Northwest Arkansas Community College explores culinary scenes

BENTONVILLE -- Northwest Arkansas Community College officials are crossing the country in search of ideas for an expansion of their culinary arts and hospitality program.

Evelyn Jorgenson, college president, and Steven Gates, senior vice president for learning and provost, traveled to Seattle two weeks ago to visit a culinary academy run by a community college. They intend to hop another plane Sunday to visit at least four culinary programs in New York City.

At A Glance

Career Opportunities

Graduates of culinary arts and hospitality management programs may end up with careers in:

• Caterer

• Culinary educator

• Food sales

• Food research and development chef

• Hotel manager

• Event planner

• Pastry chef

• Restaurant owner

Source: Staff Report

"The intent is to look at models of schools that are similar in size and scope to what we're trying to do and observe some of their best practices," said Keith Peterson, dean of workforce development.

The college's culinary arts program is housed at the Center for Nonprofits in Rogers, but it has run out of space there. Officials plan to move the program to the former Tyson Foods plant near downtown Bentonville that will be part of the city's planned Market District where food is processed, distributed and enjoyed.

The details of that arrangement haven't been finalized. The college hopes the space will be ready for the culinary arts program by January, Peterson said.

"We're still working on the overall facilities concept, the programming concept and making sure all of our ducks are in a row," Peterson said. "There are still multiple unknowns in the equation."

Peterson estimated the new space would provide the program between 25,000 and 30,000 square feet. It has about 18,000 square feet at the Center for Nonprofits, he said.

The program now enrolls between 140 and 150 students. Enrollment capacity is limited by the program's space. Peterson said he believes the college could expand enrollment to more than 250 students within three years after moving to the Bentonville site.

Jorgenson and Gates discussed their trip to Seattle and showed pictures of the Seattle Culinary Academy during a Board of Trustees' retreat meeting last week. The college wants its program to be "top-notch," and the Seattle academy has the kind of reputation the college aspires to, Jorgenson said.

"It's pretty hard not to see dollar signs because of the facilities and equipment, but we wanted to see what high-end culinary programs look like," Jorgenson said, as pictures of the academy were shown at the meeting.

The Seattle academy runs a bistro. Students not only prepare and serve the food, but also learn about business management, Jorgenson said. The Buzz, a coffee shop and bakery, also is run by students.

Gates called it a "really inspirational" trip. He noted the academy's commitment to using locally grown food and minimizing the amount of food that's wasted as part of the educational process.

Northwest Arkansas Community College offers three areas of emphasis within its program: culinary arts, baking and pastry arts and hospitality management. The American Culinary Federation this month granted the college accreditation of its culinary arts and baking programs, said Dede Hamm, culinary arts and hospitality program director and instructor.

Program graduates are employed in local restaurants, hotels, hospitals, bars and assisted living facilities, Hamm said.

Hamm said she's excited about the pending move to downtown Bentonville, which she said would be a great learning environment given how much Bentonville's culinary scene is growing.

"That's something our students would be very privileged to be a part of," she said.

The cost of the move to Bentonville and all that's involved in it is still unclear. The college will apply for some grants, Peterson said.

NW News on 01/29/2015

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