2008 Woodie Awards
Bachelor's degree program sought by SPC culinary students
By Jared Solis
Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Features
Originally published: 11/1/07 at 1:57 PM CSTLast update: 11/1/07 at 1:55 PM CST
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Waiting, however, seems to be the order of the day for St. Philip's College culinary arts students vying for their program to provide a bachelor's degree at the college.
Sophomore Gina Castilleja fights through Interstate 35 traffic every weekday to work full shifts at the college's Upper Deck restaurant, which is part of the daily class and labs of the tourism, hospitality and culinary arts department.
Castilleja graduates in December and hopes to one day parlay her experience at St. Philip's and in other restaurants into her own bed and breakfast business.
A huge step toward this goal, Castilleja concedes, is attaining a bachelor's degree, but it can be difficult.
"I think it's very important (to have a bachelor's degree)," Castilleja said. "It's very uncommon in the culinary arts. You don't see it around because you have to go to places like the Culinary Institute of America or try to apply somewhere else where it is usually expensive."
The clamor of the kitchen gets louder as the students rush back and forth preparing the grand dessert for the Chancellor's Gala the next day.
Castilleja's instructor, Will Thorton, who sits at the head of the kitchen overseeing the ordered chaos, echoes her sentiments over the clanging of cooking utensils.
"This is a hot culinary market, and they don't want to leave here, but there's no offering of a bachelor's degree in San Antonio, so students right now have two choices," Thorton said. "They can go to the University of Houston where they can get a bachelor's in hotel restaurant management, or they go to Texas State (University-San Marcos) to get a bachelor's in fine arts and sciences.
"But if students can get a bachelor's in culinary arts here in what's becoming a culinary mecca, that would be great."
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