The newly renovated space features eight cooking stations, steam kettles, convection ovens and more for Chef Apprenticeship and Hospitality programs
The Times
Bucks County Community College unveiled a new 1,370-square-foot culinary arts lab on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Newtown Campus.
“For more than 40 years, our Chef Apprenticeship and Culinary Arts Programs have been able to provide students with an understanding of theory, key industry requirements, and hands-on application of new skill sets within a production kitchen,” said Stephanie Shanblatt, PhD, college president. “To continue this vision, we needed a new, cutting-edge educational space that reflects the very latest commercial working environment.”
Shanblatt joined other college officials, including program coordinator Chef Earl Arrowood and fellow professor Chef John Angeline, in slicing a grand opening ribbon with a large kitchen knife to mark the opening of the culinary arts lab.
Located on the second floor of Founders Hall, the lab includes eight cooking stations with induction tabletop cooking hobs, steam kettles, a deep fryer, an aluminum cast char-grill, convection ovens, refrigerators, freezers and more. A former Chemistry lab was remodeled and retrofitted at an approximate cost of $875,000 to equip it as a commercial kitchen.
“This additional space will improve the entire operation of the Culinary Arts and Chef Apprenticeship Programs,” said Arrowood. “It will expand our curriculum’s training modalities as well as its capacity to train more culinarians with current, sustainable and integrated technologies.”
In addition to revealing the new culinary lab, the college launched a $15,000 fundraising campaign through “Pie Day,” March 14, to benefit the culinary programs. To donate, visit bucks.edu/foundation.
College officials also announced that the Bucks “Fresh Start” Culinary Arts Opportunity Program will be launched in May. The new collaboration with the Bucks County Opportunity Council will provide nine weeks of fundamental culinary training for low-income individuals and help with resumes, interview skills, and other job search techniques.
Bucks County Community College’s Chef Apprenticeship associate of arts degree is a 64-credit program that requires 6,000 hours of on-the-job training and educational courses that support and enhance the work experience. Degrees are available as food-emphasis or pastry-emphasis, and upon graduation, students are awarded their Journeymen Cooks papers from the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition, Bucks offers an associate degree in hospitality management and a certificate in culinary arts.
To learn more, visit bucks.edu/business, call 215–968–8227, or email business@bucks.edu.
