A-B Tech's 'hot food team' to compete in national finals. What it takes to be a winner.

ASHEVILLE - Those hungry for a rich culinary arts education may get one in Asheville without whisking away to institutes across the country or abroad.

For decades, Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College’s culinary department has churned out excellence. The proof of its success is evident in the awards its students and chef instructors win each year, as well as the careers the graduates forge in the hospitality industry in the years that follow.

“I think it’s one of the top ones in the country. I’ve visited a lot of culinary schools, I’ve been to culinary schools, myself, and compared to the private schools, the affordability is amazing for what it would take for half a semester at Johnson and Wales or CIA (The Culinary Institute of America) to complete their full program,” said Chris Bugher, A-B Tech's chef instructor of culinary arts. “We have smaller classes so instructors can be one-on-one with the students more. The work ethic of the students is amazing. You can ask any chef in town; they would rather have an A-B Tech student than from any private school or anything.”

A-B Tech’s all-encompassing culinary arts and hospitality program, accredited by the American Culinary Federation, offer curriculums designed for students to gain textbook and hands-on training and experience to prepare them for entry-level jobs that meet the professional standard in the food and beverage industry.

This month, as the student team heads to another ACF national finals to compete against culinary schools across the country, it’s another showcase of the department’s aptitude on the state, regional and national levels.

In March, A-B Tech’s culinary team clinched a place in the American Culinary Federation national qualifying competition ranking in the categories of the best student team, student chef and student pastry chef in the Southeast Region. From July 16-19, the team will be in New Orleans to compete in the ACF national finals.

“We’ve been built on tradition, and the coaches have passed down their information year after year,” said Bugher, who coaches the teams with fellow chef instructor Stephen Hertz. “We’ve set the standard for a lot of the competition where other teams look at us. We’ve been to nationals more than any other team in the country. We have that tradition, and the judges look for it when we walk in the door: ‘That’s A-B Tech.’ They are expecting us to have those traditions.”

Learning the basics

The four two-year associate degree program focuses are culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, hospitality management, and brewing and distillation.

Several certification programs — ideal for those looking to improve skills or get a feel for an area of study without going to school full-time — are available with focuses on baking and pastry arts, culinary arts, therapeutic culinary, practical meat cutting, hospitality and restaurant management and more. The credits may be applied toward an associate degree for those who’d like to extend their education in the culinary department.

Sessions are in a traditional classroom setting and in a commercial kitchen, and students are provided opportunities to serve the diners from the community for additional hands-on experience. There is cross-training across the programs so students may become well-rounded, and it has led to students discovering new areas of interest.

Also, students must complete a summer internship in the hospitality industry.

Students range in age, experience levels and backgrounds.

Some high school students have taken classes for college credits for free. The instructors also work with students whose first language is not English.

“The first class, CUL 140, is basic culinary skills and when students come in there, you’ll have a student who’s never picked up a knife before, then you’ll have a student who’s worked in the industry for seven or 10 years and wants to get some more managerial experience in leadership and the fundamentals or to break bad habits,” Bugher said. “It’s cool to see the dynamic of the students working together.”

Often, the more experienced student will take the lead in the kitchen, which allows them more leadership training opportunities, he said.

The final class, Classical Cuisine, requires students to participate in the capstone dinner series where students rotate cooking and serving a multicourse meal to a dining room of guests from the community that are critiqued by a panel of judges that includes instructors and local special guest chefs.

Michelle Bailey, executive chef at Smoky Park Supper Club, attended the college from 2005-07.

By age 25, Bailey had worked in the industry for nine years but said she enrolled in the culinary program for the training and experience she needed to work at higher-caliber restaurants and take the next step in her career.

Bailey said the culinary program was “much more intense” than what she expected but was worth it.

“A-B Tech has amazing instructors who are also members of this community who care about Asheville and our food scene,” Bailey said. “The program is not designed to be easy. You have to show up, be present and accounted for, and you’re going to get out of it what you put into it.”

In 2007, Bailey was on the hot food team that won the gold medal in the nationals against schools including Johnson and Wales and the CIA.

“That was a whole other amazing experience that taught me about organization, mise en place, being very detail oriented and working very calmy under extreme amounts of pressure,” Bailey said.

Bailey returns to judge capstone dinners and critique the hot food team as it prepares to compete and has hosted A-B Tech students for summer internships at Smoky Park, where she’s worked since 2015.

Quality and affordability

The culinary arts and hospitality program costs about $8,000. Financial aid and scholarships may be available to students.

Enrollment periods are Fall 2023 (begins Aug. 21), Spring 2024 (begins Jan. 8) and Summer 2024 (begins May 23).

Although traditionally designed as a two-year program, students may extend their courses over more time, which is common for those who are juggling employment, family and other life responsibilities that may conflict with class schedules.

In 2008, Cathy Horton graduated from the program and returned to work in roles including as a part-time adjunct instructor. Seven years ago, she became the full-time chair of culinary arts and hospitality management and head of the culinary, bakery and pastry arts program.

“There are certainly other community colleges in the state and throughout the region and country that have culinary programs. We’re very fortunate to have the caliber of program that we have here,” Horton said.

She credits Sheila Tillman, former dean of culinary arts and hospitality, for greatly shaping the department into the powerhouse that it is today.

Tillman graduated from the program in the late-1980s and began working for the college in 1990. She’d had previous experience teaching and in food and enrolled to improve her skills and to become a better teacher, she said. She served as dean for about a decade before retiring in 2018.

“I always like to say, ‘I didn’t build it, I just try not to mess it up,’” Horton said. “Sheila Tillman was one of the original graduates of the program and spent her career turning this into the world-class program that it is, so I would put our students up against Johnson and Wales or the Culinary Institute of America any day of the week. They work cleaner, harder, faster and the skills that they bring to the table are just as good and at a price point that’s a fraction of the money. They’re ready to walk into the kitchen and hold their own.”

Steven Goff, chef and owner of Tastee Diner, said reputation and affordability were motivators when he attended the school. Goff graduated from the culinary program in 2009 and from the baking and pastry program in 2011.

He was on the hot food team that won third place in ACF’s national finals in 2009.

“It was great because the things you learn on the culinary team, you get to travel and compete in random kitchens,” said Goff said, who's also served as an adjunct instructor over the years. “A lot of the things that I do now, whether I’m catering or doing a pop-up event or cooking on the news — cooking off-site — a lot of the skills I learned there helped me better execute all the off-site cooking I do now.”

He’d worked in kitchens as a teen, but the culinary school helped him to refine his knowledge and taught him how to manage and be a better business owner, he said.

The instructors prepare students for careers in traditional restaurant and hotel settings, as well as country clubs and resorts and hospitality management positions and more.

“And it’s not just that — it’s anything with taking care of people,” Horton said. “When you think about cruise ships, casinos, rest homes, other educational facilities — there’s a wide swath of really good careers that you can have a tremendously good quality life, make a good living, and it’s different every single day.”

Competitive cooking

Before Bugher was hired as the chef instructor of culinary arts, he knew of A-B Tech by reputation.

He’d attended a culinary school in Virginia but noticed A-B Tech at competitions and was impressed with the teams’ performances. Nine years ago, upon relocating to Asheville, he applied and joined A-B Tech’s faculty.

For 14 years, the college has appeared in the national team competition and has produced individual student and team wins. However, it’s no easy feat.

A-B Tech students first must audition for a place on the school’s competing team. Those who make the cut go through rigorous training in addition to their regular class workload.

“It’s a long commitment. It’s at least one year,” said Bugher, who in May won the gold medal and trophy and earned the title of ACF’s Global Vegan Chef of the Americas and will represent North and South America in the Global Chefs Challenge finals at the Worldchefs Congress and Expo in Singapore next year.

The 2023 “hot food team" members are Jason Gray, Nickolas Abbott, Corrine Dowd, Abbey Franklin and Ashley Neri. Patricia (Paty) Santibanez won the Southeast Student Pastry Chef of the Year

Roman Nourse, a 24-year-old Waynesville native who graduated in May, went up against 22 other competitors and won the Southeast Student Chef of the Year contest and placed in the top four sealing his place in the National Student Chef of the Year competition in New Orleans. Nourse also was captain of the A-B Tech team that competed in the nationals in Las Vegas in 2022.

Nourse said he thrives on the pressure of cooking live for judges and in the arena of culinary teams from across the country.

“It’s crazy. Being at the competitive level, it’s very different because the pressure and the time aspect we have to do certain things is immense,” Nourse said. “But what I’ve learned is how I can manage that time to execute a bunch of things in a little bit of time. I’ve learned different techniques on how I can attack a different element of something. … My speed has changed incredibly since I’ve been in the competitions.”

Nourse worked in the local food and beverage industry before enrolling in January 2020 and continued to work two jobs while completing his studies at A-B Tech. He said he chose the college for the culinary program’s reputation for being one of the best in the state for its affordability.

“It’s been more worth it than anything because I’m seeing myself grow more than I ever could have imagined. I got asked recently where I see myself in like three years, and three years ago when I started the program I not at all saw myself going to all these different places and competing and showcasing what I’ve learned through my craft on a competitive level and national level,” Nourse said.

Recently, he landed a job at Biltmore and plans to work his way up to a sous chef position.

He's also geared toward becoming a personal chef and owning a food truck.

“I love making people happy and learned that making good food is a good way to do so,” Nourse said.

“A-B Tech is fantastic. I’ve loved every second of being here. Even the bad days are good days for me. It’s been a great time,” Nourse said.

Bugher said that in addition to the reward of teaching up-and-coming chefs, he loves to witness each student’s growth.

“Visually, I can see that on the plate, but I also see it in the students,” Bugher said. “It’s something you can’t capture on a phone (camera), but I get to see that progression from day one.”

It’s a rewarding experience for the instructors, too.

“It’s the best job in the world. I’m a huge believer in community college and what we can do in general for our young people,” Horton said. “Secondly, if you love food, coming here and watching the progress between the first day when they’re not sure how to pick up a knife to two years later and the caliber of food they’re putting out, it is an amazing journey. It’s fun to watch.”

Supplying the job market

A-B Tech’s culinary department prepares students to not only be employable but desirable to top restaurants and hospitality groups — an industry that continues to grow in Asheville.

“The chefs here, they want our students, and not just here but all around,” Bugher said.

Tillman said many establishments have sent management to the school to observe the students before opening their restaurants to consider the quality of the local workforce.

“The program has continued to be amazing and the skill of what the students are doing is amazing,” Tillman said. “That they have continued to fulfill the original legacy of creating quality students to get jobs. Really that was what it was always about — to create a quality student to get the job they want and to become leaders themselves. That’s what’s been exciting to watch over the years.”

Many students have gone on to take jobs outside of the area, too.

Horton said she believes the culinary department plays a large role in elevating Asheville’s food scene.

“One of the things that that we do every year, fall and spring, is have an internal job fair where our industry partners come, and they line up to get in touch with our students — everything from the sexy, independent Cúrate all the way to the big dogs the Biltmores and the Grove Parks. They want our students because they know what they bring to the table, and I think that translates further than just Asheville.”

The Asheville area’s food and beverage workforce is stocked with those from A-B Tech’s culinary program.

“You can go into any restaurant here and there is probably alumni or someone currently working in our program,” Bugher said.

What Bailey notices about the students who come to work at Smoky Park Supper Club is the core foundation of skills and a strong work ethic.

“It’s a real feather in your hat to have a degree from there,” Bailey said.

“If we don’t support programs like A-B Tech, then we won’t have a future for our future cooks and students in our industry,” Goff said. “It’s a very important part of keeping our industry going and happy.”

Asheville-Buncombe Community College

Where: 340 Victoria Road, Asheville.

Enrollment periods: Fall 2023, Aug. 21; Spring 2024, Jan. 8; Summer 2024, May 23.

Cost: Estimated $8,000.

Info: For more, visit abtech.edu/culinary and follow on social media at .facebook.com/abtechculinary.

For prospective students interested who’d like to request a meeting or tour, email Cathy Horton at [email protected].

To join the email listserv to receive information about upcoming dining events at A-B Tech, email [email protected].

Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: A-B Tech culinary students aim to win national finals, maintain legacy