L-R: Reknowned Chef Christopher Plemmons, Nick Giovanni, Hospitality Manager and Food Service Director, and Steve Lammers, a chef and longtime instructor.

“He headed the conversation with ‘Don’t worry about anything, we’ll handle it.’ He was upbeat and positive, and lifted a stress point for me as the mother of the bride,” she says. He promised that the goal of the caterers was to make sure the last person in the line had the same experience as the first. Not only did he keep that promise, but the catering service was complete with an excellent meal and service. Henry received excellent feedback from guests, including some who said it was the best food they’ve ever had at a wedding.

“You were as good as your word,” Henry wrote in her thank-you email to Giovanni and his “coworkers and staff for the excellent meals and over and above service.”

This may sound like the usual feedback of a satisfied customer, but what makes the experience unique is that Giovanni’s co-workers and staff were actually college students. Giovanni is an instructor as well as hospitality management and food service director at the Culinary Arts Institute, the culinary program of Bremerton-based Olympic College. Catering is not only a competitively priced and professionally delivered service to the local community, it is also an opportunity for students to learn hands-on and to practice the skills they learn in the program. About 200 events are catered throughout the year on and off campus, and students do everything from figuring out the setup and the costs to providing labor and managing the food event.

Students also staff the college café as well as manage and staff Fireside Bistro, an elegant dining room that doubles as a classroom. The space opened as a restaurant earlier this year after undergoing remodeling. Here, students learn everything from nutrition to serving etiquette and management but during lunchtime, the whiteboard is cleverly disguised as the space gets ready for visitors. Students rotate as managers of the kitchen, the front of the house and the purchasing/ordering “department.” Students also prepare the meals, serve and clean up. After each quarter, they qualify to pursue a specific certification from ACF, starting with prep cook and all the way up to sous chef.

“We are training them to be able to work their way up to a sous chef position,” says Chris Plemmons, a renowned chef who became part of the faculty four years ago. Plemmons oversees the kitchen that “feeds the restaurant”

Fridays are especially popular, with the introduction of themed five-course meals. The event became so popular, the price was in fact raised — but is still a bargain at $8.75 plus tax. So it’s not unusual to “turn the tables” in the 40-seat restaurant (industry lingo for having to seat patrons at a newly cleaned up table after previous customers leave). A recent theme was “A Culinary Tour of Italy,” and included chicken marsala with mushroom polenta as the entrée, and a desert called Chocolate Gnocchi with Citrus Ricotta and Port Caramel Sauce.

In the kitchen, student manager/sous chef Cameron Tetrault was busy giving instructions and hands-on training to lower-level students while making sure the line-style kitchen was running smoothly. “Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to be a chef,” he says. “While kids played with Legos, I had my own cooking set.”

Tetrault hasn’t even finished the program but already has a “real world” restaurant job. He’s been working at McCormick Woods’ restaurant since May, starting out as a sauté cook and is now in charge of training new cooks. He’s one of many success stories the program has had. Top graduates have moved on to work at restaurants such as Anthony’s and Mor Mor, to manage regional food services, and even to diners around the country.

And that’s just in the civilian world. The Culinary Arts Institute also has a special program for military chefs, many of whom have gone on to work at places like the Pentagon, the White House and Air Force One. The military program was formally implemented 12 years ago but informally offered for five years prior to that. Lammers, a certified culinary educator who was hired 29 years ago by the college to develop the culinary program, initially offered free seminars at the local military bases as community service. The Navy became interested in training its chefs locally, and now the program receives military students from around the country.

A 40-year industry veteran, Lammers recalls how little was taught in culinary schools in his day about management and important things like employee evaluations or purchasing. “The bottom line, you have to make a profit — it’s a business,” he says. “Knowing how to manage and operate a business is just as important as being a good cook. We teach the skills to help students get into management and supervising in the hospitality and food industry.”

The program is fast-paced, so not everyone survives. But, Plemmons says, “it’s a brutal industry” so the school sets high expectations. The students, too, are learning from the best. Lammers, for example, was recognized as Educator of the Year in the 13 Western states by the American Culinary Federation in 2005, and placed second in the country at a culinary educator competition. Plemmons is an award-winning certified executive chef who had operated his own restaurant in Poulsbo, among other things.

“I enjoy sharing the knowledge and taking someone who hasn’t had the knowledge, and providing the vehicle for them to grow,” Plemmons says. “It’s a small program… but it allows students to stay at home and get their training in their back yard.”