The instructors at Saint Paul College’s culinary arts department blend educating students on culinary fundamentals with exposure to a real-world restaurant kitchen.
“There’s a lot of generations of culinary talent who have come through these doors, and we want to make sure that we’re continuing to update this program and make sure that it is embracing everything that’s coming from the industry in the future,” says Sara Johannes, a culinary arts instructor and the department chair.
Johannes is a graduate of Saint Paul College who worked in fine-dining restaurants across the country before returning to Minnesota.
Saint Paul’s culinary arts department was founded in 1942, making it one of the oldest in the nation. It remains on the cutting edge by featuring RATIONAL equipment in its culinary labs.
Teaching techniques
“RATIONAL has allowed me to say ‘yes’ to more because we can just do more,” says Jason Ross, who has been a chef instructor at Saint Paul College for the past eight years and previously worked as a fine-dining chef.
“I can push my students farther because I have equipment that can handle that type of push,” he says.
The RATIONAL equipment is easy to use and easy to demonstrate on, he explains.
“By the end of a few weeks, they’re comfortable using the equipment,” says Ross. “We can accomplish lots of different cooking techniques on the same day with the same piece of equipment and produce a ton of food in real time.”
By bringing in RATIONAL equipment like the iVario, an intelligent tilt skillet, and the iCombi, an intelligent combi oven, the Saint Paul College team is able to train students in a wide variety of dishes and cooking techniques. Adding this equipment was a game-changer for the school.
“The RATIONAL equipment takes up the same amount of space,” says Ross. “Our kitchen didn’t grow, but all of a sudden I can do more.”
Ross is also able to demonstrate the correct cooking methods of various dishes.
“I can use a probe that’s in the machine to make sure that we’re hitting exact temperatures,” he says.
The restaurant of the future
“Students at Saint Paul are learning culinary techniques while running a working restaurant,” says Johannes. Students plan and execute meals for the school’s restaurant, which is open to the public, using RATIONAL equipment.
“They are in charge of writing the menus, figuring out the service style. They will be front of house. They’ll wait tables. They’ll do the dishes. They’ll be the sous chef. They’ll work every position in the kitchen. And I think that’s a really important perspective to have,” she says.
The training they receive will help them as they advance in their careers and even prepare them to open their own restaurants.
“I think it's really important for students to have a very realistic idea of what a professional kitchen looks like and be able to have time to experiment, play with, and become familiar with the technologies that they’ll run into in the industry in school,” says Johannes.
And she knows students will be using RATIONAL as they continue their careers.
To learn how you can future-proof your restaurant with the latest kitchen equipment, visit the RATIONAL website.
This post is sponsored by RATIONAL