Meeting & Agendas

I hope this email finds you well! I wanted to take this opportunity to update you on some things we have been working on in the department. I know we all have busy schedules, but I felt this an excellent way to keep you in the loop. I hope to schedule another in person meeting over the summer months.

After taking into consideration your feedback from our last meeting, we have made some curriculum changes to programs in our department. As of Fall 2013, we will be offering a second Associates Degrees in Baking and Pastry. We have added a number of pastry courses to round out the student’s education including Plated Desserts, Chocolates, Wedding Cakes, and Laminated Doughs, Pate a Choux and Donuts. We will also continue to offer the Associates in Culinary Arts and two certificate programs, one in Culinary and one in Pastry. We have made the choice to discontinue the Culinarian certificate because it did not provide students enough training to enter the work force. All four programs will require students to complete a new Practicum course that helps them gain on the job training. The Practicum course, that was added to our department this Spring, requires students to complete a minimum of 338 hours in on the job training. This is considerable more time than the previous internship class, thus preparing them to enter the work force with more qualifications and well-rounded experience. We are talking with several business leaders and forming new connection to help our students gain this valuable work experience at qualified locations.

We are also very excited to share that we have implemented a study abroad program for the Baking and Pastry students. The students will be heading to Florence, Italy to study at the Palazzi Institute for three weeks this Summer! The trip will help them towards gaining credit for two pastry courses (6 credit hours) and they will be accompanied by our very own pastry Chef Stephanie Herrington. We can’t wait to hear about their educational experiences and see pictures upon their return. We hope to expand our student abroad programs in coming years.

We have had the opportunity to participate in a few events in recent months that have given our students great experience and exposure. Last Fall we hosted Temple Grandin and a dinner party of 25 special guest for a four course dining experience prepared by chef instructors and students. Ms. Grandin, bestselling author and activist, spoke at the UT campus to a group of over 300 individuals before touring our facilities and dining on our campus. Our students and alumni also participated in the “That Takes the Cake Show” this February with a number of our students placing in competitions, including Best in Taste for her Chocolate Raspberry Cloud Truffle. Other students placed 1st place in confections and buttercream 1-tier technique, 2nd and 3rd in special techniques, 2nd in professional wedding tiered, and 3rd in adult beginner sculpted cake. We are so proud of all their entries and efforts! We hope to encourage our students to participate in competitions and coordinate more opportunities in coming semesters.

As always, I appreciate hearing from you and gaining your feedback and thoughts. We’ll be in touch about scheduling our next meeting later in the year. See you then!