FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Students are arriving at the new Culinary Academy that has opened at Pierpont Community and Technical College.

According to a release from Pierpont, the facility opened Jan. 23 at the Middletown Commons in White Hall and will help these students learn everything there is to know about food and cooking after their expansion granted them with two training kitchens, a classroom, locker rooms and other training spaces.

“One of the obstacles of our previous location was not enough space for the equipment needed to train students,” said Allison McCue, instructor and program coordinator for Pastry and Baking Arts. “The new facility will provide our students with the opportunity to work with a wide range of modern equipment that will prepare them for a career in the food service industry.”

With this addition, Pierpont’s Food Service Management Program hopes to better teach their students the degree specializations of Culinary Arts, Pastry and Baking Arts as well as Nutrition and Dietetics Technology.

“Previously, we had only one small kitchen for our three concentrations,” said executive chef and culinary instructor, Tony Anobile. “Now, we have kitchens specific to the culinary and baking concentrations that provide students an authentic, professional, ‘real-world’ training experience.”

A ribbon cutting for the Culinary Academy is expected “in the coming weeks,” according to the release.

To learn more about the Pierpont and the Food Service Management Program, you can visit pierpont.edu.