Page 33 - BusinessWest December 12, 2022

HCC MGM R Culinary Arts
Institute Marks Five Years at New Location
estaurant work is not easy. Maureen Hindle knows
that, having graduated from Holyoke Community Col- lege’s (HCC) Culinary Arts
By Joseph Bednar
HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute, which occupies the first two floors of the Cubit building in downtown Holyoke. The $7.5 million, 20,000-square-foot, state-of-the- art facility opened in January 2018, so it will soon mark five years of growth and innovation, which included weathering the pandemic.
Chef and Professor Warren Leigh, who co-chairs the Culinary Arts program, said he’s surprised enrollment isn’t even high- er, given the opportunities available in a restaurant industry that’s crying out for workforce help.
“They can’t find employees,” he told BusinessWest. “Nobody knows why we’re not packed to the gills; we should be turn- ing students away, but it’s not happening. Every industry is looking for employees, and especially hospitality. Most all the res-
program in 2013 and working as a sous chef before returning to work in the HCC program about seven years ago as a lab technician.
“It’s a challenging industry, but it’s all passion-based, and I think that’s a huge thing,” she said. “Our students come here because they have a passion for cooking, and they want to grow that, and this is a good place to do that. And we wouldn’t continue to work in the industry in some capacity if we didn’t love it as well.”
By ‘we,’ she meant the team at the
Education
What’s Cooking?
Warren Leigh, co-chair of the HCC Culinary Arts program.
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