At work with: TCC's Culinary Arts Program coordinator

– As told to Pilot writer Carolyn Shapiro

I was in education before I decided to go back for my culinary degree. I always wanted to be a chef and get into food. I was a foodie, and I was ready to take it to the next level.

I went to Johnson & Wales for the majority of my degree. When I got out, I started working for Harris Teeter. All the food that was coming out of their kitchen – deli, bakery – was made on-site.

Then I went to work for Marriott. From Marriott, I went to work for Sodexo. From that point, I went to work for a company called Sage. They specialized in dining services for private schools. I was involved in that, setting up the kitchens and designing the menus and training the staff.

My path crossed with the gentleman who was running the (TCC) program. He asked if I’d be interested in doing an adjunct class. So I was teaching in the evenings and working during the day, for about seven years. After that, the gentleman who was in this position took a position at a school in the Midwest. So I threw my hat in the ring. This is my seventh year as program director.

It’s probably the whole idea of giving someone a skill that, prior to me being involved, they didn’t have. When you leave, you know how to use a pastry bag. You know how do a certain cut.

I believe that one of the ways we learn is visual. We actually start with a presentation. It’s usually either a video or we go over notes, so they have something written. Then we do the demo. And then I allow them to practice it. I’ll critique it. And I’ll give them another chance to do it.

There’s a lot more to it than just getting in the kitchen. I say that to the students all the time, especially in baking class. They’ve got the dough and they’re kind of gently rolling it out. And I’ll say, “Who has more brains here? You or the dough? You’re in control. Show that dough you’re in control. Don’t be afraid of that dough.”

Fear is a big element in learning how to cook. People are afraid to hold a knife. The truth is you’re the master of the kitchen. You’re the master of this. It’s not telling you what to do. You’re telling it what to do.

We teach how to make pasta in the beginning class. Pasta’s kind of boring, when you really think about it. It’s very easy to make. I try to show them what you can do with it that’s exciting. When we make homemade pasta, we do the dough. Then, we roll it out into sheets. I take the sheets, and I cut them into long strips. I get an herb, like basil, and I sandwich it between two slices. You run it through the pasta machine, and it pulls it, and it makes it look like stained glass. And we make a ravioli out of it.

Before you know it, they come back and say, “I made homemade pasta for my family” or “I tried those raviolis.” And then you know that you’ve got them. My grandmother, my mom’s mom, and my grandfather lived next door. So I was basically brought up in two houses. That was in New Jersey. Italian family. Cooked every day, holidays, baking. There was always something going on. I was always in my grandmother’s kitchen or my mother’s kitchen. Food was always a part of my life.

Around Thanksgiving, turkey is the key element. The one thing that I’ll tell anybody who’s making a turkey is make sure you brine it before you cook it. Absolutely, without a doubt, the best turkey you’ll ever eat is if you brine it, at least overnight if not longer. It absorbs the liquid and the flavor in the liquid, so that when you cook it, it doesn’t dry out, and it makes incredible gravy. I’ve tried buying high-end turkeys, Butterballs and the cheapest one that you can get at the grocery store. And when you brine it, you cannot tell the difference.