PEORIA MAGAZINE November 2022

D I S H A N D D R I N K

OUR OWN LITTLE CULINARY PIPELINE ICC is stocking local kitchens – and beyond — with top talent

BY LAURIE PILLMAN PHOTOS COURTESY OF ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE

C hef Keith Shank first started teaching for the Il l inois Central College (ICC) Culinary Arts Management program in 2007, but it wasn’t at the beautiful Dogwood Hall kitchens where he can now be found prepping for his Modern Cuisine class. At the time, Chef Shank was working through ICC in the prison system, where he taught the culinary arts to inmates. It wasn’t until a few years later that he became a full-time professor at the college’s North Campus. Now, with 15 years of teaching under his belt, Chef Shank is proud of how the program has grown. “I got hired (at ICC North) right after the remodel in 2009. This was the original Zeller building and our kitchens

here were the industrial, cinder-block style kitchen,” Shank said. “In 2009 they renovated Dogwood Hall. The renovation included three teaching kitchens, a refrigerated butcher shop, a full bar for mixology, a full classroom, a dining room, a demo kitchen, student lounges and even a retail shop.” Respected chef educators and the well-provisioned Dogwood Hall facilities aren’t the only draw for the program. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has projected that Illinois chef and cook employment rates are expected to increase up to 17% in the next five years. The 56 students currently in ICC’s program are attending one of only two culinary schools in the entire state to be given “exemplary” status by the American Culinary Federation

Instructor, Chef Keith Shank

16 NOVEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE