6/5/07 - For Immediate Release;
contact, Max Brown;
NH Community Technical College Laconia, 524-3207

NHCTC Laconia Culinary Arts Program Approved

New Hampshire Community Technical College Laconia has just been approved for an exciting new program, Culinary Arts. This is the first time in the College’s 40-year history for there to be a true Culinary Arts program of study.

“Long known as a center for Restaurant Management and Lodging and Conference Management, NHCTC Laconia faculty and staff are excited to offer Culinary Arts,” says NHCTC Laconia Hospitality Programs Coordinator, Patrick Hall (Concord), himself a Johnson and Wales University Bachelor’s Degree Program graduate in Culinary Arts. “There is a huge need in the Lakes Region for people in the culinary field due to the number of restaurants, resorts, and top-notch high school culinary programs.”

Having operated NHCTC Laconia’s Food for Thought Café for the past three years, Professor Hall is ready to take the College’s hospitality programs to the next level. “There is no end in sight as I see the needs, my abilities, and the excellence of NHCTC Laconia’s programs being unsurpassed,” Hall continues. “I can’t wait for the thrill of building a hospitality empire at NHCTC Laconia.”

Hall has spent the past fifteen years in the hospitality industry having run restaurants in some of the finest hotels in the world such as The Westin in Providence, Rhode Island and the Cheeca Lodge Resort in the Florida Keys. He also became a restaurateur with his wife, April Hall (Concord), building from scratch a 70-seat fine dining restaurant that was profitable in the first year and increased sales volume and profitability for the following seven years before selling the business in 2005.

NHCTC Laconia’s Hospitality Club has also been remarkably successful. The Club acts as a student-run catering business doing functions for such high profile events as New Hampshire Automobile Dealers Association involving hundreds of legislators from Concord as well as Governor’s Council members and the Governor. Proceeds from the catering business are used to fund the Annual Hospitality Club’s Bermuda cruise.

“The Bermuda cruise is an excellent opportunity for students to experience first-hand the highest level of quality and service as customers,” says Hall. “A chef colleague of mine at the 5-star Southhampton Princess also gives my students an opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the hotel industry including tours of the Southampton Princess facilities and grounds.”

For additional information on NHCTC Laconia’s new Culinary Arts Program, contact Hall or Admissions Director, Wayne Fraser (Alton), at 524-3207. One may also stop by the Main Campus on Prescott Hill, Laconia.

Photo: NHCTC Laconia Culinary Arts Professor, Patrick Hall, takes a break from instructing Worldwide Cuisine at the College’s student-run gourmet restaurant, The Food for Thought Café in Belmont. The College has just been approved by the System’s Board of Trustees to add the new specialty for fall 2007.

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The Lakes Region Association is a non-profit tourism marketing organization that promotes the entire region. The association publishes the Where to! Lakes Region of New Hampshire, a comprehensive guide to the area, and Lakes Region Map and Guide. For a free vacation package call 1-800-60-LAKES.