Wildflour — a catering company with a cafe and bakery storefront
in Chantilly — has a secret ingredient to its success: it welcomes people with
special needs who have a passion to cook.
“I do a lot of things here: serve customers, clean up and prepare
food,” said Frank Stevens, a Wildflour employee.
With the stage presence of an actor, he gives a full tour of the
company where he works, interacting with a wide array of people.
“Now I’m going to show you the kitchen — and all of my friends,”
he said before giving a brotherly hug and posing with a worker preparing greens
for the salad bar. “This is my best friend of all, Chester Frederick III.”
For Alberto Figueiredo Sangiorgio, the manager, what makes Stevens and 40 of
his coworkers who have special needs “special” is their generosity of heart.
“At the end of the day, I sit in my car and say, ‘These kids are
incredible. They are unbelievable.
They trust you. They love you. They are very straight. They are
the most honest people that you will ever meet,” he said.
Recognizing the intrinsic talents of his workforce, Sangiorgio
walks around the kitchen making sure that people are staying on task — and
offering encouragement along the way.
“These kids don’t always get the opportunity to work, but here at
Wildflour they get a chance to,” he said.
Wildflour’s catering clientele includes the Diocese of Arlington,
and Sangiorgio has a possible contract with Amazon in the works. He is excited
about a program that gives his workers the skills to become chefs.
“The assistant chefs participate in this program where for three years
they learn absolutely everything about cooking. In the process, they are learning
skills every day that will help them survive in the jungle out there that is
life,” he said.
In addition to catering, Wildflour also makes dog biscuits as
well as jewelry. Sangiorgio credits Megan Mundy, a graduate of St. Paul VI High
School in Fairfax, with consistently crafting jewelry of a very high caliber.
“Just look at the fine detail,” he said, marveling at the red,
white and blue beads that she wove into a bracelet for the Fourth of July.
For many of the staffers, they are simply grateful for the
opportunity to work.
“I enjoy my work,” said Melissa Castellanos. “It is great to be
with my friends. I work hard, too.”
And Philip Keeffe, who rolls the dough used for the dog biscuits,
took pride in his productivity.
“I am going to make 10 containers of dog biscuits,” Keefe said
with a smile.
Leo Alonso, president of Porto Charities, sums up the Wildflour
spirit as one of welcome.
“At Wildflour, you have more than 40 young adults working with
all their friends. It’s a very happy place. They cater all of our Porto Charities
functions,” Alonso said. “They’re happy to go to work. What else can we ask for
regarding our young adults with disabilities than for them to have a place of
employment where they are happy and earning money and getting a paycheck.”