Washburne Culinary Students Gain Experience, Recognition, Growth
After spending the last two years arming herself with skills acquired at Washburne Culinary Institute & French Pastry School, Aisha Golden, 32, will graduate in May from the school with an Associate degree in Applied Science in Culinary Arts.
As one the oldest culinary schools in the nation with more than 75 Years of culinary training, Washburne, headquartered at 63rd and Halsted Streets on the City Colleges of Chicago Kennedy-King campus, combines the latest culinary techniques with the hands-on experience to ensure students receive world-class culinary and hospitality training.
"I came to Washburne back in 2011," said Golden as she sat at a table at Sikia, one of two full-service restaurants managed and operated by Washburne and features a student-prepared rotating menu that highlights a variety of global contemporary cuisines at an affordable price.
"I was working in the financial industry and I lost my job. It was at the right time because it was in June when I lost my job and my mother suggested I go to culinary school saying since I always liked to cook and that I'm really good at it. So I took the summer off and enrolled in Wasburne in the fall of 2011 and it's been an amazing ride since then."
Golden said she was already putting together classic recipes and cooking methods at home but was able to hone those skills at Washburne.
"I just didn't know the proper terms for them or the proper technique but I was making rues and béchamel sauces for macaroni and cheese which is how I always made my macaroni and cheese," Golden said. "I never knew that's what it was called. I learned that you can take the same sauces and turn them into other sauces. I learned a lot here and the experience has been awesome."
Golden also learned pickling and canning and won the Green City Market, Pickling and Jam contest this year. Cold salad, soups, pâté and sausage making are also part of her culinary repertoire.
After her May 3 graduation ceremony at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Golden wants to land a secure, line cook job.
"I want to land on my feet running," Golden said. "I don't want to take any time off. I want to get right into the field right after I graduate. I have my fingers crossed and I'm putting in lots of applications and getting ready for my graduation.
As for whether she plans to open a restaurant with the skills she obtained at Washburne and Sikia, Golden said, "I have a few ideas for a few storefront restaurants but that's way down the line. I really need to get in and get my feet wet and get comfortable and I really want to learn different types of cuisines."
Khristopher Murray: Executive Director, of the Washburne Culinary Institute said for the most part, he doesn't encourage students to leave Washburne and then immediately open a business.
"It's one of those things where you really have to study the landscape that's out there," Murray said. "You have to know what the competition is like and what it means to manage a crew of people. Even if your end goal is to own your own things, I always advise people to study somebody else's (venture) and see how they're doing it and see what you can do to improve on it."
However Murray also stated that there are students who already have great culinary abilities and they attend Washburn simply to brush up on their skills. One such student is John Schultz, owner of Mr. Spanky's Farm Fresh Artisan Foods.
"He went through his basic certificate and he already had some idea of what he wanted to do when he first came through here and he also had some experiences outside," Murray said. "He went through the basic certificate program and went on and did the second phase where he got an introduction to sausage and bacon making and from those skills sets he went on to open his own business and is getting a lot of reviews right now. It's called Mr. Spanky's Bacon and Smoke House. He actually came up with a retail item and built a restaurant around it.
Schultz worked in the field ten years before going to culinary school.
"I wanted to learn to excel in the field and also the tuition cost was appealing," Schultz said on why he chose Washburne. "I needed instructors who were going to answer questions who understood where I was coming from as a professional."
Washburne also operates the Parrot Cage Restaurant, located on the shores of Lake Michigan in the historically significant South Shore Cultural Center, the Parrot Cage restaurant features floor to ceiling windows in elegant, vintage décor and seats 62 people in 3,500 square feet of space.
Sikia Restaurant serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday with a three-course, global cuisine menu at an affordable price. Reservations are recommended at 773.602.5200.
For more information, about Washburne's rental kitchen space and catering services, contact Jennie Tiberio at (773)-602-5485 at Washburne Culinary Institute.
For a list of classes and tuition cost, please visit the website at www.washburneculinary.com
By Deborah Bayliss
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