Interested in creating culinary delights as a career?
In response to growing interest in culinary-arts curricula, Gateway Community College will expand its offerings to include a new degree program this fall.
Students can now pursue a Culinary Arts Associate of Arts degree. This will be in addition to existing culinary educational offerings at Gateway, where students already can earn Culinary Arts or Professional Baker certificates.
Christopher Gentile, program coordinator, said the new degree program will “bridge the gap between basic food preparation and job readiness.”
The curriculum includes an array of courses, covering the hospitality industry, food safety, baking, nutrition, international foods, buffet catering, and icing artistry, for example.
A new course in the degree program teaches advanced techniques and recipes, including high-end decorating and design applications such as sugar pulling. In another new course, students will take field trips to learn directly from culinary industry professionals.
Students can take classes on a full- or part-time basis, both days and evenings. According to Gentile, Gateway has had high enrollment in its culinary arts classes.
The goal is to provide students with knowledge they need to be successful in the culinary industry, whether it is working in a restaurant, hotel kitchen, bakery, catering business, school or health-care facility, or operating their own food truck, according to Gateway.
The program also includes between 150 and 300 hours of work experience, in which students can earn credits toward graduation while employed.
Students can work at Gateway’s program-based restaurant, Café Vincenzo, which offers dishes like filet mignon, polenta-encrusted salmon and lasagna. Students complete internships at culinary-based businesses throughout the region, such as Eli’s restaurants and Keri’s Sweet Creations.
Previously, Gateway students who obtained a certificate and wished to pursue an associate degree would have to do so at another institution. With the new associate program, Gateway students will be able to continue and pursue a bachelor’s degree program at the University of New Haven, Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island, or the Culinary Institute of America in New York, Gentile said.
Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com
