West Kentucky Community & Technical College

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WKCTC Students Hone Culinary Skills at Annual Luncheon

Paducah, KY (11/23/2021) — More than 20 culinary arts students at West Kentucky Community and Technical College used their skills to prepare and serve a holiday luncheon for the college's board of directors and Paducah Junior College, Inc. Board of Trustees in the College Bistro Thursday, November 18.

The luncheon preceded a joint meeting of the boards held annually in November. The WKCTC board oversees the college's budget and evaluates the president; PJC, Inc. is the foundation for the college. The November meeting is the only time the boards meet jointly. "It is a wonderful way for the college's culinary art students to put what they are learning into action," said Chef Erik Engelland, associate professor and assistant dean of WKCTC's applied technologies division.

"A lot of our (students) are already working and have jobs in the industry, but the credentials that we award allow them to get better-paying positions, and that's what we're all about here," Engelland told board members before the lunch.

In the first course, students prepared a warm autumn root vegetable Panzanella salad consisting of roasted turnips, butternut squash, beets, feta cheese, and arugula tossed in a red wine vinaigrette. The luncheon entree was a classic roasted chicken served with a mustard scented pan gravy and an herb-crusted pork loin served with a wild mushroom demi-glace. Side dishes for the meal included boulangere potatoes, French braised artichokes, and cornbread stuffing. The meal was capped off with an apple cinnamon pound cake served with a bourbon caramel and buttermilk creme Anglaise.

"Chef (Laura) Farrell and I look forward to this luncheon every year," Engelland said. "It's such a wonderful learning opportunity for our students."

During the board portion of the meeting, five new members of the WKCTC Board of Directors were officially sworn in by McCracken County Judge-Executive Craig Clymer. The new members are Gorman "Butch" Bradley of Paducah, Jay Simmons of Mayfield, Kenneth Hurt of Paducah, Erika Ann Mehta of Paducah, and WKCTC student Krystian Clayton of Calvert City.

WKCTC President Anton Reece announced that plaques of appreciation would be sent to former WKCTC board members Deborah Edmonds of Paducah (2009 - 2019) and Larry Kelley of Bardwell (2009 - 2021).

PJC Board Chair Chris Black gave a brief update on the $15 million donation from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, given through the National Philanthropic Trust to the college last December. Black praised Dr. Reece and his cabinet for establishing a seven-sector plan for the funds. "We are approaching the point where our first year's activities need to be reported back to the National Philanthropic Trust," Black said, adding that the three-page report will be submitted in early December.

Black said one of the new initiatives arising from the donation is the college's new Student Success Center located in the Mathison Learning Resource Center. While organizers expect the success center to be available to all students eventually, the initial students using the center will be first-generation students, students in need of specific developmental courses, and non-traditional students. The center will provide tutoring and other services to help students reach their academic and career goals.

In addition to the success center, the donation from the trust has allowed the college to work with area community groups to award scholarships through the WKCTC Guarantee. "Those have begun to flow back to the college," said Black. "The importance of that is that the groups have been empowered with several scholarships that they have available. They have the ability to reach into a sector of the population that the college might not reach during the normal tracks of how the college recruitment would take place."

Like the culinary arts students who prepared the board luncheon, "The work that WKCTC does in preparing people to go out into the world of work or on to other higher education opportunities is being extended through this donation," Black said.

To learn more about WKCTC's Culinary Arts program, contact Chef Erik Engelland at erik.engelland@kctcs.edu. Registration is underway for spring classes that begin at WKCTC in January. Financial aid is available. For assistance with enrolling, call 270.534.3435 or email WKCTCenrollment@kctcs.edu

Media Attachments

WKCTC students practice what they are learning in Culinary Arts during an annual joint boards meeting November 18.

WKCTC President Anton Reece (center) introduces the students who worked at the November 18th luncheon(left to right): Cailey Prehoda, Chef Erik Engelland, Christian Grimes, Autumn Beavers (partly hidden behind the column), Amari Matthews, Santasia Trice, Jeffrey Sutton, Janie Dunn, Shawn-Michael May, and Dixie Major.

WKCTC Culinary Arts Associate Professor, Erik Engelland, describes the meal that students have prepared for the board’s annual holiday luncheon.

New members of the West Kentucky Community and Technical College Board of Directors are officially sworn in by McCracken County Judge-Executive Craig Clymer (left). They are pictured (left to right): Jay Simmons of Mayfield, WKCTC student Krystian Clayton of Calvert City, Kenneth Hurt and Erika Ann Mehta, and Gorman "Butch" Bradley, all of Paducah.

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