By Mackenzie Davis
Many GRCC students go from class to home without exploring the corners of the buildings that hold immense academic promise within their walls. One of these corners holds a Narnia of shelves stocked from ceiling to floor with bowls, cheese graters and cooking utensils. Nearby, stainless steel tables that you can see your face in and a state-of-the-art kitchen holding the top 30% ranked culinary programs in the U.S stands.
Werner Absenger, the program director for the GRCC culinary institute, has been cooking professionally for 42 years but started cooking when he was young with his mom who owned a youth hostel, with Absenger’s dad, in Austria. After doing an apprenticeship and working in his home country, Absenger traveled overseas to work for the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island and now directs one of the most successful degree programs offered at the college.
One of the stand-out aspects of this program is the real-life experiences that are offered to students and the help that is provided for students getting a job after graduation.
“(The culinary program) will give you hands-on experience you can use for the rest of your life,” Absenger said. “Our faculty have connections to people in Hawaii, Germany, Australia, literally on almost every continent. Some faculty members know somebody who can put them in touch with students to see if it’s a good fit and if a student would do well in this different country.”
This department not only offers culinary classes but has five areas of study that cover a whole range of jobs in the food industry, including, baking and pastry arts, craft brewing, culinary arts, personal chef and pre-hospitality management. Full-time students can complete their associate’s degree within five semesters in the program.
The culinary department also provides food to GRCC students and staff through the Foodology Cafe and The Heritage restaurant. The CA 114 class, international food production, prepares food for Heritage which is open Tuesday – Thursdays from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. from Jan. 14 to Feb. 13 and from March 11 to April 10. CA 115, table service, also is included in the restaurant where students learn different service techniques and etiquette. Reservations are strongly encouraged as tables fill up fast.
Foodology is open on Tuesday – Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the months of Jan. 15 to Feb. 13 and March 12 to April 10. The class, Bakery/Deli Operations, focuses on the fast-paced dining experience and offers foods like burgers, wraps, baked goods and has a coffee stand.
More class descriptions can be found on the GRCC academic pathway page.
One of Absenger’s favorite projects was the Secchia Institute’s involvement in the Nasa Hunch project where students all over the country competed to create a recipe that would be sent up for astronauts conducting research in space.
For students interested in this program, Absenger encourages students to first sign up for the institute’s tour and information sessions. For one to two hours students are instructed on what classes to take, about the overall program and a walk through the classes.
“I encourage students especially if they are ready to come to us and maybe are intimidated by coming to college—especially high school graduates—to always get in touch with us and ask for help,” Absenger said. “They don’t have to do it by themselves, we can make it less intimidating and avoid a lot of barriers.”
Culinary student, Nicholas Sutherland, who is in his fourth semester of the program, recalled his first day in the program and his overall experience through the years.
“It was definitely a lot of nerves…but it was a lot more excitement than fear. Cause like I said I have been into it for a very long time,” Sutherland said. “The first day I was exhilarated, a little bit of some shakiness in the hand but mainly I was just ready to get on with my life.”
Sutherland, like his department head, had also started cooking from a young age. Getting a job at Wendy’s at 14 he has worked in the culinary industry for 10-going-on-11 years.
“I love this program. I would find a whole lot of joy in coming to this school—to this program as a job. I want to be here all the time, I want to keep taking classes. I only have a couple left and I am not ready for it to end,” Sutherland said.
During the semester culinary instructors bring in guest speakers to share their real-world experiences with students along with several events open to the public that incorporate the brewing program with special dinners in The Heritage restaurant. Information on these dinners can be found through The Heritage’s Facebook page, signing up for the institutes email list or reservations on Opentable.
Before beginning his culinary journey, Sutherland shared his thoughts on how the overall feeling of the program was conveyed to him.
“I kept seeing billboards with the chef coat and the GRCC logo,” Sutherland said. “…and I was like, ‘Man, that looks like somewhere I want to be’.”
