If you picture yourself adding herbs to an exotic recipe, whether for a food critic or a room full of diners, then the Food Production and Management program at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College’s West Harrison County Center will satisfy your appetite.
Chefs Corey Ray and Phil Bryant give their students the skills they need to make that happen. Ray, instructor of the post-secondary program, teaches the two-semester career program Food Production and Management, which provides the technical skills necessary to start a career in restaurants, catering and quantity food operations. Bryant teaches the secondary portion of the program, which is offered to students from Long Beach and Pass Christian high schools.
“The economy along the Gulf Coast is driven by tourism, and, of course, restaurants are a key component of that industry,” Ray said. “Our students have the opportunity, even in this tough economic environment, to find a job in a career field they love right here at home.”
Ray touts the culinary program’s success. “There’s a waiting list to get in the program. We only accept 16 at a time. Many people who don’t initially get in the program will take the summer classes in baking and catering, hoping for a spot the next go-round.”
Both the secondary and post-secondary programs offer students practical application of the skills they learn. Not only do they practice preparing various dishes, they also cater for college events. The post-secondary students run the B Street Bistro, a popular student-run restaurant set up at the West Harrison County Center one night a week. They also prepare to take tests for various certifications they will need in the industry. Those exams include ServeSafe.
Robert Windham, a former student in the post-secondary program and the owner of Creole Creations at Port Bienville Industrial Park, said the preparation he received in the program was just what he needed to get his start. “The program not only trained me in food preparation, I learned how to place orders for food, how to figure out what to order and many of the other business aspects of running your own restaurant.”
Windham serves 300-400 lunches a week in a niche market he found at the industrial park. “These people had absolutely nowhere to go to eat. I brought a catering trailer in and started preparing hot meals. They loved it, and my business is successful. I would never have had the confidence to start this business if it wasn’t for the training I received in the program. I knew I could handle all the details involved in running the business.”
Bryant’s secondary program is a two-year program that prepares students for jobs above the regular-line employee. “On completion of this program, students can get jobs as assistant managers rather than a line employee. It also prepares them for the ServeSafe test they are required to take in restaurant management.”
The program follows a national curriculum and allows students to continue into the post-secondary program. “We currently have one student who completed the secondary program and is now in the post-secondary program. Many of the other students went straight to work after high school or on to college in related fields, such as Hotel and Restaurant Management (offered at the Jefferson Davis Campus).”
Jackie Espinoza, the Sous Chef at the Island View Casino Resort and the 2009 board chair for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), said the programs offered at the West Harrison County Center “provide students a good foundation in the culinary arts. These programs encourage students to become involved in professional organizations, like the ACF, and prepare them for important certifications they will need in the industry. They also provide students with basic-sanitation and food-law knowledge training through the National Restaurant Association (NRA).”
She said that students will, after completing the programs, be able to start jobs as either line cooks or prep cooks, depending on their job experience. “When I speak to the classes, I explain to them that experience is important in this field. The education will get them in the door, but experience will get them the better-paying jobs. I tell them to think of their culinary-school education as a basic introduction to culinary-world fundamentals. The rest of their training only comes with hands-on experience in the work place. Knowledge, from the classroom to real-world experience, is the key to doing well in this very competitive business.”
For more information about the Food Production and Management Technology program, contact Chef Corey Ray at (228) 868-6057, or visit www.mgccc.edu.
