Sampson grew up in Reisterstown, Md. “I was expected to study something mathematical in college,” he says. Training as an electrical engineer at University of Maryland and Virginia Tech fit the bill. But early in his career, while working in Park City, Utah, Sampson decided to make a big switch to the culinary arts.

A New Roadmap
Given his childhood interests, cooking was not a surprise. Samson recalls “photos of me at 2 years old, playing on the floor with pots and pans, covered in flour.” In Sampson’s family, everything revolved around the table. “Both my mom and dad were the first generation to leave Iowa farming,” he says. Settling in Maryland, Sampson’s parents routinely made the effort to drive a half hour to farmers’ co-ops. “These were the kind of produce stands where you got what you needed and left the money in a cigar box—a real honor system.”

Utah turned out to be a fortuitous location for changing careers. “I landed a job making salads for Joachim Splichal at the five-star Stein Eriksen Lodge,” Sampson says. The Lodge attracted many accomplished professionals from near and far. “I stayed three years and had the opportunity to work with and study under some of the best culinarians.” Sampson’s culinary road has also led him to Virginia and Bermuda, where he worked as a sous chef for another three years and then returned to school, enrolling in The Culinary Institute of America.

Sampson admits, “When I returned to school, I had already achieved sous-chef level experience, but I felt I needed more.” He describes himself as an excellent technician who could follow direction and replicate a dish. “I still needed to understand the theory behind the practice,” he says. “School opened me up, allowed me to build upon my own ideas, create my own style.”

Today, Sampson’s style aligns with Sustainable American Cuisine—great food that is seasonal, fresh and sourced locally as much as possible. “Let the flavors mingle and shine,” he says. “Instead of manipulating ingredients, taste the life that is on the plate.”

Now that Sampson has his own restaurant, he has the freedom to practice his culinary philosophy. “I can say that we won’t serve tomatoes on our burgers in March,” he says. “If you can’t buy a tomato that tastes good, I don’t serve it.” The ever-changing menu offers eclectic surprises—everything from a three-egg sandwich to braised escargot, Chesapeake oysters and artisan cheeses.

After graduation from culinary school, Sampson returned home to Baltimore and worked at the Harbor Court Hotel, where he became executive chef. During his tenure, the hotel achieved its Five-Star, Five-Diamond rating, and in 2005, Sampson was named Chef of the Year by the Academy of Hospitality & Tourism. Sampson’s culinary career was thriving, but he was troubled by the city’s poverty. “I wanted to figure out something I could do,” he says.

Making a Difference with Dinner
And then Sampson met Bridget, now his wife. She had similar convictions, and their ideas evolved and flourished into both a marriage and a restaurant. Together, the couple opened The Dogwood Restaurant in 2006 and developed an apprenticeship program. The nonprofit program, which lasts one to two years, offers paid employment, culinary experience and classroom training to individuals who are transitioning from addiction, incarceration, homelessness and/or underemployment. “These are quality human beings who haven’t found a way to get out,” Sampson says.

There are six to eight apprentices at one time (one-third of the restaurant’s staff), who help to operate the 110-seat business. “Our goal is to provide training up to an intermediate level and then send them on their way,” Sampson says. Some apprentices are nervous to leave, but Sampson explains that The Dogwood opportunity is limited. (Apprentices get paid $9 per hour and can be raised to $14 per hour). “We want them to make more money and get benefits. So when they are ready, we nudge them along, point them in the right direction.”

Upon program completion, apprentices are placed with employers who are willing to give a second chance. Sampson admits that placement is not always easy. “If someone has been in prison for 20 years, mainstream corporations won’t hire them.” Despite the inherent risks and obstacles, the program has had tremendous success with apprentices moving on to steady employment.

There has been a learning curve, and Sampson has had to figure out what works best. “The way we select people for the program is more thought out now,” he says. “We require that apprentices have outside support such as housing and therapy, and are associated with another nonprofit organization. To participate, an apprentice must be clean for six months. We also have a counselor that advises us.”

Looking Out for the Person Behind You
“Our restaurant community has grown up naturally,” Sampson says. “The staff supports each other. If something is going wrong, the staff sees it first. If someone falls off the wagon and then asks for his job back, I used to do it, but then it happens again. My staff taught me that you have to be tough. I’m a softy, so that is difficult. But I have learned if I violate my own rules, I usually pay for it.”

The basis of an apprenticeship program resonated with Sampson because he began his own career this way, working up from the bottom. “I think a lot of chefs practice some type of apprentice-style experience,” he says. “As in any art, it is an obligation to our craft to mentor the person coming up behind you.”

Sampson hopes that more chefs will be open to mentoring just one person in transition.

“There are lots of outreach options,” he says. “You don’t have to put your business on the line as we did. If everyone trained one person, it would make a huge difference.”

Sampson makes it clear that he is a chef, not a counselor. He also knows that customers would not come to The Dogwood Restaurant if he did not serve good food. “Good food is what we aim to do,” he says. “And if we can help a few people along the way, it is all the better.”

Lynn Schwartz, a former New York City restaurateur, is a writer and writing instructor/coach (fiction and nonfiction) based in Maryland. Visit www.writerswordhouse.com .