Meet the Next Generation of CMCo Chefs

COURT HOUSE – A new culinary program at the county’s community college is giving young chefs a chance to one day become restaurateurs, chefs, line cooks, and food truck owners. 
Chris Pannelli, a Cape May local, has dreams of one day opening a hand-food booth on the promenade. 
“I want to open an affordable, high-quality place in Cape May where people who work in the city can go on their lunch breaks,” he said. 
Pannelli said he might not be able to afford culinary school without the new one-year culinary certificate program offered by Atlantic Cape Community College’s Court House branch.
Pannelli and three other culinary students hit the road throughout March in a college-owned food truck to prove their mettle. The crew was responsible for every aspect of service: They had to dream up the menu, source and order the ingredients, manage costs, and keep the show running for five days at locations across the county.
Pannelli and the other culinary students served lunch to county officials and staff at the County Administration Building. The truck served brisket grilled cheese sandwiches with a custom sweet mustard sauce.
The truck made additional stops at The Branches in Rio Grande, The Lazarus House in Wildwood, and Cape Regional Medical Center in Court House. 
The idea was to hit places where the free food would be especially meaningful.
Peter Gingerelli, “head chef” of the food truck and a culinary instructor at the college, said that the certificate program is “not just about being a chef, but about thinking like an owner. These boys are learning inventory management, how to manage vendor relationships, customer service, staff management and training, and sustainability practices.”
Several students stole brief moments to talk to the Herald as they prepared food in the cramped truck; they stepped outside of the small “kitchen” area into the driver’s portion of the vehicle to share their hopes for their futures.
Kyle Quirk dreams of starting a local restaurant that supports ecologically ethical vendors. He bemoaned “all the global shipping, transportation, and packaging of foods,” and said that he wants to “help the American diet,” even if his power to make sweeping change is small.
Quirk hopes to gain experience in a variety of kitchens before starting out on his own. 
“There are so many different ranks in a kitchen,” he said. “I want to earn my place.”
Gingerelli said that he encourages this kind of thinking in his students. He wants his students to have a variety of experiences and hopes they will wield their power as chefs to inspire change in the food industry.
“Our purchasing power as chefs matters in what happens with the world. My boys can change the world, even if it’s just in Cape May County,” he said.
Anthony Love took off his chef’s gloves for a moment to chat. He hopes to open a family-style pasta restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island, but before he can do that, he “has to earn it,” he said. 
Love grew up in Cape May and said that the culinary program has helped him become a better people person.
“Chatting with people here has helped me adjust how I talk to people,” he said. “I’m great at cooking, but serving, talking, interacting with others is tough for me. This has really helped with that. I can be a better chef because of it.”
Kenny Coloma also took a moment to share his hopes of opening a Puerto Rican restaurant somewhere in the county. For now, Coloma works as a line cook at the Rusty Nail in Cape May. He dreams of serving mofongo and other Puerto Rican dishes. He chose to attend the local college because of the cost. 
“It’s closer, more convenient, and actually affordable for me,” he said.
Joe Sheridan, director of the college’s culinary arts program, said that the new Cape May County program is great because “if you tell a student that they have to drive to May’s Landing, it’s like telling them they have to go to New Hampshire.”
Krista Fitzsimmons, director of Atlantic Cape Community College’s local branch, said that the program is directly relevant to the county’s economic needs. 
Restaurants and food, she said, are a huge part of local industry. A one-year certificate program, which can be followed up with an associate’s and a bachelor’s, is a great way to prepare young chefs for the workforce.
She said, “You can stay right here in Cape May County to start your culinary arts education and that’s something we have never done before.” 
Contact the author, Collin Hall, at chall@cmcherald.com or 609-886-8600, ext. 156.