Caitlin Arens (caitlin@pilotlightchefs.org) is the Food Education Fellowship Director at Pilot Light. She leads the Fellowship, including its professional development, and works alongside Fellows to develop partnerships within their school and local communities, including chefs and food professionals. She joined Pilot Light’s staff having previously managed and instructed young people ages 18 months – 18 years at The Kids’ Table, a cooking school in Wicker Park. She believes young people are the future of food (in what we see as food, how we grow it, and how we share our knowledge with others), and nothing is more rewarding than seeing a young person fall in love with a new ingredient or learn a new skill. Throughout her career working in hotels, restaurants (including Blue Hill at Stone Barns), and farms in Chicago, New York, and abroad, she set out to make healthy and local food accessible to communities by working to connect folx in the education, farming, and food spaces.
She first became involved in Pilot Light’s Young Professional Board and has held multiple roles at Pilot Light on the programming team. She holds a B.S. from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and an AOS in Culinary Arts from The Culinary Institute of America. When she’s not figuring out how to use up an ingredient in her pantry or fridge, you can find her playing guitar or out exploring the city (and its many dog-friendly patios and parks!) with her dog, Carrigain.