It’s never too early to get acquainted with the kitchen, and at the Suffolk County Community College Culinary Arts Center (20 E. Main St., Riverhead, 631-548-3700) children in grades eight through 12 will get to do just that.
With two different start dates to choose from for the five-day program (Monday, July 6 or Monday, July 20), the Suffolk Summer Culinary Camps run from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, where students deep dive into food prep in hot and cold kitchen labs, making Italian, Asian, Greek, Mexican and American cuisines. They will also tap into the fundamentals of baking and pastry arts while breaking daily for self-prepared lunches.
At the end of each week, family members and guests are invited in for a luncheon, where the young chefs can showcase their week’s work while receiving toques and certificates of completion.
“One of the best things about this program are the tangible assets at the end of the day,” says Andrew Fawcett, Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement at SCCC. “Sometimes in other programs, it’s difficult to see what you’re working towards and in a program like this, you get to actually smell and touch and eat what you’ve been working on.”
Suffolk County Community College staff; Andrea Glick, professor of culinary arts; and Meghan Saccone, adjunct instructor of culinary arts will oversee instruction both weeks.
Students will spend a portion of each day with Glick, who owns Maple Tree BBQ Smokehouse, learning the ins and outs of cooking, and then the rest of the day with Saccone, founder of North Fork Flour Shoppe — a dessert food truck — focusing on baking.
“The camps are designed so that students and families get a taste of all things culinary — no pun intended,” says Fawcett.
The commercial kitchens that students will be learning in at Suffolk County Community College this summer. (Photo credit: Parker Schug)
After a week, they’ll be well-acquainted with the commercial kitchens in the Riverhead facility and have a better understanding of the basics of culinary arts.
“I want them to be able to understand how to put together a plate and use a knife the right way,” says Glick.
This camp launches as part of Suffolk’s non-credit continuing education offerings. “There is no pressure for students to feel like they have to become chefs or come to Suffolk,” says Fawcett. “But that is available to them if they’d like to pursue that after.”
For adults looking to expand their knowledge base there are other continuing education offerings, including a wine and cheese pairing class, a paella and trimmings course, a sushi class, a Thai class and a class on making gluten-free desserts. Beyond culinary, there are business courses, computer courses, construction courses, finance courses, photography courses and many others.
“It gives people an opportunity to try something or to test drive a passion of theirs,” says Fawcett. “With lots of continuing ed programs, some of them are really important for people who are in an industry — it allows them to elevate within that industry or transition to another career.”
The Suffolk Summer Culinary Camp is $595 per week. To register or learn more information, click here or call 631-451-4552.
