Cooking up Careers
JENNIFER SCHU
The smells are intoxicating. In the kitchen of a Delaware County Community College Culinary Arts class, students are absorbed in making hand-rolled gnocchi—Italian dumplings—and pastas, soon to be garnished with delightfully varied sauces simmering on the stove.
Today’s instructor is professional chef Nicole Petrongolo, who spent 16 years with restaurants such as Lacroix, Eleven Madison Park and Avance. On another day, it might be chef Lynn Lindquist, who attended the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and honed her skills at Passerelle/Bravo Bistro, Savona and Le Bec-Fin. They are just two of the outstanding faculty with real-world, high-end restaurant experience who teach DCCC students the art of creating fine cuisine.
The National Restaurant Association forecasts an 8.9 percent jobs growth rate in Pennsylvania—a total of 44,200 additional jobs by 2030. For skilled workers in hospitality and culinary arts, the future is bright—yet for the restaurant and hospitality sector the labor shortage is daunting. DCCC endeavors to make up for that shortage by turning out skilled graduates.
“Culinary is one of the top job opportunities in Pennsylvania—and a Pennsylvania high priority occupation in both Delaware and Chester Counties,” says Joy Dickerson, Ed.D., assistant dean of Business, Computing and Social Science, and a former professor at the CIA. “From enhancing technical skills to developing professionalism, ‘soft’ and supervisory skills, accessible education and training is the key to reestablishing a strong hospitality/culinary workforce.”
A Banner Year For DCCC’s Culinary Arts Program
With rental commercial kitchens in both Delaware and Chester Counties, the reputation of the College’s Culinary Arts program is growing.
While pursuing either an associate degree, a certificate, or a non-credit certificate in Culinary Arts, students explore everything from baking to international cuisine, from menu planning to food service purchasing. And they even compete head-to-head with
professional chefs.
Under the instruction of Lindquist, four DCCC baking and pastry students won the “Sweet Charity 2023” competition, sponsored by the Chester County Community Foundation. Competing against some of Chester County’s finest professional pastry chefs DCCC students earned the “Best Dessert” award with “Chocolate-Orange Brulee Slice.” Chef instructor Maria Campbell encouraged the students to enter the competition. In 2024, DCCC students won the “People’s Choice” award in the same competition.
Additionally, chef instructors Petrongolo and Zachary Hathaway led a Hospitality Boot Camp for 60 high school students at the Drexelbrook Event Center last fall.
And DCCC Culinary Arts graduates are getting jobs. Lucas Jenkins-Michl, a “Sweet Charity” winner in both 2023 and 2024, is now a pastry chef at the Union League of Philadelphia.Other employers include the Radnor Hotel, Exton’s ChopHouse Grille,
Sweet Amelia’s in Kennett Square and Devon Preparatory School.
A Center For Culinary Arts And Hospitality
The next step for the thriving program is a proposed Center for Culinary Arts and Hospitality, to be housed at the College’s new Southeast Campus in Drexel Hill, located within Upper Darby School District. Construction on the new campus is expected to be completed in 2025.
“Because of the high demand for workforce development in both culinary and hospitality positions across the nation, and in Pennsylvania specifically, the Center will embody both areas of study,” Dickerson says. The proposed Center would feature a teaching kitchen with eight to 10 workstations; a commercial kitchen prototype with full-scale workstations, refrigeration and freezer space, storage, and commercial equipment; a theater-style demonstration kitchen; and more. A food pantry, wellness classes and service-learning projects would assist area residents.
“Food and hospitality create community—allowing us to showcase and share our cultures and appreciate those different from our own. Fittingly, in Upper Darby School District 70 first languages are spoken,” Dickerson says. “Our students can’t wait to have their own kitchens in which to design, develop and deliver innovative ideas.”
With the support of donors—naming opportunities are available—the new space can become a reality. For more information regarding donations and naming opportunities, contact Laura Chisholm, vice president of Advancement, at lchisolm1@dccc.edu.
K-12 taught me that students are learning from you 24-7. Everything you do and say matters. I once had a student who was a terror in class—until the day he quietly revealed I was his favorite teacher. We are always role models for students, beacons of hope for what they can accomplish. They think, “Maybe I CAN do this.” That’s why it’s so important how we carry ourselves around here. Every faculty and staff member can impact a student’s confidence, journey and success.