When talking with Northampton Community College’s (NCC) culinary arts staff, one thing is clear – their passion is palpable. Chefs
Tyler Baxter,
Kate Oscavich,
Will Rufe, and
Katie Horan come from varying backgrounds, each bringing unique perspectives and learning opportunities to students at NCC. In fact, with the exception of Horan, all chefs got their start studying at NCC, but their journeys in returning to their alma mater have been different.
Baxter was supporting himself at 18 years old, and he needed to make ends meet. He got a job working at Boston’s Gourmet Pizza and fell in love with the industry as he cooked and served, learning both front and back of house operations.
After earning his degree from NCC, Baxter worked at the Cosmopolitan in Allentown. He was there for three and a half years as a back waiter, server, bartender, and finally, a cook. Eventually, he rose through the ranks to sous chef and co-executive chef. He continued his career in the industry before he came back to NCC as a professor of culinary arts in 2021, where he helps run dinner service at the Hampton Winds teaching restaurant for students.
Oscavich’s parents suggested culinary school because she always loved cooking and baking. “I made brownies with my dad a lot, which was special to me,” she says. She has worked in bakeries as a pastry chef throughout her career. In the Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, and San Diego, Oscavich has worn many hats in the culinary and hospitality industries, including line cook, prep cook, restaurant and general manager, housekeeping manager, and front office manager for Hotel Bethlehem and Hyatt hotels. Most recently, she has served as a general manager at the Social Still in Bethlehem.
Oscavich began teaching as a culinary arts and baking and pastry instructor at NCC in 2022. “I love the exactness of baking and pastry,” she says. “I find it to be the most rewarding with the students because they don’t get a lot of time with baking and pastry before they move on to other parts of the culinary arts program.”
Growing up with grandparents that owned a catering business, Horan started cooking and baking from a young age. “My favorite toy was the Easy Bake Oven as a kid,” she says. “I graduated to the KitchenAid mixer, making cookies with my mom. I always loved being in the kitchen and making people happy with my desserts.”
Horan went to the Culinary Institute of America in New York City to study baking and pastry arts management. She worked as a pastry chef, notably at The Philadelphia Cricket Club. Then, in 2019, she accepted a position as pastry chef at
Hampton Winds and became an adjunct faculty member in the NCC culinary arts program.
Rufe has worked all over the Lehigh Valley, including River Grille, Ocean, and Bolete. “In high school, through a course called International Foods East and West, I learned about food
science and principle, and this appealed to me,” he says. “I liked to lean on data, ratios, and weights of things, so it all clicked. I also really enjoy the artistic side, the expression of oneself in a dish.” He now is the culinary operations chef for Hampton Winds, helping to keep the restaurant and culinary arts program running smoothly.
Something that all four NCC chefs agree on is the source of their passion: connections to people. It's something they instill in their students. “Every time you put out a dish, that’s a part of your soul. You form a connection to people when you feed them – chefs get to hear about how the food is right away,” they say.
The chefs have a heart for teaching. “I’m good at being a cook and being a dad,” says Baxter, father to Jack, 5, and Nola, 5 months. “I treat my students like one of my children, and I want to be their mentor, which is important to have.”
Oscavich agrees. “Seeing the progress in my students and seeing them go on and do amazing things in the industry has been incredible,” she says.
“The skills we teach can be used professionally and personally at home – these are lifelong skills in general,” adds Rufe.
Every student who comes through the NCC culinary arts program learns practical skills by working at Hampton Winds in all areas, including both the front and back of house, service, and cooking.
“Everyone has different learning styles, but students coming through the culinary arts program tend to be hands-on learners,” says Horan. “The restaurant helps them fine tune what they learn in class. They get the chance to test out their skills in a live working restaurant, which are skills someone only learns by doing and practicing and making those mistakes in a safe space.”
Hampton Winds is a curated and controlled environment, where the chefs teach students to be kind and patient in the kitchen. At no point does the hustle and bustle trump the fact that students are learning. “It’s a lab where we have an audience,” says Rufe.
Hampton Winds has a maximum number of reservations so that students don’t feel overwhelmed. Students are encouraged to ask questions, and the chefs can pause and give students the attention they need during service. Students also learn the positives and negatives of people’s expectations in a real working restaurant, so they can better understand protocols and requests. The chefs make it a point to show the students how to be assertive on a station.
As Oscavich mentioned, most culinary students only get a brief introduction to baking and pastry, unless they are baking and pastry focused with their studies. They all have opportunities to work with breads, ice creams, sorbets, and plated desserts for the restaurant, building on the baking and pastry knowledge they learn in the classroom.
“It’s important to encourage students to work with baking and pastry because it will make them an asset in any kitchen due to their versatility,” says Horan. “If extra hands are needed and people are stretched thin in a kitchen, knowing how to throw together bread or a simple chocolate mousse – staples in any kitchen – is valuable in the industry.”
Students also take part in the process of organizing special events, like Supper Club or Brunch, from beginning to end. This includes drafting the menu, obtaining all the necessary ingredients, planning the details of the event, and cooking the dishes.
“Students can get their hands on high-quality and ultra-premium ingredients since these are specialty menus and items being served,” says Rufe. “We also have a bit more flexibility, and students can try out certain techniques that we can’t in the day-to-day restaurant service. It's a linear service with a special event, where courses are the same, and they go out at the same time. At Hampton Winds, they work with asymmetrical service – people coming in at different times and ordering different things. These events show them a whole other part of the culinary world.”
NCC partners with local businesses to give students opportunities to work with farms or drink makers in the area. “I have taken students on field trips to local farms to pick peppers, ginger, and zucchini when I teach. They are able to see where the food we use comes from, straight from the source,” says Rufe.
Students go on many other field trips to experience the business from all angles. The chefs have taken their students on tours of area kitchens, Season’s Olive Oil and Vinegar Taproom, The Restaurant Store, and Restaurant Depot, all to get a feel for what things cost, how things work, and how much is needed to stock a kitchen.
With the chefs' expertise and care, along with the multitude of community experiences and connections, NCC culinary arts students have a leg up in the industry.
