Home Posts tagged HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute

Free Line Cook Training Classes Begin March 30 at HCC

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Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) will be running a new edition of its free line cook training program at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute beginning March 30.

The six-week daytime program runs until May 8. Classes meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There are no classes on April 6, April 27, and May 4.

Additional spring semester line cook training programs will start on April 27 (evening) and May 11 (daytime).

“HCC tries to meet the needs of its students by offering multiple options for start days and times,” said Paul Sheehan, assistant project coordinator for Culinary Arts Programs. “Over the last few years, we have offered our free line cook training as separate day and evening programs to help students find the schedule that works best for them.”

The program is designed for those already in the restaurant industry who want to upgrade their skills, as well as unemployed or underemployed individuals interested in starting new careers.

“We usually have a mix of young people entering the job market for the first time and people who are re-entering the job market, looking for a second career,” Sheehan said. “The course is perfect for anybody who’s looking for a job and has a passion for food and the dining industry.”

All classes meet in person at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute at 164 Race St., Holyoke. Participants will learn all the essential competencies they need to become successful line cooks: knife skills; how to prepare stocks, soups, sauces, desserts, poultry, fish, and meat; culinary math and measurements; moist and dry heat cooking methods; as well as workplace soft skills, such as building a résumé and searching for jobs.

Offered as part of HCC’s Business & Workforce Development division, the line cook course is free to qualifying applicants. For more information or to fill out an inquiry form, visit hcc.edu/line-cook.

HCC Culinary Arts Students Prepare Meals to Support Community Compassion Project

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Daily News

HOLYOKE — Today, Nov. 25, at 3 p.m., community volunteers will visit the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute to pick up 150 cooked turkeys, along with assorted sides (mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes) prepared by Holyoke Community College culinary arts students to help feed hungry people this holiday season.

Their efforts are on behalf of the Compassion Project, founded by Areliz Barbosa, to deliver meals to hungry people on Thanksgiving. This marks the 23rd year of Barbosa’s initiative.

Last year, the HCC culinary arts crew helped the Compassion Project give out 1,000 hot meals for Thanksgiving. This year, Chef Tracy Carter, chair of the HCC culinary arts program, integrated the cooking of turkeys and Thanksgiving sides into the culinary arts curriculum to help meet the agency’s goal of delivering 2,000 hot meals.

Carter said the students and staff have been in production in the culinary arts institute kitchen all day today, getting the food ready for the 3 p.m. pickup. The HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute is located at 164 Race St., in Holyoke.

The food will be taken to Gran Cocina on High Street in Holyoke, where hot meals will be available for pickup or sit down on Thanksgiving Day.

HCC culinary arts students also prepared grab-and-go bag lunches for people participating in the 16th annual March for the Food Bank, as marchers, led by radio host and march leader Monte Belmonte, passed the Culinary Arts Institute on Monday on the Holyoke leg of their two-day, 43-mile trek from Springfield to Greenfield.

Chef Nadim Kashouh Returns to HCC This Fall to Share More Kitchen Secrets

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Chef Nadim Kashouh, owner of Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill in Springfield, will be sharing more kitchen secrets during a series of fall classes at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute.

Kashouh taught his first-ever classes at HCC this summer and will return four times this fall: Sept. 28, Oct. 19, Nov. 16, and Dec. 14. All the classes will be held on Thursdays from 6 to 9 p.m. at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute, 164 Race St., Holyoke.

In each standalone class, participants will learn to cook — and are encouraged to consume — a different five-course meal from the menu of Kashouh’s restaurant.

“Each night’s meal will be different,” he said. “We bring in staples like the hummus and baba ghanoush and stews that pair very well with rice. It’s five courses. We do an appetizer, a salad, a meat, a starch, and a dessert.” He will also be sharing some of his favorite wines imported from his native Lebanon.

“I promise it will be tons of fun,” Kashouh said. “It’s a very interactive class. It’s hands-on, if you want it to be. If you don’t, it will still be three hours full of tasting, laughing, and enjoying what I’m putting together for them.”

The cost is $189 per session. Beer and wine is included in the cost. Seats are limited. To register, or for more information about each session’s offerings, visit hcc.edu/cookingfa23.

HCC Offering Free Culinary Training for English-language Learners

By
Daily News

HOLYOKE — Holyoke Community College (HCC) is offering a free program for English-language learners looking to begin careers in the culinary and hospitality field.

The course, “MassSTEP ESOL Culinary Arts,” begins Monday, July 17 at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute, 164 Race St., Holyoke. It runs Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., through Aug. 25.

The 180-hour training is designed for people learning English who are at an intermediate level. ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) instruction is built into the curriculum. The program is free thanks to a grant from the Adult & Community Learning Services division of the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE).

MassSTEP (skills, training, education programs) denotes a statewide network of DESE-funded pathways that prepare adult learners for promising careers with dynamic Massachusetts businesses.

In the HCC class, students will gain skills in knife techniques, cooking methods, culinary math and measurements, workplace etiquette, résumé building, and job searching, and earn workplace certifications including ServSafe manager, food handler, and alcohol. The course incorporates 90 hours of English-language learning and career preparation. The program is open to adult residents of Massachusetts who are learning English.

“This hands-on training is an exciting opportunity for students to begin a new career in culinary and hospitality, advance into higher-level roles, or continue studying culinary and hospitality at the college level,” said Pesha Black, director of ESOL at HCC. “Our alumni have gone on to work in restaurants, food service, hotels, and started their own entrepreneurial ventures. We work with over two dozen local employers eager to hire qualified graduates as food preparers, line cooks, servers, bartenders, hosts and hostesses, and hotel workers.”

For more information or to enroll, contact Moira Lozada at (413) 561-7280 or [email protected].