By Walter Villa, Special to STU
St. Thomas University’s new on-campus culinary lab – which made its debut recently – is a game-changer for the program.
Prior to last fall, students had to take a bus to the Sunny Isles Community Center for their culinary labs.
“Due to the traffic, students were an hour late almost every day,” said chef Ivan Valcin, the lead faculty member of STU’s culinary program. “Consequently, I had to rush my lessons. It became frustrating.
“Now our labs are just steps away for our students, many who live on campus.
“This makes everything easier. Our students are excited to come to class because we have state-of-the-art equipment such as our new rational oven.”
Alani Giron, an STU sophomore, said taking the bus to Sunny Isles was, in her words, annoying.
“It wasn’t the best experience,” she said. “Now that the lab is here, it’s more convenient.”
Besides the advent of the new lab, Valcin said STU’s culinary program is unique in Florida.
“We are the only university in the state that offers a Bachelor’s degree in culinary,” Valcin said. “Everyone else offers a certificate or an Associate in Arts degree.
“With a Bachelor’s degree, many avenues open up because our students can go straight from graduation into restaurant management, for example.”
Those students can expect to immediately start earning a salary ranging between $45,000 and $55,000, Valcin said.
STU’s culinary program recently received a $10,000 donation from Ahmed Tea to create a tea lab.
“Our vision is to continue to expand and grow,” Valcin said. “Our goal is to build more labs to serve more students.”
Valcin made it clear that what STU offers is far more than just new labs.
“We give our students practical experience,” Valcin said. “But we also teach the theoretical aspect in terms of managing, leadership, and accounting.
“Cost control is mandatory. You can cook the best food — and we will teach you how to do that — but if your restaurant is failing financially, then what’s the point?
“If you don’t know how to manage your money and manage the costs, your restaurant will fail. We teach you how to manage a restaurant properly so that you can turn a profit.”
Many of the 18 STU students surveyed for this story said they would like to own a restaurant one day.
Mondesy Nicolas, for example, is a 20-year-old sophomore who lives on campus.
Culinary was an easy choice for Nicolas in terms of a major, and the reason goes back to his childhood.
“My mom always kept the family together through food,” Nicolas said. “She’s not a chef, but her food always brought us together.”
Nicolas said he loves STU’s new culinary lab.
“It feels like I’m being prepared for a real kitchen,” Nicolas said. “This is like my home kitchen.”
That is exactly how Valcin wants all his students to feel.
Valcin, a native of St. Lucia, could probably make much more money working at a restaurant, but financial wealth is not his main goal.
In his native country, Valcin was responsible for seven bars and six restaurants at Sandals Resorts. Prior to STU, he spent four years as the executive chef at Memorial Health Care.
When the opportunity became available at STU, he jumped at the chance, and there is a reason.
“I come from a country where a lot of kids are underprivileged,” Valcin said. “My father was an educator at an elementary school, and he set the example for me.
“In the morning, he would prepare six extra lunches so he could give them to students who would come to school hungry due to poverty.
“My dad had multiple opportunities to become a principal and make more money. But it wasn’t about money for him. He wanted that one-on-one connection so he could influence the next generation.”
That is what Valcin is doing now – giving back to the chefs, restaurant owners, and hotel managers of tomorrow.
“Everything I learned working in the industry,” Valcin said, “I am putting back into our students.”
But it is not just about Valcin. He has also put together a great staff of professors.
“We have the best of the best,” Valcin said. “We have professors who have years of experience and knowledge.”
One of those professors is Alan Bergman, who worked for 23 years at Johnson & Wales University as an associate instructor.
He also has real-world experience as he owns a restaurant in Davie called: ABC Lobster. In addition, he owns a catering company called: Chef Alan Bergman Catering.
After Johnson & Wales closed its doors, Valcin – who had also worked there – gave Bergman a call.
“I love teaching,” Bergman said. “It’s inspiring.
“These students keep me young. I love giving them my knowledge. When Ivan gave me the call, I was here the next day, ready to go.”
Besides the state-of-the-art lab, the world-class professors – which includes baking/pastry instructor Mika Kochi — and the Bachelor’s degree that allows students the opportunity to immediately start earning a higher salary, STU’s culinary program offers a few other enticements:
= STU teaches a Food Science course. Food scientists, Valcin said, can earn six-figure salaries.
“Every time a restaurant produces a new product, it’s only because of a food scientist,” Valcin said. “If McDonald’s creates a new sandwich, you can be sure that food scientists have taken years in research and development to find the perfect bread, the perfect meat, and the perfect sauces.
“Food scientists will have tested that new product with multiple variables until is satisfying and ready to be released into the market.”
= STU’s culinary instructors have the connections to help students enter top-notch internships.
“It’s easy for us to go to restaurants or hotels and get our students placed for internships,” Valcin said. “If we vouch for our students, they will take them with open arms.
“Our contacts in the industry know what we instill in our students. They know our reputation. They know we instill discipline, effort, and care.”
= Working as a chef or managing a restaurant, hotel, or bar – it is all serious stuff because there is no business without satisfied customers.
But even so, Valcin has always incorporated fun into whatever he is doing.
“When I was an executive chef, I allowed music – calming music,” Valcin said. “At our morning meetings, I always had a joke to give my employees to lighten the day.
“Our students have fun, but we also have discipline. The important thing to remember is that we are managing people, not robots.”
Bergman, who said he visits high schools twice a month to do cooking demonstrations, wants to inspire students so that they dare to reach for higher education.
These students are responding well to STU’s culinary program, and that sentiment figures to grow.
Just look at what has already happened with STU’s lab.
“I came here a year ago, and the kitchen was destroyed,” Bergman said. “There were wrestling mats all over the place …
“Where we are today is amazing. When classes started, we still had fresh paint, and we were just turning on the equipment.
“Things are coming together quickly.”
Bergman said the culinary program has the backing of STU president David A. Armstrong, J.D.
“What we need, we get,” Bergman said. “We have a great facility and the potential to expand.
“We want to make this the No. 1 program not only in Florida, but in the country. I think we will be rated No.1 in a year or two.
“We want to make this program shine.”
