PARKERSBURG - West Virginia University at Parkersburg is accepting applications for its new culinary arts program, which will begin in January.
The applicant interview process will begin next week.
WVU-P's Culinary Academy will open in the college's newly renovated downtown center on Market Street. The program will be blend traditional classroom and online courses, and foods grown by the Diversified Agriculture students will be used to prepare foods.
Article Photos
Photo Provided
West Virginia University at Parkersburg diversified agriculture program coordinator Rosa Guedes, left, science and technology division chair Dave Thompson, center left, culinary program coordinator Gene Evans, center right, and senior vice president for academic affairs Rhonda Tracy discuss how the college’s culinary and agriculture programs will work together.
Curriculum will include all phases of cooking and provide students a local and more affordable option for culinary arts education. The downtown center includes a complete commercial kitchen for student training purposes and a small bistro area where second-year students will prepare and serve gourmet meals on a limited basis.
"I am very excited and extremely happy to see the program launch on schedule in January for the spring 2013 semester," said culinary program coordinator Gene Evans. "I am ready to get back into the kitchen and begin the program with our inaugural class. Also, I'm enthusiastically looking forward to collaborating with our new diversified agriculture program to use fresh, local produce in our culinary facility."
Students enrolled in the program can seek a one-year certificate or a two-year associate's degree. Classes will be heavily laboratory based and filled with hands-on learning using industry-based standards. Students obtaining the associate's degree can also receive their Certified Culinarian designation through the American Culinary Federation.
Students interested in applying can download the application from www.wvup.edu.
