Although the college is on spring break, some students taking culinary classes are pitching-in this week for the NJCAA Division II Mens National Basketball Tournament in Danville. Bill Pickett has more….
Instructor Dana Wheeler says they are helping to prepare some of the food for the hospitality room.
Wheeler (shown here) says Danville Area Community College offers a variety of culinary classes….
{AUDIO: ‘’We have a 30-credit hour program. There’s thirteen different classes that you can choose from. And in order to get the certification you have to take at least ten of the classes. But we also have students – remember this – if you’re over sixty or a senior, they have reduced rates for those people who just want to take a class for the fun of it or learn more. So I do have people who come back and take classes for that.’’}
Wheeler notes some students in her classes are high school students attending DACC on a dual-enrollment program….
{AUDIO: ‘’It’s College Express. We have four of those a day that come from different areas. Two in the morning that come from Danville schools, and two in the afternoon that come from the county schools. And they come all the way from Armstrong, Bismarck, Hoopeston, Rossville. And then we have Georgetown-Ridge Farm, Westville, (and) Salt Fork. So they come from all over.’’}
Students in the dual enrollment classes are earning college credits while attending high school.
Although she is currently focused on the NJCAA Division II Mens National Basketball Tournament, Wheeler is looking forward to other events involving her students…
{AUDIO: ‘’We have some coming up this summer – Farm to Fork which a lot of people enjoy. And in that one we do some canning and we make some strawberry jam. And we make homemade Mozzarella cheese, and kind of go over different herbs and how you can process them, and dry them out. And what to do with those things once you do grow them in your garden.’’}
>>> The student shown in the photo at the top of this story is 19-year-old Cody Johnson of Westville. He started in the College Express program at Danville Area Community College then returned to get his certification. <<<
The DACC Culinary Department has been supplying food for three meals a day this week in the hospitality room. Much of the food there, however, is already prepared and is being donated for the tournament by dozens of Danville area businesses.
