One of the premier career education programs on the campus of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College soon will be housed in a new state-of-the-art learning center at its downtown LA campus. LATTC has broken ground on a $48-million dollar Culinary Arts building that will feature cutting-edge labs and kitchens, classroom space and a learning environment that will match its award-winning programs. Los Angeles Trade-Technical College has a 93-year tradition of training culinary students for entry into the hospitality industry. LATTC’s culinary arts program has the longest, continuous college-based culinary arts program in the country.
The new Culinary Arts building will sit in the south campus area and will also house multi-purpose space and gathering areas for students and employees. Since this is a public community college, the culinary training is among the best educational values in the country. Trade Tech provides higher education to communities throughout the region, particularly underserved neighborhoods in South Los Angeles.
The two-story, 71,100 square foot steel braced-frame structure has an exterior finish of insulated metal panels and glazed aluminum curtain walls. Added amenities will include an artificial turf activity field, a stand-alone restroom, an herb garden and outdoor dining area. The building includes sustainability features such as solar power panels. The culinary arts and baking programs serve 800 students each semester and is accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation Accrediting Commission (ACFEFAC). The program has an articulation agreement with California State Polytechnic University for transfer students and offers an Associate in Arts degree in Culinary Arts or Professional Baking. Harper Construction is the general contractor for the project. The project is being paid for through Measure J, a taxpayer-supported bond measure to upgrade facilities throughout the Los Angeles Community College District.
“This is major milestone for our campus,” said LATTC president Larry Frank.” “Since we have not had new construction on this campus for several years. This project will enhance our learning environment for culinary students as we propel them into the regional workforce, and train them for the career opportunities of the future. The hospitality industry is very strong in Southern California and our students are being prepared for significant roles in its creative growth.”
The independent educational website College Choice ranked LATTC’s Culinary Arts program as the #1 ranked culinary arts educational program in the state of California. Recently the California Community College Chancellor’s office gave the program its bronze award as part of its Strong Workforce Stars program. The awards were given to the college program for helping to raise the earnings of culinary arts graduates by 126 percent as well as Restaurant and Food Services and Management by 64 percent.
