How Tarrant County College prepares students for careers in food and drinks

Tarrant County College mixology student Adetokunbo Azubike built the cocktail one pour at a time. Sparkling wine, cinnamon syrup, apple cider and ginger ale. Fall in a glass. 

Across the walkway, TCC culinary arts student Jennifer Day topped a small serving of lettuce and carrots with corn, cherry tomatoes, croutons and chopped steak.

About 20 steps closer to the exit, TCC nutrition student Victoria Caicedo talked with visitors about the nutrients in everyday foods. Boxes of grains and pasta sat beside fruits and vegetables on the table.

The three students joined dozens of others at TCC’s Pathways to Success Showcase where they demonstrated their knowledge from the classroom. Alongside robotics and dental hygiene demonstrations, the food and drink stations showed how Southeast Campus students are learning to serve guests, run kitchens and help families make meals.

North Texas’ rapid growth is increasing demand for workers, Chancellor Elva LeBlanc said. She said colleges and employers need to work together so more people can get the training those jobs require.

“Who will build what comes next? The answer is people,” LeBlanc said.

Azubike, who hopes to become a sommelier, finished the cocktail with apple slices and cinnamon sticks as she talked with visitors. 

Fellow student David Hernandez measured ingredients beside her.

Hernandez said he already has an associate degree and wants to add a certificate. He cooked professionally for nine years and recently became a school cafeteria manager. He hopes to own a restaurant someday.

His hospitality courses have helped him learn what it costs a bar to serve a drink and how to make the person ordering it feel welcome.

The classes also helped Hernandez think about building layers for drinks. For a recent assignment, he went to a liquor store with a pumpkin spice martini in mind. Which cream liqueur would work? Which spirit would make it smoother?

“It was all creative,” Hernandez said. “It was our touch on what we wanted to do for a cocktail.”

TCC’s hospitality program offers beverage management certificates and an associate degree with a food service management option.

Day’s culinary classes can run six hours long, she said. Students start with knife skills and cutting a chicken, then move on to sauces and regional and international cooking. TCC offers a culinary arts I certificate, a baking and pastry certificate and an associate degree with on-the-job training.

On Wednesdays, Day’s class sells $5 lunches. Students write the menu, order ingredients and cook. Diners can order and pay ahead, then leave a comment card. When Day and classmate Marc Sarmiento were in charge, they served herb-marinated salmon, stuffed portobello mushrooms and lemon orzo.

“Once you get to the end, you kind of get to see what all your classes have been for,” Day said, dressing a steak salad with a mix of peach purée, ginger and liquid smoke.

Nutrition and dietetics students also take culinary classes. At Caicedo’s station, TCC student Jaelyn Dillard described learning to prepare low-sodium meals for hospital patients.

“What I treasure the most is knowing that the things that I’m learning are going to help somebody else,” Dillard said. “Because you don’t really think about what you’re eating until you really learn about what is in it.”The associate degree requires three supervised practice courses totaling at least 450 hours and prepares students for the registration exam for dietetic technicians. Students can also earn certificates such as dietary manager, nutrition specialist I, and food and nutrition coach.

Dillard’s community rotation took her to Arlington ISD, where she asked children what they wanted to see more often on their lunch trays and talked with staff about how they plan menus.

During her community rotation, Teresa Barbee helps teach families about the ingredients in a meal and how to cook with them. They leave the demonstration kitchen with groceries to make the meal at home.

“I would hope to change the generation and to decrease the cases of type 2 diabetes across the board because it’s an epidemic that is continuing to rise,” Barbee said.

Caicedo wants to help parents cook meals they can afford. At home, she’s looking for ways to add protein and fiber to her children’s meals while keeping the dishes she grew up with on the table at family gatherings. She wants to stay healthy and watch them grow up.

“We’re trying to reach the kids, but it also boils down to reaching the parents and what they know and what they grew up with,” Caicedo said. 

Day wants to open a catering business with a storefront and set aside days to teach children who are autistic to cook. One of her daughters is autistic. Day hopes the classes will help children learn to make a meal on their own.

She remembers the meals her grandmothers made. Both died in 2022.

Day still makes the rolled beef tacos from one grandmother’s hometown in Mexico. She fries them, bakes them in tomatillo sauce and tops them with shredded cabbage and Mexican crema.

She remembers sitting at her other grandmother’s table, watching her make flour tortillas for sausage con chile and carne con chile and serving them with her famous beans. 

Day still hasn’t been able to recreate them. She hopes to, soon. 

Dang Le is the higher education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected]. 

The Fort Worth Report partners with Open Campus on higher education coverage.

The Report’s higher education coverage is supported in part by major higher education institutions in Tarrant County, including Tarleton State University, Tarrant County College, Texas A&M-Fort Worth Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, the University of Texas at Arlington and UNT Health Fort Worth. 

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