking here.