Nearly 500 English to Speakers of Other
Languages students have taken classes at
Holyoke Community College this year.
And this summer, HCC hosted a two month long
ESOL culinary class, which provided the
students with a top to bottom understanding
of and hands on experience in the food
service industry.
Connecting Point's Brian Sullivan spent a
day in the class at HCC's satellite campus
on Race Street here in the Holyoke Canal
District and brings us the story.
The day begins with aspiring chefs each
grabbing their own individual chicken to
analyze and eventually prepare.
This is what is known as an ESOL, or English
for Speakers of Other Languages, culinary
class. Ideally, this includes any foreign
language, but during this morning's class,
those in attendance all spoke Spanish as
their primary language.
This is just one of many programs funded by
the Massachusetts Department of Elementary
and Secondary Education.
It's also part of a broader network known as
Mass STEP, which stands for skills, training
, and education programs.
There are programs that really build on the
strengths of a network of providers adult
basic education program.
So programs that work with students who are
learning English -- adult students are
learning English -- or students who are
earning their high school equivalency
credentials, and then integrates that with
the workforce development system.
The workforce in question is that of the
hospitality industry, and at this stage in
the program, the students are getting a
crash course in all of the ins and outs of
food preparation and restaurant management.
At the helm for the morning class is an
instructor whose soft spoken approach won't
have anyone confusing him for Gordon Ramsay.
The focus is on building confidence,
primarily through knife skills and basic
cooking methods. So, today is only day two.
Yesterday we looked at some ingredients,
helped them to develop their sense of --
their sense of smell, their palate, able to
evaluate and put words to ingredients.
And now, we'll start moving into basic knife
skills, culinary methods.
For me, it's about basic techniques and
really starting to feel confident in the
kitchen so that you're presented with some
something new, you have the basic skill
level and and ability to not only learn it
quickly, but to execute it perfectly.
And anyone thinking that an in-depth program
like this one will require student loans to
last half a lifetime will be pleasantly
surprised.
These are all free programs.
They're fully funded by the Department of
Education, plus the match from Holyoke
Community College or the organization
hosting. And they're all over the state.
And that's a really exciting thing.
The program has so many different things
going for it. For starters, the price can't
be beat. And the 8 to 9 weeks that the
classes run, it's thorough and hands on.
And a major bonus to the whole experience is
that since 2018, all these classes have been
taught here at this modernized off campus
location at 164 Race Street in downtown
Holyoke. While it might be easy to lose
focus daydreaming, looking out the windows
here onto the canal and countless rustic
brick buildings dotting the landscape,
husband and wife, Alejandro and Clarissa
remain unwavering.
They've got their sights set on using these
classes as a springboard to eventually open
their own restaurant together.
Those tips that the chef is teaching us
definitely is going to help us, you know?
It's going to help me and my partner, that is
my wife, you know, to to make our
restaurant, our dream come true.
I feel really blessed being here in the
school. It's been amazing all the knowledge
that we have been able to get the -- the
teachers, the chefs are always on hand.
They're always there to just, like, answer
our questions.
Anything, like, I -- I feel like they're so
open and to teaching and they love it.
It's their passion.
In the one class that we visited, it was
clear that the curriculum was about more
than just cooking food.
There was vocabulary, discussion of price
points and budget management, and concepts
like farm raised versus wild caught, just to
name a few. And it's all designed to make
the students that much more well-rounded
when the program finally ends.
I'd like them to feel that they themselves
feel ready to enter the workplace or move up
if they're already working.
So, they're not...they feel like, "Yeah, I
can do this, I can work in this profession.
I like it, I'm good at it.
And I can excel and continue to develop and
grow."