SCCC launches new food and beverage program

SPARTA — Sussex County Community College officially kicked-off its new food and beverage academic program on Jan. 13 with a press conference, kitchen and bakery tour, food preparation demonstration and a complimentary lunch at the new Skylanders Café on the campus of Sussex County Technical School in Sparta. SCCC will expand its academic offerings this spring to include an option in food and beverage management under the Business Management Associate of Applied Science degree. Three new courses — Baking and Pastry Arts, Food Prep I, and Commercial Food Service Operations, have been developed for the new option. The courses will be taught in the commercial kitchen and existing café at Sussex County Technical High School. Students in Food Prep I will prepare all aspects of a dinner menu and students from Commercial Food Service Operations will be in charge of the dining room and serving the dinners to the public. The café will operate as the Skylander Café, named in honor of the SCCC mascot. Dinner will be served from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays only. Dinner will also be available for take-out. The Skylander Café is expected to open in mid- February. The Baking and Pastry Arts course held on Mondays will prepare all the bread and desserts for Tuesday’s dinners. Cakes, pies, breads, rolls, pastries, etc., will also be available for sale. Menus, reservation and ordering information will be available on the SCCC Web site, sussex.edu. A Carl Perkins Grant for vocational and technical programs provided the funding for a walk-in refrigerator and freezer for the SCTS kitchen. Space is still available for the new food and beverage classes as well as many others at SCCC. Registration for the spring semester will continue until classes begin on Jan. 26.