On February 28th 2019, with a slice of a ribbon Bucks unveiled the new Culinary Arts Lab at the Newtown Campus.
This ceremony marked the grand opening of the new 1,370 square foot culinary lab, located on the second floor of Founder’s Hall. The lab includes cooking stations, deep fryers, freezers, refrigerators, steam kettles, convection ovens, and a whole lot more for students who are enrolled in the Chef Apprentice and Hospitality Program.
The new kitchen lab cost around $875,000 and was converted from a chemistry lab.
Bucks has been training students in the chef apprentice program since 1978.
Chef John Angeline, who has worked at Bucks for 17 years as a chef-part time instructor, and 11 years as a chef- full time instructor expressed his excitement for the new lab.
When asked what it means to be a chef instructor Angeline said, “Teaching allows me to pass on the knowledge and experience that I obtained to the students at Bucks County Community College. Students inspire me to stay current on what is going on right now in the culinary world.”
Angeline added, “I am very excited to hold classes in the new lab and grateful to the people here at Bucks that made this kitchen possible. Thanks to Tracy Timby, Dean of Business + Innovation, Chef Earl Arrowood, Provost Lisa Angelo and President Dr. Stephanie Shanblatt. We really have an excellent facility.”
“Chef Arrowood put a great deal of time and effort in the planning of the lab and Dean Timby, Provost Angelo and President Shanblatt deserve recognition for their continued support of our culinary program,” said Angeline.
The new culinary lab will improve student’s ability to learn more, become a better chef/baker, and obtain experience.
According to Angeline, “They will experience working with equipment similar to what they will find in job situations.”
In detail, Angeline described the new features of the culinary lab.
Chef Angeline explained, “The culinary lab has eight self-contained workstations. Students will have the ability to prep, mix and/or cook without spending time gathering equipment from various places. This will maximize the time they have for hands-on learning.”
At each station is an energy efficient induction cooktop. The deep fryers have a filtering system that extends the life of the oil. We also have an oven that can perform multiple operations at the same time.
It can detect how much food has been placed inside and distribute the heat evenly. It can even cook two or more different products at different temperatures at the same time.”
Improvements in the lab have helped students as well, according to Angeline, “The layout of the new kitchen enables students to learn in a more efficient way. The workstations are self-contained, so students do not need to run around to find the equipment they will use.”
The new kitchen has already allowed Chef John Angeline’s students to create delicious dishes.
“We have a five week modular course called Chocolate Essentials that just ended a couple of weeks ago. We used the new facility for two of our kitchen lab sessions. Chocolate desserts and confections are one of my favorite areas in pastry, so those two classes included making my favorite things,” said Angeline.
The new kitchen will let those students in the Chef’s Apprenticeship and Culinary Arts Programs continue to expand their skills.