VCC’s culinary school cooks up another Golden Plates win

Originally published in The Georgia Straight

If you were braising racks of lamb with cherry reduction while your friends lived off of Kraft Dinner, you should consider attending Vancouver’s top culinary school.

This year, Vancouver Community College (VCC) won the title of “Best Professional Culinary School” in the Golden Plates 2020 awards. But the local college is no stranger to victory. VCC has been repeatedly honoured in the Straight’s annual Best of Vancouver and Golden Plates awards, which are chosen by the paper’s readers.

That’s because its culinary program gives students the opportunity to learn advanced techniques and theory from professional chefs while using innovative cooking technology.

Some of these modern kitchen tools include the DJ Food Décor Turntable for plating, the PolyScience Smoking Gun for infusing dishes with smoky flavours, and pressure-cooking machines.

Graduates from VCC culinary arts leave with plenty of experience when it comes to both casual and fine dining. This means that they’re able to make a delicious thin crust pizza but also a fancy chicken cordon bleu. The school also offers programs for those specifically interested in baking and pastry art.

Culinary students host the popular Chef’s Table Dinner Series, which occurs a few times throughout the year with ticket sales available to the public. During the exciting event, students prepare a five-course fixed menu with wine pairings for a group of 20 guests in VCC’s full-service on-campus restaurant – JJ’s. This provides students with kitchen experience in a restaurant setting to ensure that they feel confident entering the workforce as trained chefs. 

With highly regarded faculty members and state-of-the-art kitchens, VCC’s culinary school is where the next generation of talented chefs gets their start.

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Learn more about life as a VCC culinary student by attending a regularly scheduled information session.