Judy Ewer has worked in law offices for years, but the 52-year-old mother of two decided she wanted to make a career change. She’s cooked for fundraiser dinners at church but never done it as a professional job.
“The more and more cooking I’ve done, the more I realized it was something I wanted to do,” she said.
Ewer learned that the Chippewa Valley Technical College was starting a culinary management program, and she immediately decided she wanted to enroll.
“I’ve had it in the back of my head,” Ewer said. “If I wanted to do it, now is the time.”
The culinary management program is set up as a 6,000-square-foot classroom in the CVTC Business Education Center at 620 W. Clairemont Ave. The $3 million investment, partially funded by the CVTC Foundation, was shown off to the public on Friday in advance of the first class starting on Monday. The program will feature 26 students — the maximum number — in a two-year program.
Kevin Brown is one of the two chefs hired last year to develop the curriculum for the new class. Brown said he’s been working in the cooking industry for nearly four decades, from Vermont to Washington, D.C., and he was thrilled to start up this new class.
“This is my first time getting to do a full build-out and design curriculum,” Brown said. “It’s quite an honor. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Brown said he will be teaching the basic skills and he will work with the students on whatever their dreams are, whether it is to start up their own restaurant, open a food truck, work in a bakery or any other type of cooking goal.
“Our students can go straight from our program into the industry,” Brown said.
The classroom is set up with a new kitchen and 24 cooking stations, allowing everyone to cook simultaneously. There are three cameras and large screens, so students can watch their teachers on the monitors rather than gather around as they cook.
“We’ve set this up as a working restaurant,” Brown said.
Jon Fike is the other cooking instructor, having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America from High Park, N.Y. This job is his first in the Midwest.
“It’s not every day you get to start up a whole curriculum,” Fike said.
Fike pointed to the row of three lines in the kitchen area, with ample prep spaces, numerous ovens and the latest of cooking technology devices.
“We can really give students the individualized attention,” Fike said.
Joanne Palzkill, owner of Draganetti’s Ristorante in Eau Claire, and a member of the executive board of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, toured the cooking school Friday and was impressed with what she saw.
“This is any (restaurant owner’s) dream,” Palzkill said. “Any (restaurant owner) would love to have this kitchen. It’s phenomenal; this is absolutely state-of-the-art.”
Palzkill said there has been a need for a culinary school like this in the area.
“Our industry has been really challenged by (the lack of) workforce — finding those who want to work and those who have the skills,” Palzkill said. “So much of our training is on-the-job at this point. The pool of those interested in working and have the skills is really dwindling.”
Palzkill said she hopes to land some of the graduates.
“I’m sure most of these people will have jobs lined up before they graduate,” she said.
CVTC President Bruce Barker was excited for the program to get underway.
“This has been a three-, four-year planning project,” Barker said. “To be this close to opening day and seeing it come to reality, it’s really exciting.”
Barker said that CVTC’s top goal is to support the needs of the area’s industries, and this cooking school meets that goal. He added that it’s great to have the latest in technologies, so area restaurants can see that equipment and determine if it’s worth investing in those machines.
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