In September contractors with Alexandria-based Ratcliff Construction Company broke ground on the new 36,000 square-foot the culinary institute. Photo: Nicholls State
by Ashton Daigle/Newsroom Ink
Chef Randy Cheramie, the executive director of the John Folse Culinary Institute, is glad to see construction progress being made on the new home for the program at Nicholls State University, but for him it can’t happen fast enough.
Chef Randy Cheramie, the executive director of the John Folse Culinary Institute, is glad to see construction progress being made on the new home for the program. Photo: Nicholls State
In September contractors with Alexandria-based Ratcliff Construction Company broke ground on the new 36,000 square-foot the culinary institute.
Since its inception in the mid 1990’s, the John Folse Culinary Institute’s culinary program at Nicholls State has flourished and grown Cheramie said.
“We’re one of the fastest growing programs right now at Nicholls State,” he said. “We started out with around 49 students in the program when it first began. We are now up to a total enrollment of a little over 300 students. On average, we’re graduating around 33 students per year. We’re also the only culinary institute to offer a Bachelor of Science degree. If there are other culinary schools out there that do, I haven’t found them and I’ve looked.
School Busting at the Seams
Students enrolled in the program spend around half their time in the older Geaux Hall, and the Carmel Inn, a hotel located about a half mile from campus the university began renting a few years ago
“We’re literally bursting at the seams right now,” Cheramie said. “To say it’s been challenging is an understatement. The new facility will bring us under one roof. The difference is going to be like night and day.”
The new facility anticipates continued growth of the culinary program and is designed to handle approximately 600 students. Photo: Nicholls State
The new facility anticipates continued growth of the culinary program and is designed to handle approximately 600 students.
Cheramie said the new facility would also be a revenue source. It will feature a retail shop where textbooks, knives, specialty foods and aprons are sold. The student-run restaurant will hopefully be able to hold dinner services five nights a week, as opposed to the two nights a week that it now holds.
“The new building will do so many things for us,” Cheramie said. “For example, we get a lot of calls from tour groups looking to book. That’s something we’ve always wanted to do, but never had the facility to do that in. Now we will.
The state-of-the art facility will feature four 1,200 square-foot kitchens that are course-specific including a general kitchen, a pastry baking kitchen, a meat fabrication kitchen and a sauces, soups and stocks kitchen. The facility also includes a separate kitchen for student demonstration cooking and a dining area large enough to accommodate 90 people.
Funds From BP and Economic Disaster Recovery
Funding for the project came, in part, came through a partnership between the John Folse Culinary Institute and the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board. A $400,000 investment was comprised of funds from an Economic Disaster Recovery Program grant and funds the Board received from BP in the wake of Deepwater Horizon.
According to Chef Randy, “Our hope is that when you graduate from this program, you shouldn’t still be doing shift work.” Photo: Nicholls State
Representatives from the Seafood Board said that when representatives from Nicholls State first approached the board in early 2012, the opportunities the unique partnership offered, to further promote and to change negative perceptions of Gulf seafood as a whole after the oil spill, seemed limitless.
Cheramie also stressed the institute’s commitment to Gulf seafood.
“You’re not going to see tilapia in any of the dishes we prepare or serve,” Cheramie said. “And we’re not doing it because we have to. We’re doing it because it’s the right thing to do. We feel as if we’re supporting a culture and a lifestyle, Louisiana seafood, that has supported families and that has been here for us for generations.”
A unique goal is to bring awareness of Gulf seafood through education. Cheramie feels, “There’s really no better way to grow and expand this message, than through a university setting, where education is the number one priority.
According to Chef Randy, “Our hope is that when you graduate from this program, you shouldn’t still be doing shift work. If you have, we’ve done something wrong. Yes, the culinary aspect of this program is important, but the business aspect of the program is just as, if not more important. We really think the new facility will be the epicenter for culinary arts in the southern central United States.”
Construction is slated to be complete by September of this year, with classes beginning in the 2015 spring semester.
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