JCCC cooking up plans to expand culinary program

The number of students enrolling in culinary arts programs in Johnson County has been increasing for several years, and that popularity is expected to continue.

In early October, Lindy Robinson, dean of the business division at JCCC, and Joe Sopcich, vice president of institutional advancement, made a presentation to the college Learning Quality Committee proposing a free-standing culinary arts/hospitality center be built on campus.

“This is purely in the discussion phase,” Sopcich said. “These are very preliminary conversation starters.”

Part of that conversation involves increasing classroom space for the hospitality management program at JCCC, College Boulevard and Quivira Road, Robinson said.

“(The division) has such a great reputation, we need to be able to continue to grow,” Robinson said. “By being able to grow we’d be able to obtain more space for classrooms to accept more students and put them in the industry.”

The current popularity of the JCCC program and interest in other culinary programs in Johnson County schools indicates to Robinson that more students are probably on the way, she said.

Both the Shawnee Mission School District and the Olathe School District now offer culinary arts programs. In Olathe, enrollment in culinary programs has grown by 20 percent over three years. That represents a strong growth trend in a specialized program, Gretchen Sherk, director of secondary programs in Olathe, said. The program provides a variety of niches and interest areas for students to explore, including ethnic foods, healthy eating and baking. That variety has added to program popularity, Sherk said. “I think (the) culinary (program) has found a place in providing folks with a practical and consumable way to demonstrate their creativity,” Sherk said.The culinary arts program at the Shawnee Mission School District Broadmoor Technical Center, 6701 W. 83rd St., is the most popular program in the school, Principal Julia Crain said. “It is something they can turn into an actual career and go into higher education,” Crain said. Earlier this year, Broadmoor senior Sammy Jo Claussen became the Art Institutes Best Teen Chef 2009 national winner. Such recognition at the national level is important, but peer excitement is what mostly encourages students to enter the program, Crain said. “If they hear it from us it is one thing, but if they hear from their peers that ‘this is cool and it is what I really want to do and you should come over and see this in action’…they take it to heart more than they would from an adult,” Crain said. This fall, 525 students are seeking a degree in the JCCC hospitality division. A number of those students come from the Shawnee Mission and Olathe school districts. Robinson estimates that about 35 percent of students enrolled are career changers. “What we find is a new generation; new generations of workers want to do things that satisfy them,” Robinson said. Yvette Luancing, Overland Park, recently entered the chef apprenticeship program at JCCC. After 12 years in marketing and sales, the 36-year-old decided to change careers.“With previous jobs I felt stressed out and pressured, but I am not happy,” Luancing said. “With this one I want to do something that matters to me. Something I really love doing.” The popularity of the Food Network has greatly increased exposure to culinary fields, Robinson said. “Food Network has opened up a brand new line of sight for people who realize now there are really strong, viable careers in the hospitality industry,” she said.

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