The Culinary Building is slated to be the next renovation on campus. Ground will be broken July 1, 2013, with completion of construction expected by January 1, 2015.
Similar to current renovations, the Culinary Building renovation is partially funded by a bond that financed campus renovation projects across the Los Rios district, but also with private donations raised through the Capital Campaign, the largest such donation totaling $500,000.
The intent of the renovation is to update and expand the currently cramped and often over-demanded facilities. Four culinary lab classrooms will be added, handling the specific needs of hot food, baking, candy and specialty items, as well as spreading classes out to alleviate over-crowding and eventually offer more sessions.
“The intent is to actually build around the existing building,” said Professor Brian Knirk, department chair of culinary arts & hospitality management, “continue to have classes in (it) and when the new building is completed, we’ll move into there and then (it) can be renovated.” Beyond some noise and dust issues, he says that the impact to students and faculty should be relatively minimal.
The Oak Café will also grow to more than three times it’s current size, from approximately 500 square feet to 1800 square feet, and will be accompanied by a retail bakery outlet. In addition, the renovation will add a demo kitchen, where members of the community can attend workshops and teachers can better demonstrate techniques to their students.