(SWEETWATER, Texas) – After an absence of several years, Culinary Arts has returned to Texas State Technical College’s Sweetwater campus. And regional restaurant watchers are excited about the possibilities.
“It opens yet another window to build and grow career opportunities for local and nonlocal students alike,” said Karen Hunt, executive director of the Sweetwater and Nolan County Chamber of Commerce. “The Sweetwater community benefits from promising chefs seeking job opportunities in our community.”
Hunt said Sweetwater has a lot of fast-food restaurants for its population size, but the city still needs qualified culinary staff to work at sit-down-style family eateries.
“Our casual, dine-in restaurant market has been stuck for many years, and having this program to provide a workforce could be of great benefit in the future when trying to convince an investor to take a serious look at Sweetwater,” she said.
Abilene is the dining hub of the Big Country, with a mix of regional and nationwide chains along with local restaurants. Anthony Edwards, assistant general manager at Copper Creek Restaurant in Abilene, said hospitality is necessary, no matter where and what type a restaurant is.
“I will say hard work, dedication, repetition and diligence will help you level up and move through the ranks and become a better server,” he said. “You do have to have some qualities and traits like charisma, being lighthearted, and (being) someone who can take care of another person beyond yourself.”
Jerry Morales, president of the Permian Basin chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association, said it is not difficult for restaurants in the Midland-Odessa area to find quality employees. He said the top way that area restaurants seek employees is through social media.
“The assumption is always that restaurants cannot find help due to the oil and gas industry and that we are competing with them,” Morales said. “At one point that was true. We would lose the younger generation to the oil and gas industry as they were paying better with better benefits and as many hours as you want. Over time, it has gotten so much better for our industry.”
Morales said the addition of TSTC’s Culinary Arts program can give Permian Basin students another option for learning.
“All of the culinary programs at the local high schools and junior college are full,” he said. “There is a waiting list to get into these programs. That is exciting to hear.”
Lyanna Cintron, one of two Culinary Arts instructors at the Sweetwater campus, is ready for the challenges of starting up a new program. She and fellow instructor Nathan Sheasby started the fall semester by setting standards for students to follow in the kitchen.
“A lot of people forget their foundations,” said Cintron, who has competed on two episodes of Food Network’s “Chopped.” “I want to make sure their foundational knowledge, like the knife cuts, is kept all the way through graduation. It comes down to the basics, like your base sauces and stocks. It is something people in the industry even have a hard time remembering.”
TSTC’s Sweetwater campus offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in Culinary Arts and certificates of completion in Culinarian, Culinary Assistant and Culinary Specialist.
For more information on TSTC, go to tstc.edu.