The sound of knives chopping, an always-moving kitchen staff busily hurrying out orders and the aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls as they come out of the oven. All this is located right across the street from SRJC in the newly built Robert A. Burdo Culinary Arts Center.
The SRJC culinary arts department recently moved from the Brickyard Center to a newly constructed building with ample space and new equipment. The Culinary Arts certificate program offers students the opportunity to practice fine dining, as well as provide meals that would be at home in any high-class dining establishment. Students can take classes in baking, front-end service, or the café class, which prepares all the food for the restaurant.
The department receives a bulk of its produce from Shone Farms, the SRJC’s agriculture program, which means it’s all natural, organic and grown by fellow SRJC students. All baked goods as well as most desserts for the cafe are made in-house by baking students.
The SRJC culinary certificate is a challenging, rigorous program, but students can complete a certificate for around $2,500, and will learn invaluable skills that they can put towards a career in the food service industry. Sonoma County has a high demand for trained cooks, bakers and front-end service workers and the culinary department also boasts a very successful job placement program. The department’s career center works with more than 400 local employers and places students in jobs in the field of culinary arts.
The bakery opens at 7:30 a.m. and the café opens at 11:30 a.m. Both are open Wednesday through Friday until 2 p.m. Reservations are not required but are highly recommended. For reservations, call 707-522-2796.