is a collaborative, city-wide initiative providing culinary and hospitality education to Milwaukee youth aged 14-22.

An offshoot of the nationally recognized Shular Institute, the goal of Brigade MKE is to change lives and support the local workforce in the greater Milwaukee area, ensuring that young people have the skills they need to establish successful careers in high demand industries that have opportunity for growth. 

IN MILWAUKEE The Shular Institute has selected Milwaukee as the first satellite location for the Institute, as it expands its award-winning program nationwide with Brigade MKE. 

Prism Economic Development Corporation is proud to launch Brigade MKE, in partnership with the Shular Institute. The program will operate out of Prism EDC facilities at the Parklawn Assembly of God Church in Sherman Park. 

As the most segregated city in the country and a place with acute socio economic struggles for people of color, Milwaukee native Sean Rush and PRISM EDC both recognize the need for culinary training in his hometown to expand economic opportunities for Milwaukee youth and specifically for people of color. 

Chef Shular and Sean Rush have a vision to educate and empower young people with the skills they need to establish successful careers in the hospitality industry – a vision that pairs perfectly with that of Bishop Walter Harvey. Bishop Harvey helped to found Prism EDC’s flagship program “UpStart Kitchen” based on one simple question: How can we serve the people of our Sherman Park community in a way that opens new doors of opportunity?

The missions of the Shular Institute and Prism EDC are combining to create Brigade MKE. 

The Shular Institute is a modern hospitality and advanced culinary arts program created to influence current and future leaders in the hospitality industry. Led by Certified Master Chef Daryl Shular, the first minority Certified Master Chef in America, and his business partner Sean Rush, a Milwaukee native, the Shular Institute in Atlanta is the first African-American-owned culinary institute in the United States. It offers a variety of programs to accommodate a wide range of professional goals, career objectives and individual lifestyles.