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Caldwell Community College Will Offer Culinary Arts on Watauga Campus Starting This Fall

Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute has announced that it will offer the Culinary Arts program on the Watauga Campus in Boone starting with the 2015 fall semester.

Culinary Michael Rivers
CCC&TI student Michael Rivers presents his dish to the “judges” during a recent Mystery Box Competition for students in the college’s Culinary Arts Program.

The program has been offered on CCC&TI’s Caldwell Campus in Hudson with much success and is now being added to the Watauga Campus in Boone.

“With an ever-expanding tourism industry in the High Country, we’ve seen an increase in culinary related jobs in the Boone region,” said Jeff Link, CCC&TI’s Career and Technical Education Department Chair. “So we felt it was the perfect time to expand the program to the Watauga Campus.”

Renovations are taking place in the Occupational Training Facility on the Watauga Campus to house a professional, modern kitchen facility and classroom for the Culinary Arts program. Although renovations are expected to last into the Fall 2015 semester, students in Watauga will be able to take CUL 110 (Sanitation and Safety) and CUL 112 (Nutrition for Foodservice) starting in August.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the projected job growth for cooks through 2022 is 10 percent, which is on average with other occupations in the United States. The median annual wage for cooks in 2012 was $20,550 while chefs and head cooks had a median wage of $42,480.

Culinary Arts is an Associate in Applied Science degree program. The curriculum provides specific training required to prepare students to assume positions as trained culinary professionals in a variety of foodservice settings including full service restaurants, hotels, resorts, clubs, catering operations, contract foodservice and health care facilities.

Students will be provided theoretical knowledge/practical applications that provide critical competencies to meet industry demands, including environmental stewardship, operational efficiencies and professionalism. Courses include sanitation/safety, baking, garde manger, culinary fundamentals/production skills, nutrition, customer service, purchasing/cost control and human resource management.

Graduates from the Culinary Arts program qualify for entry-level opportunities including prep cook, line cook and station chef. The American Culinary Federation certification may be available to graduates. With experience, graduates may advance to positions including sous chef, pastry chef, executive chef or foodservice manager.

To apply for the program, students must fill out a CCC&TI application, provide high school and/or college transcripts and take CCC&TI placement tests.

Registration is ongoing for the Culinary Arts program on both the Caldwell and Watauga Campuses. On the Caldwell Campus, registration is available for the summer and fall 2015 semesters.

Registration for the fall 2015 semester is available at the Watauga Campus. For more information on applying to the Culinary Arts program, contact Program Director Chef Keith Andreasen at 828-726-2478 or kandreasen@cccti.edu, or call CCC&TI Student Services on the Watauga Campus at 828-297-2815.C