(MEDIA ADVISORY: Media representatives are invited to attend the Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting for the South Plains College Culinary Arts Program at 10 a.m. on Oct. 5. Interviews can be arranged.)

 

South Plains College to host grand opening for Culinary Arts Program on Oct. 5 

 

LUBBOCK – South Plains College will host a grand opening and ribbon cutting for its newly developed culinary arts program Oct. 5 at the SPC Lubbock Career and Technical Center, 3907 Ave. Q.

 

The ceremony and ribbon cutting will begin at 10 a.m. The open house and tours will follow until 12 noon. The event is open to the public.

 

The culinary arts instructional area has been made possible through the generous support of these Partners in Education – United Supermarkets, the J.T. and Margaret Talkington Charitable Foundation, the Helen Jones Foundation, the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and City Bank.

 

Through the financial support of these partners, the SPC has transformed 10,425 square feet in the Lubbock Career and Technical Center into a state of the arts instructional facility designed to train graduates for the region’s food industry. The new facility includes four fully-equipped cooking labs, a bakery lab, meat processing lab, refrigerator and freezer storage, dry storage and scullery. Approximately 50 students have enrolled in the program for the fall semester.

 

The culinary arts program at South Plains College was developed to produce students with a wide range of culinary skills that will translate into employment opportunities in the food service industry. SPC developed the culinary arts program in response to workforce projections that restaurant and food industry employment will grow 21 percent in the next four years with more than 1,000 job openings each year due to new and replacement workers in the Lubbock area.

 

In addition to teaching culinary and baking skills, students are trained on the business side of the industry where they are introduced to subjects including purchasing, hospitality and food service operation. Internship opportunities will be available for advanced students.

 

The culinary arts program offers students two certificates of proficiency: a fundamental skills basic certificate that can be completed in two semesters as well as a culinary or bakery advanced certificate that can be completed with two additional semesters of training. The program also offers an Associate of Applied Science degree in culinary arts.

 

For more information, contact Dane Dewbre, associate dean of the Office of Marketing and Recruitment, at 806-716-2210.