Community college culinary schools becoming more popular

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – To produce a highly-acclaimed chef in fine dining, it takes years of meticulous study, typically at a significant cost. 

An elite culinary school could cost $100,000 or more. But in Columbus, hundreds of students are choosing a far less-expensive route. Community college attendance is booming as the new path to a culinary career. 

More than 15 million people in America work in the restaurant industry, but a study by the national restaurant association shows 45% of restaurant operators need more employees to meet customer demand. 

"What our industry needs are people that can do the job, and it doesn't necessarily take four full years to understand the concepts and really get an experience versus studying theory,” said Columbus State Senior Director of Hospitality Management Joshua Wickham. 

That training in Mitchell Hall starts in kitchen classrooms and extends to the two on-campus restaurants – a bakery called "Blend" and across the hall, a full service restaurant called "Degrees." 

It's run by a full staff of professional chefs from many of the top restaurants in the city – they oversee students through every step, from prep to table. 

“Both of those establishments are used as experiential learning labs for our students," Wickham said. "So they operate in these spaces every day. so if we're open, we have students in here working."

Clarke Chidester and Jave Townsend are two seniors who already work for Columbus State in those restaurants and are set to graduate this month.  

“A lot of culinary schools, that's the only experience they get, is you're cooking in the kitchen," Chidester said. "I kind of realized that after a while the only industry that ever treated me well was the hospitality industry. I want every guest, every customer to leave happier than they came."

Hundreds of students are currently enrolled in the program, and just about every one of them will find a job in the real world.

“I field emails every single day of, 'hey, we want to hire your students,'" Wickham said.

Mitchell Hall, not surprisingly, is named for Cameron Mitchell – the top donor to the program. And many of the restaurant systems treat Columbus State like a farm system for employees in the aspects of running a hospitality business.

"I love it so much," Townsend said. "It makes me feel like I'm doing the right thing, like I'm in the right place. “