Sussex County Community College aims to make area a 'culinary destination' with institute

Kyle Morel, New Jersey Herald
·4 min read

NEWTON — As Martin Kester spoke at the Sussex County Community College Culinary Institute last week, he noted a unique personal connection to the site. Now, he is the supervisor of the college's culinary and hospitality program; years ago, he was one of many clients when the property housed the McGuire Chevrolet dealership.

"Life is odd," Kester remarked. "I actually bought my first car in the kitchen that I'm now working in."

Dozens of college representatives, local and state leaders and other members of the public attended the official grand opening for the facility on Main Street in Newton on Thursday. The visitors got to see the new space firsthand while sampling food items cooked by students in the culinary program.

"The Culinary Institute was a recipe that brought together the right people, the right conditions, with a lot of attention to detail, lots of love (and) lots of patience to make sure it all came together," said Stan Kula, executive director of the SCCC Foundation.

Lorraine Parker, former chair of the Sussex County Community College Board of Trustees, front left, and SCCC President Jon Connolly cut the ribbon to the college's Culinary Institute during the facility's grand opening event on Main Street in Newton Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Lorraine Parker, former chair of the Sussex County Community College Board of Trustees, front left, and SCCC President Jon Connolly cut the ribbon to the college's Culinary Institute during the facility's grand opening event on Main Street in Newton Thursday, April 27, 2023.

Classes began in the new space last fall, Kester said. The facility includes an instructional kitchen for first-year students and a separate kitchen with various stations to simulate a restaurant setting.

The Culinary Institute is the latest program introduced at the McGuire Technical Education Center, a satellite campus that also hosts programs such as welding, automotive and building construction. The trades offered in the programs are designed to prepare students for the workforce once they graduate.

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Lorraine Parker, former chair of the SCCC Board of Trustees, recalled weekly meetings with college President Jon Connolly discussing ways to provide students with relevant skills in a hands-on environment. While Connolly focused on technical education, Parker envisioned a program similar to the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.

"The more we talked about it, and the more we spread the word, the more it seemed to gain traction," Parker said. "Why couldn't Sussex County become a culinary destination? Why couldn't Newton be the center of a diverse culinary area?"

Sussex County Community College officials and members of the public visit the college's Culinary Institute during the facility's grand opening event on Main Street in Newton Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Sussex County Community College officials and members of the public visit the college's Culinary Institute during the facility's grand opening event on Main Street in Newton Thursday, April 27, 2023.

SCCC officials settled on the Main Street property, which had been an automobile dealership since 1915 and was owned by the McGuire family from 1982 through 2013. The college began leasing the site in 2018 and finalized the purchase in January 2020.

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The school paid $2 million in Chapter 12 funding for the site, and the McGuire family contributed $250,000 for naming rights. The Culinary Institute and other expenditures in the ensuing years brought the cost of the purchase to approximately $4.9 million.

In addition to classroom space, the institute also features a student-run eatery called Arbor Restaurant that will open to the public this fall. The restaurant will be open by reservation only for dinner Thursday and lunch Friday during the semester, Kester said, and will eventually expand to lunch and dinner both days.

Martin Kester, supervisor of Sussex County Community College's culinary and hospitality program, puts out dishes for the public to sample during the grand opening of the college's Culinary Institute on Main Street in Newton Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Martin Kester, supervisor of Sussex County Community College's culinary and hospitality program, puts out dishes for the public to sample during the grand opening of the college's Culinary Institute on Main Street in Newton Thursday, April 27, 2023.

The program is a hit with students like Megan Dondero, of Green, who wanted to expand her skills after taking high school cooking classes. Emily Preziosi originally enrolled in another SCCC program, but after hearing about the new Culinary Institute, she thought back to her "cliché kid dream" of wanting to be a chef.

"I heard about the program and I was like, 'Hey, that's pretty cool. It matches with what I want to do in life. I'm just gonna go for it and take the courses,'" said Preziosi, a Lafayette resident. "And I'm honestly having a great time."

When the culinary program launched five years ago, Kester taught two students at a rented kitchen "in the middle of nowhere." Today, there are roughly three dozen students in the program, and college officials are optimistic that it will continue to grow thanks to the new Culinary Institute.

"This is a dream opportunity," Kester said. "To be a very small community school but front and center in the community, and to have a facility like this that's very public-facing, it's an incredible honor to be a part of its conception."

This article originally appeared on New Jersey Herald: SCCC unveils new culinary institute on satellite campus