In a city defined by its grit, perseverance, and creativity, the Detroit Food Academy is working to plant seeds of change — one young Detroiter and one local ingredient at a time.
Founded by Noam Kimelman and Jen Rusciano in 2011, DFA is working to make cooking more accessible to Detroit-area students. The organization operates 13 in-person program sites around the community, aligning with the founders’ belief in bringing the kitchen to the kids.
And with its recent purchase of The Heidelberg Project’s former headquarters in the McDougall-Hunt neighborhood, DFA has a new space to continue bringing this vision to life and to expand on the community’s commitment to creative expression, both visual and edible.
The Heidelberg Project, an outdoor art installation founded in 1986 by artist Tyree Guyton, spans an entire block between Ellery and Mount Elliott streets and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year, generating over $6 million in economic impact for the region. Guyton, who maintains residence next door to DFA’s new space, welcomes the organization and its executive director, Kiki Louya, to the neighborhood with open arms.
The 4,500-square-foot property provides a new avenue for DFA to integrate food and art into local education. DFA purchased the space, which includes a fully equipped commercial kitchen, with plans to create teaching kitchens, a college and career center, office space, and a small youth-run café.
Louya, former chef-owner of Folk, is looking forward to being a part of the neighborhood’s story and growing the organization’s mission.
“We are thrilled to join the McDougall- Hunt neighborhood and acquire a property that facilitates this vision,” Louya said in a press release.
DFA serves more than 300 Detroit-area middle and high schoolers through five programs, catering to each student’s skill sets and passions.
The Afterschool Leadership Program offers students ages 12 to 24 a chance to begin their culinary learning process at one of the program sites partnered with DFA, which include several high schools and nonprofit centers in Detroit, Hamtramck, and Highland Park (virtual classes are also available).
Students who excel have the opportunity to join the Advanced Afterschool Leadership Program, where they will gain greater independence in the kitchen and create more-complex dishes.
The organization also works closely with Detroit-area chefs through fundraising initiatives. This past March, SheWolf and Leña collaborated on a multicourse benefit dinner for the organization. The dinner was attended by members of the Advanced Afterschool Leadership Program, many of whom had not been to a fine-dining restaurant before.
“I think it’s really important for the youth to have exposure to different cuisines and to not feel intimidated by multicourse menus like this,” Louya said to Hour Detroit at the event. “We want them to feel as though the dining scene here is theirs to enjoy, too, so we invited them here to experience it alongside us.”
Working with area restaurants and organizations, DFA offers paid career training through Small Batch, where students gain real-life work experience that allows them to see what life in the industry is like.
Directing a staff largely composed of both former and current chefs, Louya understands the importance of using industry connections for good.
“We offer job placement simply because we are an organization full of chefs,” Louya said. “I think it’s really important to use the connections within the restaurant industry and have a pipeline for our students that we’ve spent training for a number of years.”
But whether or not the students choose to pursue a culinary career, the life skills they learn from working in a kitchen will ensure success anywhere they go.
This story originally appeared in the June 2025 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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