A Canadian beacon for food, wine and tourism
Okanagan College works to bolster the region’s reputation as a world-class food and hospitality destination as well as help to address the workforce skills gap in the accommodation and food industries. supplied
Infusions Restaurant, operated by and located on campus of the Okanagan College in Kelowna, B.C., offers mouth-watering selections, from savoury apple, beet and fennel salad, to seafood cioppino featuring B.C. seafood, squid ink truffle and root vegetables. These palate-pleasing dishes, created by culinary arts students under the guidance of Red Seal-certified chef instructors, illustrate the “bounty of the surrounding region,” says Ruth Wigman, who recently assumed the role of executive chef at the restaurant.
Chef Wigman, a contender on the Food Network’s Canada’s Top Chef and formerly the executive sous-chef at the Fairmont Vancouver Airport, says that when she’s asked to describe the fare that students are learning to prepare, “I’ll probably repeat ‘fresh and local’ about 70,000 times.”
The celebrity chef says she was attracted to her role at Okanagan College largely because of the rich opportunities to create and deliver farm-to-table sustainable cuisine choices.
“The abundance of farmer and product knowledge of the culinary scene is literally unrivalled,” she says. “The credentials and calibre of instructors at the college and in this region are phenomenal.”
The enthusiasm for the myriad attractions of the Okanagan Valley is widespread, notes Neil Fassina, president of Okanagan College. The popular destination – with a reputation as a verdant and fertile region that boasts first-class resorts, restaurants and wineries – also is an ideal setting for the college’s four campuses, and particularly its focus on providing innovative training in the hospitality sectors.
“We believe the unique components of our region, combined with the college’s programming in culinary arts, viticulture and tourism management can create what is authentically a Canadian beacon for food, wine and tourism on a global scale,” he says.
In a recent Statistics Canada study, the accommodation and food industry reported a 78 per cent workforce skills gap. Okanagan College is ready to address this issue along with the challenge of recruitment, says Dr. Fassina, who is also the chair of Trades Training B.C. “Okanagan College is uniquely poised to be a Canadian epicentre for the creation of talent that is not only needed in the interior of British Columbia but throughout the province, across the country and around the world.”
The college provides work-integrated learning, creating opportunities for students to apply and hone their skills through real-life experiences, such as working at Infusions Restaurant, says Dr. Fassina. It offers a student-centred approach, allowing students to earn micro-credentials leading them to “succeed in the profession they choose without the economic strain of being absent from the labour force for an extended period.”
Partnerships are integral to the college’s programs, and staff and students work closely with industry experts to understand and meet needs of local businesses. A current priority, in collaboration with the provincial government, is a plan for a new culinary arts building in Kelowna, which Dr. Fassina envisions to become a showcase for Okanagan College.
It will also be open to the public, and that’s important, he adds, “because Okanagan College is ultimately a community where everyone is welcome.”
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