Braden Roundy and Steffan Joensen hope to someday open their own restaurants. Eve Jones’ family already owns one, a popular Salt Lake City pub with a full menu – she’d like to manage it someday. Firmly rooted in their dreams, each is in the early stages of pursuing a degree through Salt Lake Community College’s Culinary Institute.
But in an industry saddled with closures, cutbacks and drastic changes because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re also witnessing first-hand while on the job and in school just what makes the careers that they vow to pursue seem as vulnerable as they are viable.
“There is still work to be found, and many businesses in our world are still hiring,” assures Jeffrey Coker, associate dean of SLCC’s Culinary Arts program. “We, like everyone else, are waiting for the fog to lift so we can get back to our passion.” Jeffrey and his instructors during the pandemic have strengthened or added the roles of promoting job opportunities and communicating relevant information about industry forecasts over the next several months. Faculty and students remain optimistic.
"In the kitchen courses I teach, we form a bond of trust and care for each other no matter the circumstances," says assistant professor Franco Aloia. "Since we are facing bigger challenges with the pandemic, the bond is stronger and the classroom and kitchen have become our support group. Collectively, we are like a family or a team that will see this through until everyone walks down the aisle at graduation day."
Braden is only 18, an Olympus High School graduate living in Magna. He has been a line cook at a Chili’s restaurant for about a year. “It’s a lot of fun,” he says about the job. “It’s a lot of work – you have to work fast trying to get everything out all at once. There is a lot of stress, but once you get through that busy period, it’s like a breath of fresh air, a feeling of peace knowing you just got through all of the craziness.”
When the pandemic forced the closures of restaurants throughout the country last March, Braden says Chili’s was able to move immediately to take-out only, which meant he and most of the kitchen workers were able to keep their jobs. “I think it’s amazing to see how resilient the industry has been,” he says.
Steffan also kept his job working as a chef at a treatment center, cooking every day for about 40 adolescent boys and 20 staff members in the Salt Lake Valley. The 27-year-old, originally from Denmark’s Faroe Islands, developed a love of cooking early on while working summers in the kitchen at a camp and listening to an old ex-Marine there tell great stories. “I really enjoy cooking, but I’d like to learn more technique, terminology and management – to learn how to run a kitchen rather than just cook in it,” Steffan says. “I like the teamwork, and I enjoy activities that require a group to work together, to encourage and motivate each other, to know you’re not in it alone.”
COVID-19 has in many ways had its foot on the throat of optimism, however, depending on where you work.
Eve, 30, says The Green Pig, which her family has owned and operated for 11 years, closed completely for part of March, all of April and part of May. “It was pretty bad,” she recalls. “It was not very fun – every member of our staff was laid off.” Many kitchen and wait staff were hired back when the downtown pub reopened, but things haven’t been the same, with bars only being allowed half capacity for indoor seating and, for over a month, having to close at 10 p.m.. In a job that relies heavily on tips, Eve’s $2.13 per hour built-in wage hasn’t been enough to make up for gratuity losses as the pandemic continues.
But each of these students, like Jeffrey, is looking beyond the pandemic – hopeful about a future after the fog. Getting to that mindset hasn’t been easy.
For this past fall semester, Jeffrey cut lab sizes for in-person learning at the Institute’s huge commercial kitchen and combined labs that met twice a week into one day with longer hours. Students report feeling safer and enjoy having more one-on-one access to instructors with fewer people in the labs at one time. Of the Institute’s 26 course sections in the fall, 10 classes were listed as online while the rest were hybrid, meaning students either met in person or via a live broadcast with a faculty member. With many safety and sanitation measures already in place, Coker only had to add a few more – like masks and social distancing – to stay open and safe for everyone. “The students, faculty and staff are to be commended for their efforts and focus on the enhanced requirements,” he says. “Due to their hard work, we were able to maintain a safe environment throughout the semester.”
Braden, Steffan and Eve all say they feel safe at work, too. Chili’s has resumed some indoor dining, but with social distancing measures in place between customers. Braden says he pays for all of his own schooling – five classes for fall, seven lined up for spring – and that having a job, which also improves his culinary skills, means he doesn’t need loans. He wants to open a bakery someday, and then expand into a family-style restaurant.
Steffan wants to open what he calls a kind of “culture house,” a place that combines different culinary experiences from around the world. “I’m not sure if the industry will come roaring back,” he admits. “But I look at the positive side – people do want food and to hang out with each other. People love food wherever you go. Food brings joy, security and fellowship.”
Eve says the world is always changing, and that restaurants and bars need to change and adapt to stay relevant. “I hope some of what I learn at SLCC will help me keep this place on the map in Salt Lake City and keep it a popular destination for years to come.”
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