Serving Success

Caption: Culinary Apprenticeship Certificate students, chef instructors and Pam Moss, program manager, are all smiles at Chef's Table on May 1 at the College of Continuing and Professional Education at Kennesaw State University. (Photo by Reid Traylor)

KENNESAW, Ga. (May 7, 2013) – Future chefs put nearly nine months of learning on display during Chef’s Table on May 1 at the College of Continuing and Professional Education at Kennesaw State University. This event served as the grand finale for the Culinary Apprenticeship Certificate program at the college.

Each year, classes begin in September and end in May, followed by graduation in June. Students enrolled in the program are exposed to the European model of instruction which provides an opportunity to apprentice alongside professional chefs. Classes take place at KSU Center (3333 Busbee Drive, Kennesaw, GA, 30144).

While students learn knife techniques and other important skills in the professional kitchen at KSU Center, it is at their culinary apprenticeships where they get a taste of the real world. Fine-dining establishments such as Elevation Chophouse, Villa Christina and Park 75 at the Four Seasons and companies such as Endive Catering and Parsley’s Custom Catering also serve as their classroom.

“A Salute to Sustainability” was the theme at this year’s Chef’s Table. Family, friends and instructors feasted on offerings such as scallop and shrimp ceviche, stuffed mushrooms, Jamaican jerk chicken, chicken garbanzo salad, tarragon and gruyere petite quiches, and halibut tacos.

Pam Moss, Culinary Apprenticeship Certificate program manager, said, “It’s such a joy to see the growth and development of our students from start to finish. Our instructors and mentors do such a great job of training and guiding these future chefs.”

Chef instructors Greg Brooks and Frazer Breckenridge guide the students throughout the program. Chef mentors are Rich Bradshaw from Elevation Chophouse, Drew Ihrig from Endive Catering, Robert Gerstenecker from Park 75 at the Four Seasons, Andreas Georgakopoulos from Villa Christina, and Marc Sommers from Parsley’s Custom Catering.

The fifth cycle of the Culinary Apprenticeship Certificate program begins Sept. 4, 2013. The next free information session is July 25 at 7:15 p.m. at KSU Center.  For more information on the program, visit ksuculinary.com. For more on the information session, visit ksuexpo.com.