“To be your best in the kitchen, you have to be able to bend the rules a bit, be creative and put your flair on things. That’s me!”

Andrea Gauthier graduated with honours from the Culinary Arts Program at Portage College. She was originally accepted into the Business Program with the dream of being her own boss. Andrea liked to be busy, creative - and in her own words, “I like food!” So she decided to enroll in the two year Culinary Arts Diploma Program at the St. Paul Campus, “My dream definitely changed but I think it’s a lot better now.”

In the first year of Culinary Arts, students get a taste of what it’s like to work in the food service industry. Instruction is divided between theory in the classroom and hands-on experience in a fully operational commercial kitchen.

“I was looking forward to learning about international cuisine and how some of the dishes are created, cooked and presented. And because the class sizes were not too big, we were able to get the instruction and attention we needed to make our food even better.” Andrea credits her instructors for their expertise. All Food Sciences instructors at the St. Paul Campus are Red Seal Chefs, which is a universally recognized and highly prestigious level of achievement.

Andrea graduated from Portage College in 2018 but before she received her Diploma, she received a job. Andrea is now the in-house caterer at the St. Paul campus. Her duties include menu planning for the Portage Market as well as local events; cooking, serving and doing the clean-up. “Many students will volunteer to help at events which is a win-win. Not only is it a great experience but it is what we all love to do!”

Andrea Gauthier, Culinary Arts graduate and in-house caterer at Portage College

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