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Photo By Becky Ellis
The Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program offers new opportunities for its students.
There’s exciting news for Culinary Arts students. The Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program at Virginia Western, located in the Claude Moore Higher Education Campus on Henry Street, expanded in August.
The expansion has three brand new kitchens that gleam with stainless steel state-of-the-art equipment. Chef Jim Zeisler, Sr., CEC, CCA, CDM, CFP, Program Head, along with John Schopp CEC, CEPC, CCE, CCA and Ted Polfelt, CEC, CCA, the culinary instructors, each have a kitchen for their culinary specialties.
The school offers a career studies certificate in Baking and Pastry and an Associate’s degree in culinary arts with a focus in Baking and Pastry. Career studies certificates are offered in Catering and Cake Decorating. The school offers Associate of Applied Science and Career Studies Certificate programs and is American Culinary Association (ACF) accredited.
When the students graduate, they are eligible for the certification of Certified Culinarian (CC) through the ACF. When the expansion opens, warm jacket-clad students in the Seafood/Poultry class will do their work in a 38 degree Fahrenheit walk-in cooler which keeps the ingredients at the optimal internal food temperature. Brrr…
Chef Zeisler explains, “Local restaurants benefit from having a culinary school in our valley. The school helps to elevate the food scene in the Roanoke region which supports tourism. If you’ve eaten in one of our fine downtown establishments, it’s likely one of our graduates had a hand in creating that delicious meal.”
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