NECC expands culinary programs

Mike LaBella, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·2 min read

Dec. 13—HAVERHILL — After opening its culinary arts institute in downtown Haverhill in 2020, Northern Essex Community College plans to expand the program to offer an associate degree in culinary arts and a certificate in baking and pastry.

While the programs won't be implemented until the fall of 2022, students can enroll this coming spring and start taking courses to apply to the curriculum.

The college currently offers a certificate in culinary arts, which will transfer into the associate degree, and an associate degree in hospitality management.

"With these new programs, we can maximize the use of our beautiful facility, preparing more local residents for culinary and hospitality careers," said chef Denis Boucher, coordinator of culinary programs.

The NECC Lupoli Family Institute of Culinary Arts occupies two floors in The Heights, a newly built 10-story luxury building on Merrimack Street with sweeping views of the river. The space includes classrooms, laboratories, and state-of the art kitchens, including one built especially for baking and pastry makinig.

According to Boucher, Northern Essex adopted both programs from North Shore Community College, which was phasing them out due to facility issues.

NECC's 29-credit certificate in culinary arts will help students land a good job, but the associate degree will lead students to a career, Boucher said. The certificate transfers seamlessly into the 60-credit associate degree, and both programs can be completed on a full- or part-time basis. The associate degree can be transferred into a bachelor's degree program.

The baking and pastry program can be taken as a stand-alone certificate, or combined with an associate degree in culinary arts.

Starting a culinary program in the midst of a pandemic presented challenges, Boucher said, but the number of students enrolled doubled from the fall of 2020 to the fall of 2021.

"We anticipate that interest will continue to grow," he said.

The programs are overseen by an advisory board that includes a dozen leaders from the culinary industry, most of whom are employers eager to hire Northern Essex graduates.

In addition to credit programs, noncredit courses for the community will be offered. A new series will begin in January, featuring themed date nights, as well as various one-night classes including Latin Street Fare and Seafood 101, among others.

To learn more about the credit programs, visit necc.mass.edu or contact Boucher at dboucher@necc.mass.edu or 978 241-4781. To learn more about noncredit options, visit the website or contact Suzette Turnbull at sturnbull@necc.mass.edu.