John Santora, Chair phone: (607) 587-3170
E-Mail Address: SantorJM [at] alfredstate [dot] edu
The food industry, and in particular food production and management, is one of the most creative, dynamic and fastest growing industries in the world. The variety of positions and number of culinary employment opportunities are apparent to anyone who has dined in a restaurant, resort, airplane, college dining hall, hospital, or coffee shop. The industry offers a wide range of career opportunities on many levels, including food production and service, food production management, supervisor of food production employees, celebrity chef and employee training programs.
Students in this program learn culinary arts and baking by preparing approximately 700 meals each day in our institutional, á lacarte lunch and fine dining kitchens. Through production at "real-world" levels they develop professionalism, quality, and efficiency. Our labs include experience in volume, á la carte, fine dining, pastry work and baking, hands-on menu planning,production, service, along with management and supervisory skills to meet real customers' needs. Perhaps more importantly, they also meet employer expectations.
Students select from two curriculums to pursue their own individual interests in food. Culinary Arts (#930) is a more generalized degree for chefs and kitchen managers, whereas Baking, Production and Management (#931) focuses on pastry shop, restaurant desserts and retail baking production. The department also offers a dual degree program where a student may earn both degrees in only three years.