Cornell chefs visit culinary class at OCM BOCES to help develop local cooks

Last month, four representatives from Cornell Dining traveled to Cortland to take part in Chef Lori Rossi's culinary arts class at OCM BOCES, the career and technical education program that serves Onondaga, Cortland, and Madison counties in Central New York.

Chef Timothy Oltz of Cornell Catering, Chef Steven Miller, Matthew Johnson, and Harry Ashendorf made the trip to work with the class of 13 high school seniors from Homer High School, Cortland High School, McGraw High School, Marathon High School and Tully High School, and by the end of the session, the group had planned and prepared a complete meal.

"This type of event is to gain new pathways for finding local employees of the future," says Chef Miller, Cornell Dining's director of culinary operations. "Three of these students will be joining our Hospitality Apprenticeship Program group in January."

The group prepared fresh pasta and chicken parmesan, both from scratch, as well as fresh oven-roasted tomato sauce and cello basil leaves as a garnish. "Not bad for one and a half hours of prep and service time," says Chef Miller. "We hope to bring the same group of students here to Cornell Dining as a Part 2 to this training," he adds.

Cornell Dining's Hospitality Apprenticeship Program (HAP) offers a several-week rotation program that finds participants from area college career centers, community employment agencies, and career programs like BOCES.

Find more photos from the visit on Cornell Dining's Facebook page.