Several of NAIT’s culinary students mingle with Toronto chef Susur Lee during the Lee’s recent teaching residency at the college. Photograph by: Brian J. Gavriloff Brian Gavrilo, Edmonton Journal
EDMONTON – At NAIT, instructors are staying on top of food trends with new programs like their new Artisanal Cheese Fundamentals Project, an expansion of their existing cheese-making course with an aim to train and support artisan cheese makers in Alberta. An applied research grant allowed for the purchase of cheese making equipment including an enormous cheese making vat; they’re hoping to have everything installed and the program up and running by January, with classes available not only for students, but for the general public as well.
Each semester, NAIT strives to bring in chefs and producers to mentor and share their expertise with NAIT Culinary Arts students and faculty. In 2009, they launched the Hokanson Chef in Residence program, the first of its kind in Canada. The program brings in some of the most celebrated chefs in the world for side-by-side mentoring and instruction, exposing students to a more diverse range of techniques, trends and styles. “We instructors can only inspire them so much,” says Jeff Gordon, Associate Chair of the School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, with a laugh. “It’s good for them to be exposed to a wider range of influences.”
3 Wheeled Cheese 