With a growing number of new courses and program options and a variety of burgeoning community partnerships which allow students to put their newly-learned skills to work, the College of the Canyons culinary arts departments is becoming a well known entity both on campus and in the community.
“The department is really growing, and the community is really embracing us which is exciting for our students,” said Cindy Schwanke, of the COC culinary arts department. “Because of that support from the community, students are finding work right here in the Santa Clarita Valley and throughout southern California after leaving COC.”
Though still relatively new on campus, having only been formed in 2006, the college’s culinary arts department has already seen a number of its accomplished students go on to assume careers in various aspects of the industry.
“We’ve got some real superstars coming out of the program,” said Schwanke in reference to former students who have gone on to work for SCV area restaurants and catering businesses. Recently, Schwanke and a number of her students visited the Hyatt Valencia kitchen facilities on a fieldtrip and had the opportunity to meet with the hotel’s general manager, executive chef and catering general manager. That meeting subsequently led to a partnership between the Hyatt and COC in which a small number of students were selected to work alongside the Hyatt staff at a recent wine tasting event.
“Experience wise, that kind of an opportunity is huge,” Schwanke said. New students looking to enter the program or simply explore the vast culinary arts industry will have the opportunity to do so during both the winter intersession and spring 2008 semester. Seats are still available in Culinary Arts 121: Culinary Fundamentals I, which provides students with a basic introduction to the industry, including principles of food selection, preparation and evaluation while also incorporating studies in meal management, various cuisines and food presentation.
“If you’ve ever thought there might be an inner chef in you, this is the class to take,” Schwanke said. “There’s a lot of cooking time and lots of time spent in the kitchen gaining useful, hands-on experience.”
The Culinary Arts 121: Culinary Fundamentals I class meets Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with a one-hour lunch break, from January 2 to January 31 on the COC Valencia campus.
For more information about the COC Culinary Arts department please contact Cindy Schwanke at (661) 362-3816 or Cindy.Schwanke@canyons.edu . To register for both the winter intersession and spring 2008 semester, go to the college’s Web site at www.canyons.edu .