SCCC’s Culinary Institute opens
NEWTON. The college’s McGuire Technical Education Center also houses the Arbor Restaurant, which is expected to open to the public this fall.
Newton /
| 02 May 2023 | 03:05
Officials gather for a ribbon-cutting at Sussex County Community College’s Culinary Institute in Newton on Thursday, April 27. Holding the scissors are the Hon. Lorraine Parker, former chairwoman of the SCCC board of trustees, and Jon Connolly, the college president. (Photos by Kathy Shwiff)
A Sussex County Communty College student serves hors d’oeuvres after the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the college’s new Culinary Institute.
A Sussex County Communty College student serves hors d’oeuvres after the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the college’s new Culinary Institute.
The SCCC Culinary Institute has a state-of-the-art instructional kitchen lab and full restaurant kitchen.
The Arbor Restaurant in the McGuire Technical Education Center is expected to open to the public this fall.
Martin Kester, culinary and hospitality program supervisor at SCCC, said he launched the program five years ago with two students.
SCCC president Jon Connolly speaks before the ribbon-cutting. At left is Stan Kula, executive director of the SCCC Foundation.
Lorraine Parker, former chairwoman of the SCCC board of trustees, speaks Thursday, April 27 at the new Culinary Institute.
The Sussex County Community College’s McGuire Technical Education Center on Main Street in Newton is at the site of the former McGuire Chevrolet dealership. That auto business dates back to 1915.
Officials of Sussex County Community College (SCCC), the county and state celebrated the opening of the college’s Culinary Institute on Thursday, April 27.
The institute is located in the McGuire Technical Education Center on Main Street in Newton along with the Arbor Restaurant, which is expected to open to the public this fall.
The building has a state-of-the-art instructional kitchen lab, full restaurant kitchen and practical dining room lab. Students began classes there this spring.
During a ceremony before the ribbon-cutting, Martin Kester, culinary and hospitality program supervisor at SCCC, said he launched the program five years ago “with two students and a rented kitchen in the middle of nowhere - not the auspicious start that I thought it was going to be.”
During that first year, Kester, who was named one of the top five chefs in the state by Inside Jersey in 2015, learned a lot about being a teacher. He and the students did seven charity events and public appearances and received overwhelming support from the community.
He thanked SCCC president Jon Connolly for having the vision to bring technical programs to the college and Lorraine Parker, former chairwoman of the SCCC board of trustees, for planting the seed of the Culinary Institute “and making sure that it actually grew.”
In addition to college trustees, administrators, faculty, staff members and students, he thanked his family for helping to sand tables, sweeping, mopping and painting among other tasks.
Connolly thanked the town of Newton for helping solve the building’s infrastructure needs.
Stan Kula, executive director of the SCCC Foundation, said the Culinary Institute aims to meet the workforce needs of Newton, Sussex County and beyond using the expertise, experience and caring that the college provides.
Employment of chefs and head cooks is projected to grow 10 percent from 2016 to 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The National Restaurant Association has forecast that New Jersey will have more than 335,200 positions in the restaurant industry by 2025, compared with 318,800 in 2015.
