When Mary Pagan left her corporate job to enroll in culinary school, she wasn't sure where she'd end up. She simply knew that it was time for a change.
"I didn't want to wake up one day and be 50 years old, saying, 'I wish I would have...'", remembers Pagan, who went on to work as a chef. Eventually landing in Monterey, she decided to open a small culinary store and teach one-day cooking classes. Pagan leased a 1920s cannery building overlooking the Monterey Bay and opened the Culinary Center of Monterey in 2001.
From the start, she hosted classes and special events in two 550-square-foot kitchens. When group business increased, Pagan eliminated her retail dealings to boost the dining room capacity. Today, the center accommodates 150 people for dinner and 225 for strolling receptions. Corporate teambuilding activites range from "hook 'em and cook 'em" events to winemaker seminars to the Titanium Team Challenge competition. Couples rent the space for rehearsal dinners and wedding receptions, sometimes inviting guests to cook together in the kitchens, and private parties are booked year-round.
The Culinary Center's public cooking classes, for participants of all skill levels, cover assorted topics, such as appetizers, sauces, steakhouse specialties, cooking fundamentals, Italian food and more.
"The thing I really like is that these classes are hands-on," says Floyd Wenglikowski, who has taken several classes with his wife and their 10- and 15-year-old sons. "We
Pagan never planned to add an accredited vocational school, but reconsidered after recognizing a demand.
"Because we named this the Culinary Center, we got calls about vocational classes for the first 2 ½ years we were here," she says. That ongoing interest inspired the Culinary School of Monterey, which opened in the center in 2005.
During the one-year, 1,500-hour degree program, students learn in the classroom and cook for an on-site restaurant open to the public on most Thursdays and Fridays (call the center for a schedule). They also participate in high-profile culinary events, such as the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Cooking for Solutions, and work closely with local hospitality professionals.
Both the experiences and the school's location benefit students, according to Pagan.
"There is not another place in the country where a culinary school sits in the middle of the fishing industry, wine industry and produce industry. There are other places with produce, but not the variety that Monterey County has," she says. "It is an amazing place for culinary students."
The most recent development at the center is the Monterey Culinary Arts Foundation, which raises scholarship funds for the school's students and supports related educational projects. In addition, the foundation sponsors healthy eating programs in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.
The free "Growing Our Future" workshops target professionals and families. Chef seminars address how to make children's menus healthier. Youth cooking classes highlight flavors, food safety and kid-friendly recipes. Parent programs, led by chefs, nutrition experts and child psychologists, explore shopping, menu planning, cooking with children and healthy habits.
"You can teach kids things in school, but if we don't train the parents to feed them right - if the parents are still picking up pizza on the way home - it doesn't really matter," says Pagan.
As the Culinary Center evolves, she continues to be inspired by her students and her guests.
"If I was just a chef in a restaurant and all these different people came in, I would never get to know them," Pagan says. "But here, I'm standing next to people, shoulder to shoulder, teaching them how to cook. You build a really personal relationship."
To learn more:
Culinary Center of Monterey
625 Cannery Row, Suite 200, Monterey
www.culinarycenterofmonterey.com
831-333-2133
Learn more about the Monterey Bay area at MontereyBayAdventures.com.
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