PSC is serving up skills and experience to Pensacola's next generation of chefs

When Jacob Morris isn’t physically in the Scenic Hills Country Club kitchen or in class at Pensacola State College, he’s mentally running his very own fine-dining restaurant in New York City where the servers are wearing suits and the dishes are pristine.

“That’s my dream, that’s my goal,” Morris said. “The precision and just the beauty of some of the plates that you can prepare — it’s a form of art. I’m just so attracted to that. I love it.”

It was obvious to Morris that his pandemic-era “dishwashing gig” was only the starting point for his career. Like most aspiring chefs who climbed the ranks, his eyes often wandered from the sinks to the sauté pans. Luckily for him, the supervising chef fanned the flame.

“I would get caught up with all the dishes and then I’d walk up, and I would see them cooking on the line — and it always intrigued me. So then at one point, the chef was like, ‘Come on, man, help,’” Morris said. "He brought me up there and as soon as he did — it honestly just lit a fire in me, and it has just been non-stop since.”

PSC included in county's $125.6 million: DeSantis awards $125.6 million to Pensacola, Escambia for infrastructure projects

Culinary students insprie: PSC culinary inspires Dixon students with Bananas Foster demonstration during visit

Pensacola is garnering a growing reputation as a foodie destination, with local chefs being featured on television, in "best of" lists and contributing to an explosion of new and exciting types of cuisine. For many, a career in the kitchen seems more appealing and attainable then ever before, and for many aspiring chefs the first step is PSC's culinary program.

“Some of them want to have a bakery, some of them want to have a food truck, some of them want to have their own restaurants, some want to just be a manager. So we try to help them as best we can be ready for all of those positions,” said PSC culinary instructor Joni Hoang. “They have hands-on experience, but they also have the management side. They know how to check things in from inventory, they know how to receive orders, they know how to cost things out, they could create a menu so they have all the experience they need to be able to start out pretty much anywhere.”

When student Marla Caras whipped out over five different appetizers for her end of the summer project, she was proud of herself not only because the food she prepared sold out quickly — but the pure achievement of going back to school after her children were grown.

Caras graduated high school in the Philippines in 1989 and learned English as a second language.

Wherever her husband’s career in the military took her, she faithfully followed and would provide catering services for events. She would serve her fan-favorite, family-recipe-driven Filipino food, including an unrivaled lumpia. Since there was no internet back then — she made sure to watch and listen carefully as her first teachers, her mother and grandmother, instructed her.

But the PSC culinary arts program has broadened her range, giving her valuable experience cooking foreign cuisine, such as Italian, and also skills needed to run a full-time business one day. Her dream is to bring a Filipino food truck to Pensacola.

“I just want my kids to be proud of me,” Caras said.

Not only did Morris work his way up from newbie to sous chef at Scenic Hills Country Club but he earned a teaching assistant role in PSC’s culinary program, where he is able to work with new students in the program, the way others have assisted and inspired him.

“Rusty Strain down at A Rustyc Spoon, Keith Pardue at South Market and Pensacola Smokehouse and Ed Lordman out of The Pointe (he also just started up Southern Grit Culinary) — those are three guys I really look forward to in the city. Especially Chef Rusty, he’s like a real mentor for me,” Morris said.

Through these real-life kitchen experiences, students grow into their own identity as professional chefs.

“We definitely see where they start and how they really get more comfortable. They come out of their shell, and they start to push their own limits and kind of challenge themselves. By the end of the two years, they’re much more comfortable than where they started,” Hoang said.

The culinary arts program gives student the opportunity to step out of their comfort zones and be the star of their own menus. Instructors dive deep into the students’ long-term goals, which can vary from fine dining to food trucks.

You may like: Emmy-nominated 'The Bear' depicts chef life. We asked Pensacola chefs, 'How real is it?'

“What surprises me is what individual students come up with when they stretch themselves, when they push themselves, when they think outside of the box,” PSC instructor Mike Hartsaw said. “I walk through and see how they blossom. It’s really that heartfelt feeling you get that you have taught them to do this, you have helped them get through this process. And they’re showing you what they can do.”

When can I taste their cooking for myself?

PSC students operate a lunch and dinner series that is open to the public and will start back up in September.

These skills are put into action during the to-go dinner features on Tuesday nights, famous four-course lunches on Wednesday afternoons and five-course dinners on Thursday nights in the white-table clothed Molly McGuire Culinary dining room. In the past, lunches have been about $12 and dinners about $20.

The lunch and dinner series will run in the fall semester from September to December after the students undergo a few weeks of training, then will open again for the next round of students in February through April.

All meals require advanced reservation and payment, and bottles of wine are permitted in the dining room, per the PSC website.

More information can be found on the Pensacola State College website.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola State College is training Pensacola's next top chefs