Students in the new cooking course at Coast Mountain College have had to make some adustments due to the COVID-19 crisis but the instructor and the students say things are still going well.
The Level 1 Professional Cook Apprenticeship is a dual credit course meaning highschool students get a chance at taking a college course before graduating secondary school. This is the first time the college is offering this course and brought in a mobile classroom to offer it. The unit, which sits in the parking lots of the Smithers campus, acts as an authentic culinary environment for students, with the ability to open up to approximately 1,000 square metres of space.
Since the pandemic hit, the class has had to be split into smaller sizes to allow for social distancing and some learning has gone virtual.
Despite all that, Culinary Arts instructor Chef Rob Stach said the students are learning a lot.
“There have been lots of challenges with COVID-19 but class is doing well and happy to be in the MTU unit, lots of good equipment and I think the students are having a good expereince,” he said. “I hope they leave with a basic understanding of some of the skills we’ve taught them like the introductory skills and they can go into the industry and be constructive workers.”
He added the bonus of splitting up the students is that they get a lot more one on one time.
Brandon Gagnon is one of Stach’s students and said the dual credit gives him a head start on his post secondary career. He is graduating from highschool this year and will be able to enroll in the second part of the program in the fall.
“I love being in the kitchen and being able to cook,” he said.
He has dreams of opening a vegan bakery.
- with files from Trevor Hewitt