Program Description

The Culinary Arts CTE program at the Windham Regional Career Center provides students with the training and experience needed to gain employment in the food service industry and to pursue a post-secondary education in the culinary arts. Students will work on learning to prepare food by following recipes and instructions, refining their capacity to understand its composition.
The first half of this program is designed to teach the students about workplace safety and some basic food preparation concepts at the commercial level. The first level of the program is geared toward learning the basics of commercial food preparation and like the industry, it is not focused on personal consumption. Once the students obtain the Culinary OSHA safety training and certificate, they automatically earn their culinary uniform. Once obtained, the uniform will be required to participate in class activities and worn daily. Thereafter, the uniform will be the student's responsibility and must be kept clean. Once they become fully uniformed, the students will learn knife skills, equipment use, methods of cooking and baking, culinary terminology, and customer service. Students will additionally learn safety food handling and sanitation practices. Once enrolled in Culinary II, students can attain the nationally recognized Serv-Safe manager certification. Culinary students may work in the program's Cafe 24 kitchen and have a chance to practice what they learn in a professional setting. Students who complete the full Culinary Arts program at the Windham Regional Career Center are prepared for entry-level culinary positions and encouraged to continue their education at the post-secondary level.