Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center opens for classes

Culinary Arts students and faculty returned from the winter break to a nearly completed new facility that is now open for classes. For Master Instructor Linda Jaster, the new building is a dream come true.

"The atmosphere is great and it's beautiful," she said. "We finally have a building that fits us just right."

The new Greta W. Watson Culinary Arts Center has three spacious commercial cooking areas, dedicating kitchen space for instruction, baking and restaurant/catering services. And it's designed with enhanced integration of technology in the learning spaces.

The teaching kitchens are outfitted with large flat screen TVs, video cameras and sound systems that allow chef instructors to demonstrate techniques on a larger scale and talk above the noise of a buzzing kitchen — all controlled with the swipe of a screen.

"We can control everything with our iPads," said Culinary Art s Department Chair Mark Schneider. "We can choose camera location presets, show a split screen and more. This will help our students learn techniques like they were standing right next to us."

The new dining room seats up to 80 people for formal dining and has wood facades and stylized light fixtures that will complement the fine dining experience of the luncheons served during the semester. In addition, a side patio will add 32 additional seats during nice weather.

Additional custom tables and counters are still being installed to finish up the dining room kitchen and gourmet-to-go station. In the future the gourmet-to-go counter will feature flavored sodas, espresso drinks and Panini sandwiches as well as various items made by students in class.

As the faculty and students settle into their routines in the new facility, they are all smiles when asked what they like best about it.

 "What is not to like about our new building? It's just wonderful," said Culinary Arts Instructor Kimberly Fehler.

Schneider, who has worked with contractors and spent many days during the holiday break to ensure classes were ready to start on time, said he's very pleased with the building too.

"It's the prettiest building on campus and it has some of the most technologically integrated lab spaces," he said. "To grow from one kitchen to three is absolutely amazing and once we get all the bells and whistles going there's not going to be a building on campus, or even in Waco, that can top this one."

See a photo slideshow of the new center: