Building A Business From Her C-CAP Roots

Jasmin Smith
C•CAP Class of 2009

Jasmin Smith, owner of Süss Pastries, developed an interest in a culinary career as a young girl through her family’s love of food. Her stepfather’s job as a chef also inspired her.

“My stepdad was working as a chef at the Hyatt in downtown Phoenix and when he brought me to Take Your Daughter to Work Day, I knew it was a career I wanted to pursue,” Smith recalled.

Smith attended a summer culinary program at Estrella Mountain Community College in Avondale. Her instructor told her about the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), which serves middle- and high-school students in Arizona and other areas across the country. C-CAP is a workforce development nonprofit that provides teens a pathway to success through culinary, job and life skills.