BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Renegade Room at Bakersfield College is bustling on Wednesday afternoons. This is more than a restaurant though, it’s a classroom operated by students in the Food and Nutrition program, working towards a degree in the culinary arts.
The program allows students interested in the culinary arts to receive an education outside of an expensive institution. Students like Marcia Overturf, a stay-at-home mom looking to expand her horizons after her kids grew up. She started the program two years ago and now has found her place working as a lab technician and dining room manager in the restaurant.
“I am a product of this program," she said. “Food will be always out there so you will always have a job in the food service industry.”
These students are gaining experience in the kitchen and the dining room. The restaurant offers three different meal times a week: Fine Dining on Tuesday evenings, Lunch on Wednesdays, and a Buffet on Thursday evenings.
"Wednesday, this is our lunch, it’s our advanced class because it’s really fast paced,” said Alex Gomez, the Chef and Professor of Culinary Arts at BC's Renegade Room.
Their education applying to a vast menu of career pathways, whether they decide to enter the restaurant industry, or hospitality such as hospitals, healthcare facilities, or schools.
“They’re working with hands-on, they’re getting experience and a lot of them we encourage to work at a job at the same time so they’re reinforcing their knowledge," Chef Gomez said. “We try to use all different types of culture and ingredients so they’re getting a wide variety of experience and knowledge.”
Gomez said he not only teaches student the skills they need for the industry, but like any culinary program focuses on desire and passion for the work.
“I always love to see peoples faces when they eat the food that I created and so we try to transfer that passion onto the students," he said.
This method helping the students branch out and be successful in the food industry, but also keeps students like Overturf coming back to the Renegade Room.
“I am what this program is about," Overturf said. "Training people, giving them a dream, a career, a purpose."
Dining Hours During Spring and Fall Semesters
- Tuesday Night Fine Dining hours are 5:30pm - 6:30pm.
- Wednesday Lunch hours are 11:15am - 12:30pm.
- Thursday Night Buffet is back! Buffet hours are 5:30pm - 6:30pm.
