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ACING THE FUTURE

CUTTING EDGE • CHANGING SCOPE • CHARGING FORWARD Online now! at SpiritofOmaha.com

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FACING THE FUTURE

L “We can permeate the city with good nutrition, good cooking, good food.”

RANDY SCHMAILZL METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY COLLEGE PRESIDENT

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ike the comforting smell of fresh bread baking in the oven or the mouth-watering aroma of tomato sauce simmering on the stove, “We can permeate the city with good nutrition, good cooking, good food.” Metropolitan Community College President, Randy Schmailzl had this to say of the college’s newest and most impressive addition to the Fort Omaha Campus, the Institute for the Culinary Arts and Swanson Conference Center.

Construction of the 16.3 million dollar facility, of which 2.6 million was generated from private funding with substantial gifting from Lincoln’s Pegler family, began in October of 2007. But earnest discussion regarding an institute actually began 16 years earlier in 1991, says Jim Trebbien, Dean of MCC’s Culinary, Hospitality and Horticulture program and Executive Director of the Institute for the Culinary Arts, when college officials could foresee a future need for a topnotch culinary program. In 2005 the talk was formalized into action when architectural plans were drawn.

The wishful thinking had become reality.

The Institute for the Culinary Arts and Swanson Conference Center opened in November 2009.

It encompasses 35,000 square feet of usable space, 17,000 square dedicated to instruction and service space for MCC’s culinary program. The first floor contains five kitchens for student training. Those enrolled in the bakery and pastry component of the program have their own bakery. An entire laboratory is dedicated to chocolate.

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Four classrooms round out the instruction area.

Also on the first level is Sage Student Bistro, where customers dine in JoJo’s Dining Room. Food for the Bistro is prepared by students in the second year of their education. “Restaurants are hesitant about hiring students,” comments Schmailzl. The Bistro is a classroom where students can learn. The second floor of the ICA building houses the Swanson Conference Center which fulfills needs for the education of hospitality students in event planning and management, as well as the college’s need for additional meeting space. The space can be converted to a banquet room accommodating 400-600 guests for a sit-down dinner.

Interest in food industry careers has steadily gained momentum, especially in the last ten years. Trebbien, who came to Omaha in 1971 and joined MCC’s faculty in 1985, said his colleagues in the industry were already talking about the need for a culinary school in the 1970s, as Omaha has always been know as a “food town.”

In 1991, when discussion of creating the ICA initially began, the culinary program had 125 students. Last year, the program enrolled nearly 600 students- four times the enrollment in 1991. About 22 percent of today’s students are minorities.

The ICA’s Culinary Arts and Management Program offers five different degree options for students seeking careers in the food industry. The Culinary and Cooking Preparation Option includes 52 credit hours in Culinary

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• SPECIAL EDITION: INSTITUTE FOR CULINARY PAGEART 4

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UCATION IN

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Arts. This program prepares students for careers as chefs, sous chefs and culinarians. The second option is a Chef’s Apprenticeship program. Students practice with a chef for eight quarters in both the class room and structured kitchen. Apprentice students usually have prior experience in a professional kitchen. The Chef’s Apprenticeship option is 67.5 credit hours.

The Culinary Management program is 51 credit hours and prepares students for kitchen management or supervisor careers. The Bakery and Pastry option trains tomorrow’s professional bakers and pastry chefs and entails 46 credit hours of class work. For those possessing a keen interest in the science of food is the Culinology Transfer program. Students interested in research are a perfect match for this course study as it prepares them to work in a research lab as part of a food development team. The degree (49 credit hours) is fully transferable to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. All of the degree options require an additional 59 credits in general culinary and general education classes. Other options are available in event planning and food and beverage management.

The rise in the number of culinary arts students mirrors the growth of MCC’s general student population.

Enrollment at Metropolitan Community College has witnessed a 50% growth in the last 12 years. Like a sweater splitting after steady weight gain, the college was similarly bursting at its seams.

New construction was not first on official’s minds when looking for ways to expand. “MCC scans the horizon and looks for buildings in Omaha to accommodate programs and coursework,” explains Schmailzl. MCC looked into Ralston, west Omaha and down town locations before settling on the Fort Omaha campus site.

“Renovating an existing building to retro-fit a building like this was more expensive than building fresh,” Schmailzl says. From a cost-effective point of view, building on the Fort Omaha campus was economically prudent from maintenance and public safety perspectives.

Fort Omaha campus was also an ideal site because of its proximity to down town. Sorenson Parkway provides easy access, and the green space surrounding S•

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the institute is a welcome aesthetic bonus. MCC officials also liked the idea of investing in North Omaha’s development. Says Trebbien: “The ICA is a building not typically being built is North Omaha.” MCC believes it will attract other businesses and industries to the area, that development will follow in its wake.

Trebbien says the modern design of the ICA “puts a different face on MCC,” “It’s a cutting edge building, a precursor to other things happening at the college.”

Schmailzl calls it a “futuristic building” that is “state-ofthe-art inside and state-of-the-energy outside.” The gardens are hydrated with a recycled water system, and the building was constructed according to LEED certification requirements. An underground tank stores rain water which drains from the roof to irrigate the gardens and landscaping. It’s glass exterior allows visitors to see inside the culinary class rooms. “It’s education on display,” comments Schmailzl.

MCC has a long history in offering the greater Omaha population educational opportunities, through continuing education classes and seminars and noncredit courses. Soon a new series of professional development courses will allow current chefs and workers in the local food industry to update their resumes without the expense of traveling out of the state to do so. And home chefs will be able to hone their amateur skills with non-credit classes on technique or various cuisines. “MCC helps the community to find ways to be educated. So many people are finding ways to use the Institute for the Culinary Arts,” asserts Schmailzl.

Trebbien traveled extensively to research culinary schools and programs when MCC was formulating its plan for the ICA. His travels taught him just how unique Omaha’s institute is: “There’s nothing like it from here to California.” Culinary schools are generally very expensive, but the Institute for the Culinary Arts is a cost-effective way to earn a top-notch degree within the food industry.

Omaha has always been a food town, populated by numerous excellent restaurants and avid eaters who patron them. This latest addition to the food landscape will secure Omaha’s reputation nationally as a city that not only loves to eat but supports the culinary arts like it does the performing and visual arts.

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• METRO COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSTITUTE FOR THE CULINARY ARTS

“It’s a cutting edge building, a precursor to other things happening at the college.” m

JIM TREBBIEN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR • THE INSTITUTE FOR CULINARY ARTS

Celebrating 20 years in 2010

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“[This puts] a worldly experience on foods in general. I had never tried or prepared sweetbreads or fois gras before.”

– TYLER RATIGAN, ICA STUDENT

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reat ideas often have humble beginnings.

The casual chat over coffee with a friend that leads to the opening of a new business. The gathering of green thumbs that develops into a community garden.

Wishful thinking made vocal among classmates that turns into a wildly successful student bistro.

This last example is the unlikely origin of Sage Student Bistro at Metropolitan Community College’s Institute for the Culinary Arts. According to Brian O’Malley, chef-instructor at the Institute for the Culinary Arts, Sage Student Bistro is actually a composite of classes culinary students are required to take to obtain their degree. “Sage… started with students trying to come up with a way to rename the class they were in so that the next quarter’s students would have a better concept of what they were walking into,” he explains.

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Sage affords students the opportunity to learn in a guest-centered environment. O’Malley describes it as a “free-wheelin’, collaborative, studio environment.”

Chemistry majors have their laboratory, art majors have their studios, and culinary students have Sage.

Sage opened in 2005. Since then over 200 students in the culinary arts, baking, and pastry programs have tested their knowledge in the pressure cooker environment of a restaurant. Five different classes provide 30 students with a customer-based experienceFine Dining, Table Service, Plated Desserts, Garde Manger, and Student Manager. Students do not sign up for these classes until they are close to graduation, in the last two quarters of the program. Often, it is the only course work left in their studies.

The entire kitchen is populated by students. “It is decidedly not an internship,” O’Malley specifies. “It is a class meant to prepare [students] for one.” Students are engaged in every aspect of the bistro’s service, from menu writing to checking reservations, from the prep line to the pastries.

Tyler Ratigan is a Culinary Arts student who participated in the Sage Student Bistro experience during the winter quarter. He says his time at Sage exposed him to foods he never otherwise would have encountered: “It put a worldly experience on foods in general. I had never tried or prepared sweetbreads [the thymus gland of a cow] or fois gras before.”

“I learned simpler, more efficient ways of preparing meat,” he continues, like de-veining shrimp with a bamboo skewer so as to leave the body fully intact or frenching a rack of lamb. Ratigan says he takes more pride in his work due to his time at Sage Student Bistro.

The dinner menu has three basic components: a “static menu,” a prix fixe menu, and a dessert menu.

Students write the prix fixe and dessert menus which change weekly so all students involved have the opportunity to develop a menu. Course instructors develop the “static menu,” though its execution is left entirely in the hands of the students. The “static menu” changes with each quarter.

Sage Student Bistro operates in JoJo’s dining room in the Institute for the Culinary Arts at Metropolitan Community College’s Fort Omaha Campus. Up to 65 people can be seated in the dining space, with parties up to 14. Floor to ceiling windows offer plenty of natural light during lunch service. Exposed brick walls add warmth. In the evening, the pressed sorghum tables are draped with linen and candlelight creates an elegant, urban atmosphere.

The menu creation bears in mind what each season has to offer in the way of fresh ingredients. The winter quarter is about comfort food, perfect for keeping the cold at bay. Starters include French onion soup laced with sherry for $6, and a dish called Trois Frites featuring a colorful array of Yukon Gold, Russet and bright orange sweet potato fries served with a malt vinegar reduction is priced at $7. Entrees include braised short ribs with whipped potatoes and glazed carrots ($19), grilled lamb shops with ratatouille and mint puree, also at $19, and roasted chicken with mushroom bread pudding and carrot and parsnip ribbon for $17.

Sage Student Bistro is in the process of acquiring its liquor license. O’Malley hopes to offer a curriculum driven wine list by spring. Until then, guests can bring their favorite bottle of Burgundy or Bordeaux which Sage will cork for a nominal fee.

Sage Student Bistro is meaty education you can sink your teeth into. Literally.

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Sage Student Bistro is open Monday through Thursday, 6:00 to 8:30 pm.

Reservations are encouraged.

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AGE BISTRO

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HANGING THE SCOPE

FACING THE FUTURE

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hen Metropolitan Community College first

studied the feasibility of building a new facility for the Institute for the Culinary Arts, it was in response to sky rocketing enrollment in its culinary arts courses. The Master Planning committee had the foresight to do more than merely adding classes, hiring a few additional instructors, and finding space somewhere in the city. It studied the Omaha restaurant market and the food industry at large, not just the increase in the number of Culinary Arts students, to anticipate future needs of the Institute. Once Metro officials recognized the need for well educated Culinary and Hospitality professionals was going to remain strong, they committed resources for the building of a 14 million-dollar, state-of-the-art culinary facility to educate future chefs, managers, and industry professionals.

“Being a chef never goes out of style,” says Lisa K. Tooker, Director of the Institute for the Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Horticulture at Metropolitan Community College. The restaurant industry is one of the fastest growing sectors of the country’s economy, expecting “to grow nearly 30% over the next few years.” One of the primary challenges facing the industry is a shortage of skilled professionals to meet the everincreasing consumer and industry demands.

And, it is not just restaurant owners seeking qualified chefs and management professionals. “There is also a need for chefs and cooks to meet the needs of the growing educational institutions, healthcare facilities, and assisted living communities to feed their populations,” observes Tooker.

“Being a chef never goes out of style.”

More and more corporations provide in-house cafeterias for their employees. The healthcare sector continues to grow, even in a slower economy.

Its professionals need to be fed on site in between long shifts. As human life expectancy continues to rise, so does the need for assisted living, nursing and rehabilitation facilities, with dining rooms and upscale restaurants. Many employ highly skilled chefs and culinary professionals.

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HARGING FORWARD

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“Our goal is to have all of our program paths help those in our industry obtain success.”

“There is also consumer demand for healthier, made from scratch meals, both in restaurants and as meals made to go,” says Tooker. In the past, harried parents rushed from work to pick up young children at day care or cart older ones to soccer fields and baseball diamonds. The evening often meant a quick run through the nearest fast food drive through. The result: less than nutritious meals loaded with sugar, and/or fried foods.

Recent studies regarding the American diet have given parents pause. Childhood obesity rates have risen to alarming heights. Obesity rates have more than tripled since 1980. One in three, or 25 million, children and teens are considered overweight. Furthermore, children deemed overweight often carry the propensity into adulthood, leading to such health problems as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type II diabetes. Consumers are demanding alternatives to fast food. “They still want options that are quick and for their busy lives but are also healthy, more nutritious and appealing to children.

Dieticians are clamoring for training on how to cook healthy meals that look and taste good,” says Tooker.

Omaha is a food town. The number of exceptional restaurants testifies to this fact. “It is expected that jobs for well educated restaurant chefs will increase by 12% with the next year,” Tooker states. The city’s population growth will precipitate more restaurant and hotel expansion as well as medical institutions and corporate office openings. With the growth of the restaurant and hospitality industry also comes the demand for more educated chefs and management staff.

The Institute for the Culinary Arts is perfectly poised to meet these needs and establish its reputation as the regional leader in Culinary and Hospitality education. It offers hands-on programming to train tomorrow’s chefs, managers, and other food industry professionals.

LISA TOOKER It also provides continuing education for current chefs looking to enhance their skills. In the past, local chefs would have to travel out of state for continuing education opportunities. With a nationally-recognized Culinary Arts facility at their immediate disposal, professional enrichment becomes an economically advantageous way to remain a player in an increasingly competitive market.

The Institute of Culinary Arts appeals to yet a third, and growing, demographic-the home chef.

Chefs like Ina Garten, Emeril Lagasse, Paula Deen, and Rachel Ray have reached celebrity status previously reserved for rock stars, NBA players, and Hollywood’s glitterati. The Hamburger Helper and Shake ‘n Bake of yesterday have given way to fresh herbs, often grown fresh in the back yard, imported sea salt, and aged Balsamic vinegar. Today, people are following what marinade Bobby Flay steeps his steak in before grilling and what type of olive oil Giada De Laurentis uses to sauté her vegetables.

The home chef may not have time to pursue a full culinary degree but still wants to hone her skills.

The Institute offers non-credit courses that allow her to do just that, whether it is a class on basic knife skills, professional cooking techniques, or specific cuisine.

“Our goal is to have all of our program paths help those in our industry obtain success, whether it is a chef following his passion to great food, a manager looking to enhance her leadership skills, or home cooks striving to prepare healthier meals for their families,” Tooker states.

It is said you need to study the past to understand the future. In the last ten years, interest in food-related careers has boomed as the needs of the industry continue to grow. There is a desire for education focusing on sustainability in foods and ways to prepare healthier meals, as well as a growing demand for those who can deliver excellent food and service. The Institute for the Culinary Arts is prepared to meet these demands as it changes the scope of Culinary and Hospitality education in the Midwest and put Omaha on the map as a Culinary Arts center.

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INARY • metro ARTS MAGAZINE • METRO COMMUNITY COLLEGE INSTITUTE FOR THE CULINARY ARTS

“It is expected that jobs for well educated restaurant chefs will increase by 12% with the next year.” m

LISA K. TOOKER DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR THE CULINARY ARTS, HOSPITALITY, AND HORTICULTURE

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ONGRATULATING

FOR THE INNOVATIVE WAYS YOU ARE

The ORA would like to toast the

Institute for the

Culinary Arts the créme de la créme! www.dineoutomaha.com

Dine out often!

FACING THE FUTURE

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t 16.3 million dollars, the Institute for the Culinary Arts (ICA) is Metropolitan Community College’s largest building project on the Fort Omaha Campus since the 1980s. While most of the money for the project came from the College’s capital fund, private donors contributed 2.6 million dollars toward the building and maintaining of the ICA through the Metropolitan Community College Foundation.

The Culinary Arts Program was previously housed in Building 10 on the Fort Omaha Campus. The popularity of the program grew along with MCC’s total enrollment, which has seen an increase of more than 50 percent in the last 12 years. In the Fall quarter of 1998, the student population hovered around 11,000. Today, it is topping out at more than 17,000, and the Culinary Arts Program is one of the College’s growing programs. The faculty and students simply outgrew their space in Building 10. MCC officials recognized the need for expansion and developed a master plan in 2002 to expand the Culinary Arts Program in addition to other College priorities. One shining result of that Collegewide master plan is the Institute for the Culinary Arts on the Fort Omaha Campus.

ROWING OUR FUTURE MCC FOUNDATION

The impressive numbers of students enrolled in the Culinary Arts Program does not surprise Pat Crisler, Associate Vice President of Development and Executive Director of the MCC Foundation. “It’s probably one of the most publicly connected areas of study,” she maintains. “Everybody eats.” And given the natural connection between the College and the community it serves, the ICA is what she calls “a natural convening place for College and community.”

The MCC Foundation was established in 1977 as a separate, nonprofit organization. Its purpose: “to provide financial support for students, faculty and staff, programs and facilities” at Metropolitan Community College, says Crisler. College officials recognized a need for enduring financial support and created the foundation to help meet these fiscal needs.

Much of the foundation’s support is earmarked for direct student assistance, chiefly in the form of scholarships. Scholarships at Metropolitan Community College are awarded primarily according to three criteria.

First is financial need. Second is the student’s academic merit. Previous academic success is a reliable benchmark for continued success, and scholarships are granted to further aid this success. Last, degree completion is taken into consideration. Money is awarded to help students reach their goal of earning a degree or award.

In addition to scholarships, the MCC Foundation assists students with financial burdens other than meeting tuition. “Limited funding is available for books, transportation and instructional materials—essentially anything necessary to staying in school and completing a degree,” says Crisler.

New to Metropolitan Community College is an online scholarship application process. The program educates students about the scholarships and assistance for which they are eligible. It reviews student profiles and matches them electronically to available funding sources.

The MCC Foundation Board recently set a goal to raise an additional $250,000 in scholarships to meet the rise in student applications for financial assistance.

When the paper and pencil application process was in place, 150 students out of the total student population applied for scholarship dollars. Once the College implemented the online program, that number rose to 1200 applicants last fall, demonstrating a serious gap in funding.

“Historically, funding for community colleges in Nebraska has stemmed from three sources: state aid, local tax dollars and student tuition,” explains Jim Trebbien, Dean of Metropolitan Community College’s Culinary, Hospitality and Horticulture Department and Executive Director of the Institute for the Culinary Arts.

Shortages in state funding have forced many community colleges like MCC to divert money originally slotted for student scholarships to the college’s general budget. “We just can’t live off state funding anymore,” acknowledges Trebbien. Procuring private funding is an economic reality, especially, says Trebbien, if MCC is to continue offering innovative programming like the Institute for the Culinary Arts.

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AYS TO SUPPORT Students at Metropolitan Community College • Scholarships – your gift of $50 per month

Crisler describes the foundation as “an ambassador to the community.” Donors give based on their values and how those values connect with Metropolitan Community College’s mission, says Crisler. For example, sometimes private gifts are specified for work place internship programs. Other donations may be earmarked for English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) programs. Connecting donors with opportunities to give is at the heart of the foundation’s work.

Though student aid is the MCC Foundation’s main focus, private support is also directed toward program and department funds, construction and maintenance, equipment and technology for both students and faculty and capital funds.

The Culinary Arts Program is just one of several degree areas that have expanded in recent years.

Horticulture is another area of study seeing renewed interest.. Sustainable gardening is one contributing factor. The inherent link between gardening and cooking—growing the food you cook—is another.

Information Technology is another field of study that has experienced a significant rise in student enrollment.

Students seeking their degrees or foundational education in Information Technology are often joined by established IT professionals looking for continuing education courses as a way to stay current on the latest technology. “MCC is truly a leader in the Midwest in the area of Information Technology,” Crisler states.

When Metropolitan Community College officials established the MCC Foundation more than 30 years ago, they could not have predicted how vital it would one day become to the operation of College. Today, the thought of operating without it is unthinkable. It makes an advanced degree possible for thousands of students while ensuring those same students have at their disposal innovative programming like the Institute for the Culinary Arts.

supports one full-time MCC student for an entire quarter!

• Emergency support – the MCCF emergency student support fund assists students whose life situations threaten their ability to stay in school.

The Institute for the Culinary Arts (Your gift may be restricted to support students in the culinary arts)

• Scholarships to support tuition, books, and fees • Equipment and supplies • Faculty professional development – to ensure leading edge instruction

Innovation at MCC Your community college strives to encourage, practice, reinforce, and reward innovative instruction, like that at the Institute for the Culinary Arts. MCC’s Inspiring Innovation program offers competitive grants and training programs to MCC faculty and staff, to ensure community-responsive, effective education.

“MCC is truly a leader in the Midwest in the area of Information Technology.”

m PAT CRISLER ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE MCC FOUNDATION

m METRO COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION