The toughest work you’ll ever cook up

Explore culinary arts at Bucks County Community College

By: LYSBETH BLEDSOE

‘I’ve


traveled well, tasted the finest foods, and had a great time, but I’ve also
worked very hard.’

Earl Arrowood, coordinator

Culinary Arts School, BCCC

"Students
Photo courtesy of Bucks County Community College
Please


visit our

Education 2001 sponsors:

Chapin


School

Chesterbrook


Academy

Comcast
DelVal’s


Graduate Program

DeVry
Health


Choices

The


Hun School of Princeton

Huntington


Learning Center

The


Jewish Center

Kiddie


Academy

Laser


Park

Lawrence


Presbyterian CO-OP NURSERY SCHOOL

The


Lewis Clinic

Mercer


County Community College

Mercer


County Technical

Middlesex


County College

Music


Together

New


Horizons Montessori

Notre


Dame High School

Our


Lady of Sorrows PRESCHOOL & CHILD CARE

Princeton


Day School

The


Peddie School

The


Pennington School

Pinecone


Academy

Princeton


Montessori School

Princeton


Eye & Laser Center

Princeton


Latin Academy

Princeton


Academy of the Sacred Heart

Princeton


Friends School

Princeton


Junior School

Roberts & deMarsche Orthodonics
St.


Ann School – Lawrenceville

Stuart


Country Day School

Sylvan


Learning Center

Sylvan


Learning Center – "Success"

Toy


King

United


Way – Help For Young People

Villa


Victoria Academy

The


Waldorf School of Princeton

Yoga & Tai Chi Center   

   WHAT do careers in bed-and-breakfast inn operation and restaurant/TV cooking have in common?
   They both sound delightfully easy but are, in fact, incredibly difficult, transcending the normal household skills in bed-making and meal-cooking by 1,000 percent — or more.
   Or, as Earl Arrowood, of Doylestown, Pa., puts it succinctly, "To be successful, you have to sacrifice 9 to 5 banker’s hours and be willing to work when everyone else is having fun."
   "And, when it comes to cooking," he says, "you have to get rid of any idea about ending up on TV, like the food show stars, unless you’re real good and hang out with News York types."
   On the other hand, Prof. Arrowood, coordinating the 24-year-old Culinary Arts School at the Newtown, Pa.-based Bucks County Community College (BCCC), is firmly convinced that "cheffing" can be among the world’s most emotionally and financially rewarding careers, worth all the effort required. "I’ve been in the business 31 years," the professor acknowledged, "and it’s tons of fun, but you make it fun by your own definition."
   "I’ve traveled well, tasted the finest foods, and had a great time, but I’ve also worked very hard," he adds. "You need stamina, a nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic, and a people-and-service orientation to make this career work, and you have to get off on creating wonderful food and pastries."
   At BCCC, "this career" involves a Chef Apprenticeship Program recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training.
   "Any BCCC student can take a cooking course from the Culinary Arts School," Prof. Arrowood acknowledges, " but not every student can be a chef apprentice."
   Why not? Talent, certainly, is involved, but so is time: To achieve an associate of arts degree from BCCC and official recognition from the Labor Department as a Certified Journeyman Cook or Pastry Cook requires attending BCCC each Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday for a full day of education while simultaneously working 6,000 paid hours (that is, full-time) within a three-year period.
   "This means actual on-the-job training at a hotel, restaurant, country club, a few select supermarkets like Genuardis, that do ‘scratch’ work in their own kitchens, caterers, bakeries, retirement communities and any other full-service food provider offering full-time employment and registered with the Department of Labor," Prof. Arrowood says.
   Currently, the Culinary Arts School, one of more than 600 across the U.S., claims close to 70 Chef Appenticeship enrollees, average age 26 and mostly men, although 80 percent of the apprentice candidates specializing in pastry production are women.
   Some students arrive already experienced, realizing they can’t progress further without either a lot more experience or Labor Department certification.
   Other students arrive "absolutely clueless," the professor admits. "Education is a very significant part of culinary training," he affirms. Many successful chefs have had two-three years of college training in their field, then gone on for professional certification through the American Culinary Federation or a couple of other organizations.
   And, he says, many celebrity chefs have also had considerable education, graduating from schools like the Culinary Institute of America, in Upstate New York, or Johnson & Wales, in Rhode Island, which Emeril Lagasse attended.
   "Whichever route other chefs choose, though, our Apprentice Chefs are ready to go out professionally and cook or bake."
   The road to Apprentice Chef’s certification and a BCCC degree is both long and complex, starting with the student’s possession of a high school diploma or G.E.D., and continuing with successful completion of an English, reading, and math placement test; written essay on career goals and aspirations, and plans to fulfill them; and finally, an orientation course.
   That done, students begin their first semester, August-December, following employment leads (unless they’re already employed) and going out on interviews, at least one of which will produce a full-time job paying a standard wage and permitting the student to spend one day a week at BCCC.
   They also spend their one weekday at BCCC taking practicum seminars on introductory tourism, hospitality management, and safety and sanitation.
   The second semester, late January-mid May, changes course work to basic food preparation and management, basic baking, and another course of practicum studies, like resume-writing, job interview procedures, and professionalism.
   The third semester, beginning the student’s second college year after a summer of employment, concentrates on advanced food preparation and management, buffet catering I, and a third practicum course.
   Following is a fourth semester with instruction on food, beverage and necessary equipment, business math, purchasing, and a fourth practicum course, all preceding a second summer of full-time work.
   A fifth semester spotlights nutrition, menu planning, cost and design, and a fifth practicum, while the sixth and last semester deals with advanced buffet II, writing business letters and reports, and a concluding practicum.
   The student also has to take courses in English composition, introduction to business, effective speaking and U.S. history II, emphasizes Prof. Arrowood, who has undergraduate degrees from the Culinary Institute of America and Florida International University, in Miami, and in 1990-91, earned a master’s degree in Hospitality Systems from the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology.
   Likely, a student takes them during the summer, along with regular work, or adds them to his/her scheduled semesters.
   More, the Chef Apprentice candidate specializing in pastry must complete three independent studies in addition to all the above, and in the same three-year time limit.
   "These studies, accomplished during the third and sixth semesters, allow the student to demonstrate proficiency in the pastry and baking arts, working right in our labs on campus," Prof. Arrowood says.
   Cost for all this intensive training is $76 per credit, with 60 credits required for a degree.
   "The fee is modest," Prof. Arrowood says, "but the results can make graduates very successful."
   "Wherever they work, however, and no matter how hard they work, our Apprentice Chefs achieve an escape of the moment," according to the professor, "whether they’re preparing an elaborate, multi-course meal or a big, juicy hamburger."