Cafe Momentum hosted its anniversary at Sissy’s on Sunday

Cafe Momentum serves as a culinary training facility for the disadvantaged from the Dallas County Youth Village.

Chad Houser, Jeffery Hobbs, Janice Provost

DALLAS — As Janice Provost, donning her signature pink chef's jacket, happily made the announcement that the Whole Foods in Lakewood would be donating more than $4,000 that evening, it became clear just how much momentum a good idea can gain in a year.

Amid a full house at Sissy's Southern Kitchen and Bar, Cafe Momentum proved for the twelfth time in a year that not only is it a success from a charitable and social standpoint, but that they can indeed execute a kitchen and dining room operation to meet the highest of standards.

“Working in a restaurant can be difficult, and these kids know that,” said Hobbs after the meal. “But they also see how rewarding it can be, and how they can see the fruits of their labor, and that means the world to them.”

Simply put, Cafe Momentum serves as a culinary training facility for the disadvantaged from the Dallas County Youth Village, but the reality of the operation consists of much, much more. With the continued purpose of making Cafe Momentum a permanent fixture in Dallas, Sunday’s charity dinner was headed up by Sissy’s chef Jeffery Hobbs, who also hosted the first Cafe Momentum dinner one year ago. The family-style meal of oven-roasted chicken with rosemary potatoes and fried okra was expertly prepared, delivered, and wholly enjoyed by the attendees, and the blueberry cobbler dessert was met with groans of delight.

“The whole process of seeing these guys go from a ‘nobody cares about me’ attitude to what you see tonight is amazing,” said Provost. “You can see the light in their eyes; they’re so excited to be doing this, and I think everybody can see that.”

For more information or to make donations, visit Cafe Momentum’s home page.