On weekdays at the Louisiana Culinary Institute, budding chefs in starched white jackets listen intently to instructions on topics ranging from knife skills to food safety.
Mostly in their mid-20s, they move through campus classrooms and demonstration kitchens, cellphones and tardiness both expressly forbidden, as Business Report details in a feature from its latest issue.
The private culinary school on Airline Highway attracts young men and women intent on a career in food. About 50 students are accepted three times a year for culinary arts associate degree programs that last about 16 months.
Culinary education is LCI’s primary focus; the school is an accredited institution with a growing list of high profile regional chef graduates, including Beausoleil chef-partner Nathan Gresham and Cody and Samantha Carroll, chefs and founders of Hot Tails in New Roads and Sac-a-Lait in New Orleans. But since 2009, the school has also added new revenue streams beyond tuition that dovetail with its ready-made assets and labor pool.
A year ago, LCI began offering catering services, taking advantage of vendor relationships and its resident commercial kitchens. The school also holds on- and off-site corporate team building events at which employees participate in cooking classes or light-hearted competitions.
After hours, LCI opens its classrooms and amphitheater to the community for fee-based leisure cooking classes. And it provides consulting services to hotels, casinos, restaurants and retirement communities on various aspects of hospitality management.
The institute also co-hosts annual charitable events like Gourmet in the Garden and the Small Town Chefs Awards, the proceeds from which help fund the LCI Foundation, focused on student scholarships.
Adding new revenue streams is about strengthening the brand and creating opportunities for student growth, says LCI Director of Public Affairs Charlie Ruffolo.
“Tuition and instruction are still our main focus and sources of income,” he says. “But we like to say yes to things that are going to make money and provide meaningful interaction for our students.”
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