Okanagan College (OC) culinary students had quite the catch on their hands when a whopping 2,000 pounds of Arctic Char arrived in the College's culinary school, waiting for them to prepare, earlier this year.
The generous donation from Road 17 Fish Farms provided the students with a hands-on lesson in large-scale food preparation as well as the benefits of supporting community.
The fish were processed and vacuum-sealed by OC student chefs before being delivered to the Kelowna Gospel Mission.
"This is a generous donation from Road 17 Fish Farm, once the students cut and portioned the fish it will be donated to the Kelowna Gospel Mission to help feed those in need," said Kelsey Oudendag, Culinary Arts Instructor.
The donation was facilitated when Road 17 Fish Farms reached out to the Kelowna Gospel Mission, which then contacted Okanagan College to see if their culinary students would be interested in preparing the fish. The College's culinary team eagerly stepped up to assist, providing their students with valuable real-world experience in processing a large volume of fish.
"The student chefs are gaining hands-on skills that they will use in their work placements and when they graduate and join the industry," said OC Executive Chef Ruth Wigman. "Being able to efficiently process a large quantity of fish is a valuable skill for any chef."
Okanagan College works directly with partners across the Okanagan Valley, providing work experience opportunities for its students. In this case the work will directly support people who are in need in the community, as the Kelowna Gospel Mission will use it to prepare nutritious meals for people who need it.
"We are grateful for the student chefs help in the filleting of the fish. As a former culinary arts alumni and instructor at OC, it was great to see the students get behind this and want to learn fish butchery on a large scale" said Jeremy Luypen, Food Service Manager at the Kelowna Gospel Mission.
In addition to working with community partners and preparing meals, students in the culinary program work at Okanagan Colleges Infusions Restaurant under the guidance of Red Seal chefs.
Applications are now open for the culinary arts program at Okanagan College, find out more and apply here.
