Inland Northwest Culinary Academy at Spokane Community College is working to meet the demands of an industry that is largely in need of more labor.

“It’s vital to the community,” says chef Joshua Martin, one of the instructors at SCC’s culinary school. “In the 15 years I’ve been here, I’ve seen the culinary scene in Spokane expand exponentially.”

In Spokane County, nearly every occupation related to food preparation and serving is considered in demand, according to Washington state Employment Security Department data. That includes various types of cooks, food preparation workers, servers, and supervisors.

Food service managers are also in demand, as are multiple food production occupations, including bakers.

“If Inland Northwest Culinary Academy closed today, I would be fearful for the culinary scene in Spokane,” Martin says. “We’re sort of the backbone of the culinary scene." 

Fortunately for employers in the industry, enrollment numbers have risen at SCC’s culinary school in recent years.

“We’re above our prepandemic numbers in culinary and the bakery,” Martin says.

Recently, between 65 and 70 students are enrolled in the two-year culinary program any given quarter, and an additional 25 to 30 are enrolled in the one-year professional baking certificate program, Martin says.

The culinary school maintains a roughly 50% graduation rate, according to the SCC website, and graduations are held each quarter.

Inland Northwest Culinar y Academy is the only school in the Eastern Washington-North Idaho region that is accredited by the American Culinary Federation—a chefs’ organization that offers educational resources, training, apprenticeship, competitions, programmatic accreditation, and culinary certifications.

SCC’s culinary school goes through a grueling process to maintain its accreditation, Martin contends.

By completing the two-year culinary program, SCC students become qualified to be Certified Culinarians, should they choose to join the American Culinary Federation.

“It kind of lets the industry know that you’re at this certain level of standards,” he says.

The culinary school includes students from all walks of life, Martin adds.

“We have 18-year-old kids,” he says. “We have Running Start students, to worker retraining, to people well into their 70s that just want to cook better.”

                  Nina Olesen rolls out dough during a baking class at Inland Northwest Culinary Academy.          -Dylan Harris

Some students are employed in the culinary field while they attend school.

“We have current students that work at what we consider some of the best restaurants in town now,” Martin says. “They’re all over, and they take what they learn here today, and they’re at work applying it and talking about it." 

Inland Pacific Kitchen, Hogwash Whiskey Den, Wild Sage Bistro, and Lorèn are among the restaurants that employ students, he says.

Many graduates of Inland Northwest Culinary Academy have gone on to open restaurants and fill prominent culinary roles in the area, Martin adds.

“I like seeing the success stories,” he says. “It’s a reflection on the decades of work that the instructors did before my time here.”

One of those success stories is that of Tony Reed, who graduated from the school nearly a decade ago and is now the executive director of culinary innovation at Spokane-based Spiceology Inc.

“When I entered the program, I had already been working in restaurants for a few years," Reed says. "It was more a matter of going to school to understand the science of what I was doing every day at work. It helped me advance much quicker.”

In addition to refining his skills and learning new techniques, Reed says attending SCC’s culinary school also thrust him into a large network of chefs and community leaders within the culinary world.

Reed’s experience at Spiceology is an example of one of many careers students can pursue in the food world.

“There’s a lot more opportunity outside of the restaurant scene,” says Reed.

Reed is now on Inland Northwest Culinary Academy’s advisory committee. Two or three times a year, he hosts students on tours of Spiceology, giving them a glimpse of the career path he chose.

Having a culinary school like the one at SCC is important for the Spokane area’s labor market, Reed says.

“Especially post-pandemic, the labor force inside the restaurant world is limited, and from what there is, the labor skill is not as strong as it used to be,” Reed contends. “(Inland Northwest Culinary Academy) gives a skilled-labor force right into our local economy.”

Reed’s experience at the culinary school has given him lifelong mentors, too.

“Those instructors, they aren’t just teachers. They’re true mentors,” he says. “It’s been almost 10 years since I graduated, and (Martin) and I talk on a regular basis.”

The instructors are flush with experience, he says. 

Martin, for example, is an award-winning chef who competed in culinary competitions at the international level. He attended culinary school in Switzerland, at DCT International Hotel & Business Management School.

The Dearborn, Michigan-born chef moved to Spokane in his late 20s, where he has held jobs as banquet chef at the Historic Davenport Hotel, banquet chef at the Spokane Club, executive chef at Madeleine’s Café & Patisserie, and executive chef at Casper Fry.

Another instructor at Inland Northwest Culinary Academy is chef Laurent Zirotti, the French-born 2017 James Beard Award semifinalist, who owned Fleur de Sel, a French restaurant in Post Falls that closed during the pandemic.

Martin and Zirotti, as well as the other six SCC employees who run Inland Northwest Culinary Academy, teach their students more than just cooking and baking.

The school also provides students with business education.

“The interesting thing about being a chef or a cook is that you have to wear many hats,” Martin says.

Hospitality mathematics, human relations, hospitality accounting and cost controls, kitchen management and purchasing, and hospitality marketing and menu planning are among the business-related courses that are required in the culinary program.

“We strive to tell our students that the management side is so important, because I’ve seen so many people fail in the industry because of just the lack of basic accounting skills,” says Martin.

Students at SCC’s culinary school also receive real-world training through various on-campus operations.

In addition to two full-service espresso bars and a full-service bakery that are 100% student-led, the Inland Northwest Culinary Academy also operates Orlando’s, an on-campus restaurant located at 1810 N. Greene, in Building 1, that is open to the public, albeit with a limited schedule.

The culinary school sends out a newsletter at the beginning of each quarter that lists the days and times Orlando's is open to the public.

“All the reservations fill up pretty much instantly,” Martin says.

When open during its regular lunch hours, the restaurant serves 60 to 100 guests.

Martin describes Orlando’s as a hidden gem in Spokane.

“You can get amazing food here, and it’s all at cost,” Martin says. “When we do a burger, it’s a chuck, brisket, and short rib burger, and hand-cut fries. We make the ketchup, and the buns are from the bakery. And it’s eight bucks.”

Orlando’s also is used for various events throughout the year, giving students additional industry-like training.

All profits earned at Orlando’s and the other student-led operations go right back into the culinary school, Martin adds.

The total estimated cost for a Washington resident to complete the two-year culinary program is about $12,000, according to the SCC website. The program is financial aid eligible, and scholarship opportunities are available.