|
|
|
|
Natural Chef Culinary Program
Instructors
These instructors and the adjunct instructors are extremely dedicated and enthusiastic about Culinary Arts. They all bring a great amount of knowledge and form the perfect team of instructors. We look forward to sharing our knowledge with you!
Chef Kelly Burton comes from a family of cooks. Her sisters are professional chefs, her mother is a private caterer and her father is a home bbq'er. After graduating from University of Illinois with a degree in Economics, Kelly decided on a post graduate path at Kendall Culinary School. After Kendall, Kelly honed her skills in fine dining restaurants around Chicago until relocating to Greensboro North Carolina, to begin her teaching career. Kelly taught Culinary for 6 years in Greensboro until her sister asked her to move to New Mexico to open a restaurant. After eight years in the restaurant business and two award winning restaurants under her belt, Kelly has returned to North Carolina to continue here as an industry leading Culinary educator.
Chef Gregg Hamm has been cooking since he could reach the top of the stove. He always helped his mother, father, and grandmothers in the kitchen and would rather be inside cooking than out on the farm. Chef Hamm always aspired to work in education and had an original plan to attend college in the field of elementary education. Though he had an interest in cooking, his heart was on education. Then thru his inspiring high school culinary arts teacher, he found that he could combine education and food. From that point, he knew he would work as a Culinary Arts educator. Chef Hamm entered Johnson and Wales University as a student immediately after graduating high school. He has since worked in education for 12 years, in addition to owning a successful catering company and restaurant that includes a wholesale division that is in major cities across the state of North Carolina.
Chef Regina Minter grew an inspiration and passion for cooking as a young child watching her grandmother cook for holidays. As she matured and understood cooking, she enrolled in a culinary arts class where she first met Chef Hamm. After taking two years of his class she learned how to enhance her personal cooking and also the hospitality side of the industry. At that point in high school, she knew she wanted to make Culinary Arts her career. While working close with Chef Hamm, she entered Johnson and Wales University. While attending JWU, she obtained an associate degree in Culinary Arts. Two years later, she received a bachelor degree in Foodservice Management. Since graduation, Chef Regina has managed many parts of the foodservice industry including fast food, theme parks, family dining, and institutional facilities. Regina has now joined CCCC as a Sustainable Culinary Arts Instructor and plans to share her passion with others interested in the industry.
Chef Kelly Taylor is a Chef Instructor at Central Carolina Community College's Culinary program. She specializes in teaching health-based cuisine classes such as vegan, vegetarian, therapeutic, and gluten-free cooking. She is a graduate of the culinary program at The Natural Gourmet Institute in New York City and has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Missouri. Chef Kelly has worked in restaurants, catering, and private coaching, but her passion is education. She brings this enthusiasm to the classroom, training aspiring cooks to the profound effect food has on a person's health. Chef Kelly is a member of IACP and Slow Food USA.