Culinary Program Heats Up

Wearing her crisp white chef’s jacket, Jaydee Bratcher bustles around the dining room at Table Mesa Bistro on the Bentonville Square even during the lull between the lunch and dinner crowds, taking reservations and talking with staff.

As manager, her duties include making sure everything produced in the kitchen meets the restaurant’s high standards, and that guests are happy with the food and service.

It’s her dream job, Bratcher said, and she landed it just a few months after starting an internship there in April 2010 as part of her studies in culinary arts and hospitality management at Northwest Arkansas Community College. Carrying a full course load in addition to her full-time job, Bratcher, 27, is working toward an associate of applied science degree.

“When you’re going through NWACC, you’re really getting a chance to not only learn, but apply yourself within the community – the same community that you’re going to be working in when you graduate,” Bratcher said.

With Northwest Arkansas’ tourism industry poised to grow exponentially in the next few years, particularly with the opening in November of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, the need for a workforce trained in hospitality management and culinary arts is expected to grow as well.

Ed Clifford, president and CEO of the Bentonville/Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce, said he’s heard employers in area restaurants and hotels talk for the last five years about the need for more skilled workers.

“There may have been a lull when things started to go downhill in 2007 as far as travel into the area, so we had a waning in demand, but we are seeing a resurgence in capital allocated” to restaurants as well as a $28 million boutique hotel that will also have a restaurant.

“I think what we’re seeing now is probably an opportunity for folks who are well-trained to stay in the area and work in that field,” Clifford said.

NWACC students get plenty of real-world job experience through 120-hour internships in various aspects of the region’s food and hospitality industry, Bratcher said.

They also take part in activities outside the classroom such as farmers markets, craft fairs and business events where a few extra hands are needed.

Bratcher started her hospitality internship at Table Mesa Bistro as a server and quickly took on other “front of the house” duties. The restaurant’s owner, Carl Garrett, was so impressed with her performance and aptitude that he soon offered her the management position.

Chef Michael Kuefner, who chairs the college’s Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Department, said area employers frequently contact him seeking interns.

“And of course, often the company ends up hiring the interns,” he said.

Besides restaurant work, students also find internships in research and development at companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Sam’s Club, Kuefner said.

Menu Options

NWACC offers several for-credit options for students interested in a culinary arts or hospitality career. These range from certificate of proficiency programs to the associate of applied science degree.

Kuefner said 140 students are currently enrolled in the various programs. Enrollment grows by about 20 students each semester, he said.

“Right now, the demand is so high we teach two Saturday classes to get all the hours in,” he said.

The programs prepare students for a number of career paths, including professional chef, restaurant owner, food stylist, culinary educator, food research and development, food sales and marketing, and hotel management.

Although NWACC opened a culinary arts and hospitality department last year in its Corporate Learning program, under the leadership of Chef Lou Rice, Kuefner doesn’t see the new department as competition.

Rice’s program offers non-credit courses for professional and personal development at the Shewmaker Center for Global Business Development in Bentonville. NWACC’s for-credit program, housed at the NWA Non-Profit Center in Rogers, caters to those preparing to enter the field, and for experienced workers wanting to advance their careers.

“I have students who’ve worked in the industry 15 to 20 years but can’t take any management positions because they don’t have a degree or certificate,” Kuefner said. “Right now they need that paperwork that proves they have the necessary knowledge and experience.”

Even in a tough economy, the Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers Metropolitan Statistical Area added jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector in the past year. The area reported 18,100 leisure and hospitality jobs in February, up from 17,000 in February 2010.

Statewide, employment in that sector grew by 4,300 jobs during the period, with most of those – 3,700 – in food services.

The only sectors adding more jobs were professional and business services, with 9,600, and trade, transportation and utilities, which added 4,900.

And jobs related to the food service and hospitality industries are expected to increase in Northwest Arkansas over the next few years.

Arkansas Department of Workforce Services projections show that by 2016, the leisure and hospitality industry in the Northwest Arkansas Workforce Investment Area will employ 30,599 workers. That would be a gain of about 11,000 jobs since 2009.

The Workforce Investment Area covers nine counties including Benton and Washington.

Red-hot Tourist Spot

One of the factors driving the predicted growth is the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The museum is expected to draw 250,000 visitors to Bentonville each year, Clifford said.

To help accommodate them, the 21c Museum Hotel will go up on the downtown square. Scheduled to open next year, the hotel will feature a 9,000-SF bar and restaurant among its amenities.

Also, a newly renovated and expanded Wal-Mart Visitors Center will re-open May 21. Additions to the original Walton Five and Dime will include a café along with interactive museum displays.

“When you’re expecting to triple the number of visitors to the Wal-Mart Visitors Center and about 250,000 visitors to Crystal Bridges, it’s really necessary that we have lots of places for people to enjoy besides those attractions,” Clifford said.

This includes eateries, and area restaurateurs are moving quickly to fill that need.

Clifford mentioned several of these that are already in the works around the Bentonville Square. An Italian restaurant owned by Table Mesa Bistro’s Garrett will open this summer.

A coffee house called The Press Room will go in next to City Hall, and a restaurant chain called Flying Fish is coming to the square.

Also, The Sanctuary may reopen as a catered events center, Clifford said.

“So we’ve got an awful lot of good things happening in that area,” he said.

Bratcher will manage the new Italian restaurant as well as Table Mesa Bistro, moving her closer to her goal of managing several restaurants within the next three to five years.

That’s a tall order for someone who is also a wife and the mother of two children, ages 3 and 7, but Bratcher is undaunted.

“I think when you enjoy what you do and you’re working toward a big goal like I am – I want to be over several restaurants – that it just keeps you going,” she said.