Littleton -- So you think you can cook better than the average chef? Or maybe you think you can manage a restaurant better than the place where you ate last night?

If you have one of these talents or ambitions, Arapahoe Community College has just the thing for you - a new culinary arts program. Classes for the new program will begin during the ACC fall semester on Aug. 16, but space is limited. Only 10 spots will be available in the new culinary arts program, and they will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis, said Janna Oakes, an instructional dean at ACC. Should the positions fill, the College will look at expanding offerings in the future including evening classes.

Students who complete the one-year, full-time, day-time course will earn a certificate that could open career opportunities as a chef, restaurant manager or owner, caterer or events director. Students also can combine the program with ACC courses in retail management, small business or business administration.

Cooking and restaurant management is a growing industry in Colorado. In 2005, Colorado employed 20,128 cooks and managers, according to the Colorado Department of Labor. In 2015, that number is projected to increase to 27,191, an annual average growth rate of 3.1 percent -- faster than the 2.7 percent growth rate for all occupations in the state. Growth plus replacement needs for cooks and restaurant management in Colorado are estimated to average about 1,329 openings per year.

"The sky's the limit," Oakes said. ACC started working on the program in 2007 in partnership with the Arapahoe/Douglas Career and Technical School, which already has a culinary arts program for high school students at Mr. B's restaurant in the old Englewood High School Annex. Classes are taught in a hands-on kitchen and restaurant environment at EHS.

"High School Relations staff told us that students want culinary arts," Oakes said, "so we took existing high school resources and developed a college curriculum. We built a hybrid, partially online component for college students to facilitate critical thinking and additional work outside of class. Faculty member Mary Johnson trained in online instruction and wants to make sure the online component is as strong as the existing program.

As a capstone project, college students will plan a menu, cook food, cater and host a college event."

Courses in the curriculum include an introduction to food production principles and practices, customer service, menu planning, dining room management and English Composition I. A series of courses focuses on food preparation in categories such as stocks, soups and sauces or poultry, fish and seafood.

For further information, contact Advising at 303.797.5651, Janna Oakes at 303.797.5930, e-mail at janna.oakes@arapahoe.edu, or go online to http://www.arapahoe.edu/deptprgrms/avsculinary/index.html.

Arapahoe Community College has served the south Denver metropolitan area since 1965. One of 13 colleges in the Colorado Community College System, ACC offers more than 100 degree and certificate programs to its 7,500 plus credit students per semester through sites in downtown Littleton and Parker. ACC also offers professional development, customized training
and other non-credit offerings enjoyed by many more lifelong learners.

Arapahoe Community College Mission Statement:

To provide an accessible, responsive learning environment that facilitates the achievement of educational, professional and personal goals by our students and other members of our communities in an atmosphere that embrace
academic excellence, diversity and innovation.