October 13, 2025 • 35 mins
This episode comes to you from the RCBC Culinary Arts Center inside the demonstration kitchen. We sit down with RCBC Culinary student, Destiny Maldonado, RCBC Director of Culinary Technology and Hospitality, Chef Desmond Keefe, and Director of Economic Growth of Developmental and Regional Planning for the Burlington County Bridge Commission, Rob Wells. Gain insight into everything RCBC's Culinary program has to offer including teaming up with the county, local farmers and other partners to create the first ever farm to table dinner event benefit.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Varga (00:00):
Announcer, welcome to the program. Pod, a national
(00:03):
award winning program on thercbc Podcast Network, which
takes a deep dive into theprograms offered at rcbc through
different perspectives ofstudents, faculty and employers.
Well, it feels good to be backhere on the program. Pod, no
more commencement talk, actuallygetting back into what this
program was originally about,and that's the programs here at
RCBC. This is Jay Varga, andagain, as you heard in the
(00:24):
intro, national award winning,but now two time, national award
winning, just like our birds,right? So feels good. But
actually, we're live on locationand here at the Mount Holly arts
campus, because we're talkingthings culinary, and excited to
get into, you know, today'stopics and discussions and
joining us today. I have DestinyMaldonado, a current, current
rcbc culinary student. I haveChef Desmond Keefe, Director of
(00:47):
culinary technology here atrcbc, and Rob Wells, Director of
economic growth anddevelopmental and regional
planning for the BurlingtonCounty bridge commission. That's
a mouthful. Hey everybody, howyou doing good? Fantastic. Doing
great. Talking to Mike. You'regood to go. So, yeah, we're
talking things culinary here,and trying to get this little
(01:09):
triangular perspective of whatwe got going on here at the arts
campus. It's beautiful. We'reactually down here in the What
is this called the demonstrationkitchen? Yeah, I feel like it's
almost like ConjunctionJunction, you know, going on.
No, it's a gorgeous, it's agorgeous setup. If anybody
hasn't been here at the MountHolly arts campus. You know,
(01:30):
it's like a TV studio, but withthe kitchen, like doing a live
TV show, they have, you know,our wonderful AB team with Dan
Egan up there doing some stuff,doing some incredible film work,
and have all these camera shots,overhead shots, and everything
else. What up on our YouTubechannel? This is an incredible
setup chef. Thank
Unknown (01:38):
you so much. And one of the exciting things about this
is that we have been able tobring in some events and film,
mostly things like open housesfor prospective students to come
in. We'll do cooking demos forthem, and then obviously
encourage them to register for
Jason Varga (01:53):
rcbc.edu, all right, so we'll talk more about,
you know, about this actualprogram. We'll get everybody's,
you know, thoughts andeverything else. But as always,
we have a student firstphilosophy here on the program
pod and destiny. Maldonado.Where are you? Where are you
from? Yeah.
Unknown (02:09):
So originally I am from Brooklyn, New York, but have
moved to mount Laura about twoand a half
Jason Varga (02:15):
years ago. Okay, yeah. So what? How'd you come
down here? What? So I
Unknown (02:19):
yeah, I know jersey, it's such a 180 I feel, but
definitely family. I had a lotof family and friends out here
at first, and actually one of mycousins told me about rcbc in
their culinary program. So Ilooked into it, did some
research, and finalized mydecision here.
Jason Varga (02:37):
Yeah, so that's that's usually like my softball
questions to everybody get themon here. Why culinary so your
family, your friends, talked,told you about it. You did some
research. But what was it reallyabout culinary that made you
really want to go after this?
Unknown (02:49):
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I have been baking cakes for a
long, long, long time. I startedwith Box cakes and decorating
them, and all of my classmatesat the time thought that they
looked super good and was superyummy. And I just found a
passion in actually, like makingthem outside of the box cakes,
(03:10):
sure, just taking a deep diveinto recipes. And my family has
been very, very food orientatedsince before me. I remember
going to my grandmother's housealmost every week, and she would
always have food on the table.And just that comfort of
bringing each other togetherreally spoke to me, in a way. So
that's what I that's whatsparked it. It's always
(03:31):
grandmother's
Jason Varga (03:32):
house, and my wife would be so jealous, because she
can't bake for anything. And,you know, love her. Love her to
death. She'll admit it too.She's, you know, we have a three
year old now, so she's workingon her baking skills, because
trying to get her to, you know,teach her how to bake and stuff
like you have to learn how tobake before you can teach the
Tyler how to bake. But, youknow, that's incredible stuff.
So how is rcbc, you know, youknow, helping you out with that
(03:54):
culinary education.
Unknown (03:55):
Oh, yeah, absolutely. This is a great place,
especially for me to start. Myoverall goal is to get a
bachelor's degree, but withrcbc, associate's degree in
culinary tech, it kind of bringseverything together, from baking
to hospitality to that servesafe, which is very, very
important. You need to knowsafety before you can do
(04:16):
anything else. So it kind ofbrings all of those aspects
together. Chef, I
Jason Varga (04:19):
want to elaborate on that, because I think the I
think that's a very underratedstatement that she's talking
about, the actual
Unknown (04:24):
just the safety of the kitchen itself. So impressed
that she brought that up. It issomething that we continue to
talk about throughout thecurriculum. It's not just a
class you take once and thensay, Oh no, don't worry about
washing your hands anymore, youknow, or anything like that. And
it is so much more than justwashing your hands, but it is.
And not only that, but theyactually end up having to take a
service safe exam to becomecertified as a food handling a
(04:48):
food manager, actually. And sothose are all very important
aspects of that minor aspect,but major aspect of the program.
I
Jason Varga (04:56):
mean, that's the first thing kind of people when
they go into a restaurant, youkind of. Back the place a little
bit, right? And you're
Unknown (05:01):
like, Well, if you go to New York City, and they all
have little they have theirletter grades right on the
window, you know, they should dothat everywhere, but, yeah,
that's another story. I don't
Jason Varga (05:09):
even know about that. So here again, learning
some new stuff here on theprogram, pod. So destiny, what
are some of your highlights sofar here in the you know, being
culinary,
Unknown (05:17):
oh my gosh, I can go on and on about from working under
Chef Keith to all of ourcompetitions and all of our
showcases, we I've participatedin two baking showcases so far,
which they're very, very fun. Ihave been in both the A La Carte
and service management classes,which kind of goes hand in hand
(05:38):
with our student run restaurantas a whole. So with the a la
carte, which is my favorite, weget to, like, pick out our menu
items, design our menu items,and just work together with all
of our classmates. That washonestly my favorite thing,
because, personally, I've knownall of them for about a semester
or two, but just all comingtogether and making this menu
(06:02):
from all of us was just soamazing. So when you
Jason Varga (06:04):
guys are putting these menus together, though, is
obviously, it's theme based, I'msure, probably seasonal as well.
Oh yeah, absolutely. So chefgiving you a kind of like, carte
Unknown (06:13):
blanche, like, Oh yeah, yeah. So, so, of course, I am
the instructor for the Autocarclass, and so my, you know,
heart goes out to destiny for,you know, saying that that's her
favorite class, because it's myfavorite class. I love it, you
know. So we're open to thepublic. It's a restaurant. And
some people would say it's oneof the best kept secrets in
Burlington County, because, youknow, everybody's like, Oh, you
have a restaurant there? Ididn't know that. Or some people
(06:35):
say, did you have a culinaryprogram there? I didn't know
that. But that's another story.But nevertheless, the process
is, I tell the students, okay,here's the theme, all right,
submit four recipes from fromeach one of you, and then I'll
go through that, and then, andthen, usually two from each of
the students will end upbecoming on the actual menu. And
then we work together, put therequisition together, and then
(06:58):
descriptions, etc, all thatstuff like that. And that'll run
three to four weeks. And then wechange for we change for another
menu. How that goes? I knowbecause
Jason Varga (07:04):
Becky sends me for the website, and we're
constantly updating that menu.You guys are turning it over and
stuff too, which is some greatstuff, since I'm talking to you
right now. Again, you aredirector of culinary technology.
That's what I had at like leaseon the website and everything
else. You introduce yourselflike a little bit longer title.
You want to elaborate exactlywhat you do here, overall, at
the program?
Unknown (07:22):
Well, sure, so again, I am the director of Culinary and
Hospitality. We have ahospitality program here. We
have two degrees and twocertificates, you know, in in
both, you know, and then withinthe culinary program you can,
you can major in culinary arts,or baking and pastry. And then
we also have a certificate inculinary arts and baking and
(07:43):
pastry, so we can really divedeep and get the depth of
knowledge that the student isinterested in. And of course,
you know, a lot of students aretrying to figure out, should I
get a degree? Should I get acertificate? The beauty is, is
that it is seamless. So if youdecide on a certificate and then
want to continue on to get yourdegree later, that's that's
nothing. No problem doing that.And it also makes it so that
(08:04):
it's much easier to transferinto a four year school, you
know. So that's why we encouragethat hospitality. Both our
Culinary and Hospitalitystudents take the service
management class. So they alllearn to wait on table. They all
learn to to do the intro toculinary class. So there's some
some collaboration when it comesto that, which I like a lot, you
know, some overlap, so that youknow they all know each other,
(08:25):
and so those are reallyimportant aspects of the
program.
Jason Varga (08:29):
Well, I wish you know I joked about this, because
I used to be in the serviceindustry for a long time,
working in pizza shops and otherrestaurants. You know, my
college days and my earlierradio career, there was joke in
college, I feel like not justculinary people. I feel like all
students should take some kindof like waiting table or some
kind of customer service,because, because the way
sometimes people treat others inthe restaurants or whatever,
(08:50):
you're never going to satisfythem and stuff. It's like you
don't think you understand whatwhat the chef is doing back
there, or what the server isdoing, or something else like
that. And it's just kind of, Ifeel like they just took one
class, like one of these classeswe have here at rcbc, which is
kind of open our mind a littlebit, maybe, well, more kindness
in the world for that part,maybe
Unknown (09:07):
one of the most difficult jobs by far, is to
serve people, especially, youknow, when they're trying to
have a good time, you'd beamazed how, how hard that job
is, and how how difficult it isfor people to do that job and to
make it so you Have a wonderfulexperience. You're not wrong at
all. Everybody should have to doit for at least a little bit
Jason Varga (09:25):
of time. And that's Rob over there. Just, we're
gonna also, we're gonna get tohim part. We have this. Sorry,
no, you're good. No, that'swhat. Again, this is what
happens when you don't havevideo. And we're, we know we're
working towards that here,building out the program pod so
you can identify the voices andeverything else. Because, you
know, Rob and your team did anincredible thing with the
culinary students and studentsand this Harvest Dinner from the
farm to table, which I want totalk about in just a second. But
(09:47):
the other side, obviously wetalked about, you know, you're
talking about some of theprograms there, but one of your
other chefs just came in, ChefDesmond, and he was not just
now. He came in earlier lookingover my shoulder. No. He's like,
make sure you talk about me. No,he was talking about this other
tech as his wife went to aconvention, and I wanted you
know culinary technology. Andit's like, Where does the
(10:08):
technology part come into thekitchen aspect, or the cooking?
Because he was talking about howthere's this new tech, of
there's no more heat lamps kindof coming on. And it's like,
these not lasers. But I don'tknow something he was
describing, and that's why Iprobably should have him over
here talking about it, because,you know, like Michael Scott in
the office, like, explain to me,like, I'm five, right? Just, how
does it cook so fast? Is thatlike the heat lamps and stuff?
(10:29):
But are we using tech here inthese courses? And then,
Unknown (10:32):
so we have Combination Ovens, known as combi ovens, and
so those have the steaminjection technology and in
those so that's one of thethings that students learn how
to work with when it comes tothat. And we are fortunate to
have some great grants comingthrough the Perkins Association
and, and I have some capitalfunds as well. So we we are
(10:52):
incrementally adding moretechnology as we go forward to
make sure that students areseeing some of the stuff that
they're going to get out therein the industry and use and and
I've been fortunate enough toget out and do some research on
on some different aspects.There's some really cool
ventless technology out therenow. So, you know, you can have
(11:12):
a stove and not have an exhausthood, you know, which means
that, you know, you can open akitchen in a place that isn't a
kitchen, you know. So these arethings, and that's the whole
entrepreneurship thing, yeah,right, you know, is, you know,
students are like, you know,most of the time when you're
thinking about opening your ownbusiness, they're thinking, you
know, like food truck orsomething like that, because
that's the starting point. Andso, you know, now you might be
(11:35):
able to do that. I had a cheffriend back when I was in New
Hampshire, and he opened anoodle shop, and all of it was
what we call inductiontechnology. And so that's just
the same idea. There's no gas.It's just an electric burner,
but instant on, kind of a thing,very safe. Didn't have to have
any hoods. And so, I mean, I'veseen so many different kinds of
(11:59):
restaurants. I had one, onefriend who he did nothing but
crock pots, so he cookedeverything the night before.
Okay, interesting.
Jason Varga (12:09):
Yeah, when I was, you know, back then, when I was
kind of like bouncing aroundradio gigs and I was looking
into food trucks off my buddy,because I had a passion. Again,
I'm kind of, like a foodie, butI love, I think it's more about,
and you guys can relate. It'slike, it's like, it's more about
kind of cooking for others thanfor myself, right? And seeing
them light up and everythingelse, and you'll put all the
hours in only for them to eatit, like 15 minutes and be done,
and you're cleaning up the MSafter that. But it was when I
(12:30):
was looking at the food trucks,I didn't realize, you know, you
had to have all these permits,and you had to have a kitchen to
go where and prep and doeverything, and then you have to
go, then you have to get to thespot and fight with the people
that maybe other food truckwars, and because it's not
everything you see on TV, right?So, but hopefully this tech kind
of comes around making thoseoptions a little bit better.
Because, you know, brick andmortar is, you had a
(12:52):
competition, obviously, with thefood truck stuff, but, you know,
but Rob, let's jump over to you,because, you know, I want to
bring into the what you weredoing here is, again, you are
the Director of EconomicDevelopment and regional
planning for the BurlingtonCounty bridge commission. What
exactly is that in your kind ofday to day? Yeah.
Unknown (13:10):
So our job, our main focus, is to bring businesses
into Burlington County and tohelp Burlington County
businesses continue to grow. Sofrom an economic development
standpoint, you know, we'reconstantly kind of recruiting,
trying to bring in the next ofrecruiting, trying to bring in
the next huge employer. ButBurlington County is about 90%
small business, so I'm it'slike, you know, 50 and under. So
we run a lot of, like, smallbusiness trainings and classes.
(13:32):
We have some loan products. Somy job is actually kind of a fun
job. I get to, you know, go todifferent businesses and, you
know, host things like, we'redoing a networking event in a
couple of weeks, where it's, wehave it at a business. So that
helps showcase the business, butit allows people to come
together. It's free swap cards,that kind of stuff, you know.
And, you know, I always joke,especially with small
businesses, you find uncannypartnerships, you know, maybe a
(13:55):
chef and, you know, a plumber,and the plumber is actually
doing plumbing in a couple ofdifferent locations that need
to, you know, food, that kind ofstuff. So, you know, we
encourage people to talk and totell people what you do, and
have your elevator speeches andfind out that, you know, just
don't look further your nextcustomer, but look for your next
partner that may help you get
Jason Varga (14:12):
to the next level. So how did this partnership and
the next level happen? So
Unknown (14:16):
I've always been a big proponent of rcbc in general. I
sit on the on the businessadvisory board. I sit on chef
Keith's advisory board. Youknow, this is like, it's a
perfect gem, you know, it's ait's an affordable education
for, you know, Burlington Countyresidents, folks that want to
move down. So how do we dosomething to showcase that? So,
(14:38):
real long story short,agriculture is a huge driver for
Burlington County, absolutely,you know, we have 94,000 acres
of farmland, but you know,people don't realize that
they're employers, you know,they're family and community
leaders, you know, they'retaxpayers. So we came together.
We wanted to do something thatshowed the agriculture. Natural
(15:00):
and agritourism, you know, likethe Johnson's farms that, you
know, those places that peoplecome to pick and, you know, do
hay rides, that kind of stuffthat brings people in. And what
better way to do that than tobring a partnership with all
three, you know, governmentagencies, the county itself,
which is the Ag Center, thecollege, which is the Culinary
Center, and the, you know, theeconomic development from the
bridge commission and host adinner that we can use some of
(15:23):
the media to, you know, showcasethose farms, showcase the
students, and really put on areally good event that just
shows, you know, hey, this iswhat we're all about. So all of
the food was either a BurlingtonCounty farm or, actually, the
majority of food was either aBurlington County farm or
locally sourced or a farm thatattends our award winning
(15:44):
Burlington, you know, farmersmarket, so, you know. And we
really challenged chef withthat, because it wasn't easy and
his and his students to come upwith a menu that said, Hey, this
is, you know, everythingBurlington County. And then we
use the advertising for this toput out a lot of really fun
facts, and some, you know,things about our farm
preservation and that kind ofstuff. And then, you know, here
(16:06):
we are,
Jason Varga (16:07):
yeah. And this is where, you know, some of the
jersey comes out of me, becausea lot of people, when they say,
like, Oh, you're from Jersey,and it's right now, always
think, like, North Jersey,Brooklyn area, going up that
way, refineries, yeah. But it's,but it's like, but when you get
to South Jersey here inBurlington County. And you know,
yes, we have the Jersey Shoreand all that stuff. But like you
said, all that farm landing. Igrew up in tabernacle, so I'm
(16:27):
used to it, right? And all thatstuff. So it warms my heart to
see that this type of stuffhappening, obviously teaming up
with the students and lettingthem kind of showcase their
skills, network and everythingelse. But chef, I'm looking at
this menu here, and this was theFarm to Table event. We just
kind of recently had the HarvestDinner. Did you want to talk?
What was the thought process inputting together, like your apps
and your entrees and dessert andeverything that you wanted to
(16:49):
display and put on showcase herefor this event?
Unknown (16:51):
Sure, and before I mention that, I did want to
point out that I'm also a jerseyguy. I was born in Bridgeton,
New Jersey. I think Georgia is alittle it's a little known fact
that I moved when I was fouryears old, okay, but I was born
here, and so now it's kind offull cycle being back
Jason Varga (17:07):
here. Welcome home. I didn't know that. I just I
knew he came up from the south.
Unknown (17:11):
Every time he does a show, he suffered a different
place. Last week, I heard he wasfrom Virginia,
Jason Varga (17:20):
so yeah, wasn't that telling us?
Unknown (17:22):
Obviously, you know, coming up on the fall, I really
wanted to focus on the squashand so that's where the
butternut squash soup came in,which is just something that I
really love, you know, becauseit's got the curry in there.
It's vegan. I wanted to makesure that we offer had a vegan
option for for our guests, too,because that's so important,
yes. And so everybody got thesoup so there was no one's going
(17:43):
to be able to complain becauseit's gluten free and vegan and
and all that thing like that.Very, very important. And again,
tried to make sure I continuedwith that theme, to allow those
are folks that are vegan to beable to select a an entrees.
That's where the dumplings camein. Some of you may or may not
know I do have a passion forpotatoes, and so I had to sneak
(18:06):
some.
Jason Varga (18:07):
I think I knew that
Unknown (18:09):
potatoes in there somewhere. So that was the
dumpling filling for that. Andthen Masaka again has more
potatoes, but it is beef andeggplant. And so it's just a
rich dish, which incorporates alot of vegetables, you know. So
we were very fortunate to beable to get the eggplant from
one of our local farmers fromthe Bronte county farmers
(18:32):
market. And then finally, thechicken had a lot of beans and
greens, as it says right onthere. And the greens were the
kale, again, one of my favoritevegetables, you know, leafy
vegetables, I find it too,because it holds up so well.
Yes, when it comes to that, andit had a lot of flavor, had
fennel, onions, garlic, crushedred pepper, and a lot of stuff.
(18:54):
And that was a, they were all abig hit, yeah. And then the, I
guess I could, you know, sincecontinue with the apples fall
once again, yep. So there we gowith that dessert. And I found a
way to sneak some sweet potatoesin one more time with that
dessert ice cream, which wasjust phenomenal. I have to
Jason Varga (19:10):
say, I'm not the biggest sweet potato person. I
think it's a little on the sweetside, but I'm sure the way you
made it with this apple saucecake and everything else that it
would kind
Unknown (19:17):
of the sweet potato ice cream was off the charts. Yeah,
yeah. I'm actually lactoseintolerant, and I still tried it
because it's and it was amazing.Paid for it, but it was amazing.
Yeah,
Jason Varga (19:26):
yeah, it's, uh, I mean, it looks delicious, and
everything else. Now, is thisgoing to be, this is the first
event, right? Our first time youever did it, first one ever,
okay? It was just going to belooking to do this annually. We
were
Unknown (19:35):
just talking about that. I think that's something
that's going to happen again.Yes, that
Jason Varga (19:38):
looks great, yeah. Because, I mean, like you said,
it's not just the food andeverything else and the
networking, but it's just makingawareness, because I'm reading
all these stats that you justkind of pointed out, and
everything else that over 350preserved farms. It's just, you
know, there's great informationin here, and then just getting
the students to kind of showcasetheir skills, and then, you
know, can see the reaction ofpeople eating and everything
else too. And I'd be
Unknown (19:59):
remiss to. I didn't say that this whole event, all the
proceeds went to one of ournonprofits that's also located
in Burlington County. It'sfarmers against hunger. And what
farmers Against Hunger does isthey fight against food waste
and food insecurity. So whatpeople don't realize is farmers
don't use all of their prop, allof their crop. So farmers
Against Hunger puts together anentire group that people donate
(20:22):
their time to go out and glean,which is actually picking. So
they pick in the farms, pickapples, pick that kind of stuff,
and then farmers Against Hungerdistributes them to hundreds of
different food kitchens, smalland large, and food pantries and
stuff all around the county andall around the state to make
sure that healthy options get topeople are in need. You know, a
(20:44):
lot of times those foodkitchens, it's, you know, boxed
and processed and that kind ofstuff. So they that, and the
farmers donated happily, theyactually donate their their
leftover crop, because, youknow, it kind of hurts them to
see it go to waste. So farmersagainst hunger, all the money
went to that to help themcontinue to do this, to make
sure that, you know, we havereally good, healthy options for
(21:05):
people that are need.
Jason Varga (21:06):
Now, that's on. That's See, this is what I love.
When I used to own a brewery, wekind of teamed up with those,
those type of farms too, becauseyou always I hated, don't like,
you know, you can't throw thegrain like spent grains for
making the beer, right, dumpingand spent grains out and stuff,
plus Just the smell andeverything else of that. But I
call it the local farm. Now I'mfeeding the animals, and then
it's just kind of like the wholefull circle, right? So stuff
like that, 100% you know,donations or proceeds going to
(21:31):
that is amazing. Amazing work.
Unknown (21:33):
Rob, thank you. I just wanted to add also that how
proud I am of my students. Imean, it was a combination of
sophomores and freshmen. So someof these students actually were
only three weeks in to theirculinary program, and they just
rose to the calling. Did anamazing job. Destiny. Here was,
was a team leader.
Jason Varga (21:53):
Of course she was, yeah, she showed those
Unknown (21:56):
leadership skills. So, you know, I'm super proud of all
of them, and I just so many,
Jason Varga (22:01):
how many plates were there, or how many people?
Unknown (22:03):
So we had just about 70 attendees, a lot. Yeah, it
really was. It was a platedmeal. Everything was
biodegradable and went to thecompost we use, like the bamboo,
you know, plates and all thatkind of stuff. The the culinary
team was absolutely amazing. Imean, you wouldn't agree later,
yeah, you would never know thatthey were, you know, first or
second year students. They wereattentive. They actually
(22:26):
interacted well with the guests.You know, obviously, we had a
lot of guests from all over theplace, and had lots of questions
and everybody's, you know, theywere personable and, you know,
nice, and the food was amazing.So yes, that my hands off to
the, you know, to the studentsessions
Jason Varga (22:40):
for sure. Well, I really hope you guys get to, you
know, do it again and make thiskind of like an annual
tradition. I don't see why. Youknow, it wouldn't, but, you
know, there's always somefactors out there. And, well,
because you're also dealing withcrops and everything else too,
weather plays a big part ofmaking sure that this stuff is
growing right, and if we'regoing through droughts and
everything else too, so, but Ithink it's excellent what you
started. And I think you knowthe visions there, and then
(23:02):
teaming up here at rcbc andculinary students and Chef it's
just you do. Everyone's doingsome amazing work, but we're
gonna wrapping up shortly,except that want to have a
little bit of, kind of an opengroup discussion. And then I
said, I always have my littlebit here, because I am a radio
guy through and through, andbring back my YSP days, and as I
was talking to rob off the micas Tom gagila, a good friend of
(23:25):
his, good friends of mine. Soit's kind of like we're all
connected here, and I keep myradio vibes going here. But the
favorite meal to cook forothers, I know your destiny
market might say cakes, but ifthere's something, whatever you
can think about it, or chefpotatoes, probably right. But
(23:45):
what's your, what's your kind ofgo to, you know, or people, I
guess, a popular request, orsomething that you thoroughly,
you know, it's what your topyour list to make for others.
Unknown (23:55):
You're asking me first Sure. So, you know, it was
really great, actually, is. Soour new dean, Dr canado, yes,
she actually had an introductionof the division at a meeting,
and she said, everybody say yourname, your position and your
favorite food. And I just lovethat. It was so much fun. And of
(24:15):
course, there were three peoplewho said potatoes, so I like
them a lot when it comes tothat. But, you know, I mean, I
grew up in Gloucester,Massachusetts, and again,
somewhere else where I reallygrew up, where in the world is,
remember what, you know, NewJersey was like because I was
four years old, you know,originally, but nevertheless.
(24:36):
And that's a seaport, seaporttown, right? So a fishing town,
and so seafood is in my blood. Ilove it so much. We eat an awful
lot of seafood at home, and so Iencourage that a lot. So I mean,
I could eat salmon just aboutevery single day of the week. It
is one of those things. I lovesalmon, swordfish, scallops.
Those are probably the top threefor me. And I. Make my own spice
(25:01):
blend. Of course, sure, and, andI it's super spicy. No, no, it's
actually, it's a, it's a play ona Baha rat, which is an Egyptian
spice. So it's got a little bitof cinnamon and a little spice
to it. So it's that combinationthere. And I put that on there,
pan sear it, and it's just oneof my favorite dishes, and then,
of course, you know, a sweetpotato, and maybe some broccoli
(25:25):
or asparagus or something likethat. Then that's a go to meal
for us, for every day. I mean, Ialso do a feast of Seven Fishes
every, every Christmas. Andthat's a much more elaborate
Jason Varga (25:36):
family. Yeah, really, yeah. My wife's family
does the Seven Fishes good. Soit's amazing stuff. I feel
Unknown (25:41):
like we should say available for purchase.
That's another that's anotherpodcast.
Jason Varga (25:47):
Yeah, Destiny. It can be even like your favorite
food or prep or both, whateverfloor is yours.
Unknown (25:51):
So of course, desserts are my absolute favorite. I love
decorating cakes. As I saidbefore, I think that it there's
something so therapeutic andgetting the opportunity to go
out the box is so amazing. Like,I've seen some of my classes
cakes, like, when we do, likemidterms and finals and stuff,
and it's just so beautifulbecause we spend a whole class
(26:16):
just decorating. So it's, I lovedoing that. And, like, my
favorite thing to make is flung.So it's like a custard, and you
put it in the oven for like anhour or two, and it comes out
amazing. I remember spending anentire semester perfecting my
flung recipe, so I can say thatit is very good.
Jason Varga (26:34):
And so can I, yeah, and I think it's another you
kind of hit on something toowith culinary I just don't
people realize that the creativeprocess that goes into the
culinary too. It's not justfollowing a recipe and
everything else, like you said,it's thinking outside the box,
or taking someone's recipe andthen modifying a little bit to
your own taste, or whatever itis, but or just the simple
decorations and stuff and reallymaking things kind of come to
(26:55):
life, and the plate presentationand all this stuff too. There's
a whole artistic, you know,skill set that goes along with
just, you know, culinary aswell, which is perfect fit being
here at the Mount Holly arts,you know, campus Rob cooking,
eating. What do you got?
Unknown (27:11):
So probably favorite food I'd have to go is probably
seafood as well, like we're, youknow, obviously Jersey crabs,
you know, kind of down and dirtymussels, clams, that kind of
stuff to make. I'm actually abarbecue guy, kind of anything
on a grill. Got a smoker, youknow, we've done like that. I've
done, like, the wholeThanksgiving thing, except for,
like, the sides, you know,through a smoker and on a grill
(27:33):
that kind of stuff. So, youknow, the way I'm way I'm built,
you kind of tell so. And even,like, vegetables, like I did as
Vargas last night on the grill,yeah? So I'm kind of that guy,
and it just, it serves me, well,
Jason Varga (27:47):
yeah, curling, so good. Gotta Have patience. What
they said when doing the smokerand stuff, because we go to the
Poconos, my cousin has one ofthe, you know, the pellet ones
that will start, like, 16 hours.Or sometimes we're up to, like,
well, we're up from the nightbefore, still, like, two in the
morning, you know, and thenfiring it away, and then just
checking on it and stuff too.But when it's,
Unknown (28:04):
if you do Thanksgiving, you get to say you're gonna have
to be outside the whole timewith a beer, like 35 people in
the house. You all, you'reoutside watching the turkey in
the hame. You can't beat it.Yeah,
Jason Varga (28:18):
all right. Radio bit before we go. And then we'll
kind of wrap things up. We tryto, you know, we have a nice
little general conversation andstuff, and I think we're
touching on everything else, butit wouldn't be the program pod
without my stupid, cheesy dadjoke. Because, again, well, when
I started this a couple of yearsago, my wife was pregnant at the
time, and I was looking to, youknow, put a little of a radio
bit into it, because, you know,we're talking education at
(28:38):
times, and me having like that,you know, like, I say shock jock
radio and stuff, but they'rehaving these bits and everything
else. So I have these dad jokesbased on actual culinary or, you
know, the topic at hand. So withthis dad joke here, this awesome
work is what do you call a fakenoodle? Crickets, yep, an
(29:01):
impasta. The worst, the better.Yeah, I think I have one right
here, right? No, it's not itthat one. Yeah, there we go.
Little rim shot, right too. Youshould probably might be able to
pick up on this one then. So whydid the pie go to the dentist to
get a filling. Oh yeah, losingthem everybody, losing them,
(29:26):
losing them. Alright, we'll tryone more before we wrap things
up here. But what is ascarecrow's favorite fruit?
I know a strawberry. Yeah. Non
Unknown (29:46):
like dad
Jason Varga (29:48):
pulls it off. Yeah, I love it. So I gotta work on my
jokes for my daughter andeverything else, because, you
know, she's getting to thatpoint. But yeah, you know, like
to have some fun, and hopeeveryone else had, you know, had
a great time. Time before Iwould do wrap things up,
anything anyone else wants toplug in particular, you know,
you can talk about the programpod, or the culinary program,
(30:09):
the website, you know, Rob,anything you want to
Unknown (30:11):
promote. No, actually, just want to say that, you know,
we're kind of an unknowncommodity. So the Brandon
County, you know, economicdevelopment, if you have a
business, if you want to start abusiness, reach out to us. We
have, we can help you find alocation. We can do site survey.
We have demographics. You know,sometimes people think this is,
Hey, open it up right here,because it's cheap, but you
(30:32):
know, you might need windshieldsor rooftops. You know, there's
certain things that absolutelyhave to happen to make sure a
business is profitable. So largeor small, reach out to us. Let
us see what we can do. And ifnothing else, we can put you in
touch with, you know, some ofthe folks that may have grants
available. You know, the EDA,the New Jersey back. So a lot of
times we just help people cutthrough some of the red tape.
You know, we talked about the,you know, the hoods and those
(30:54):
kind of things. So let us dohelp you be successful, and then
ultimately you turn around by,you know, employing people and
paying taxes and makingBurlington County, you know, an
even better place than it wasbefore you got
Jason Varga (31:05):
here. And the website for that, or they can
just google county commission,brother County, bridge
commission. Welcome to the world
Unknown (31:11):
of crazy government. You can probably find us on the
on the Burlington County page.Yes, my website is actually BC
bridges.org but I'm on, youknow, LinkedIn and all those
places. Trust me, if you need tofind us, well, you know, just
keep Google until you get there,but find us another government
websites. Yeah, exactly. Itwould be like,
dot, this that us.nj. Dot, fourseven,
Jason Varga (31:32):
yeah. Google's our friend, yeah.
Unknown (31:35):
Well, of course, I want to promote the restaurant. Yes,
even get to that part ofcuisine. So, rcpc.edu/culinary
is how you can make areservation, and so you just,
it's almost like an Open Tablesituation. Just click on the
button, and then it looks
Jason Varga (31:49):
fast. Though I'm on that website, I know it gets
sold out really quick. People
Unknown (31:53):
are waking up like midnight the night before,
30 days out, that's the
Jason Varga (31:59):
like an Apple iPhone, because it's also a very
intimate restaurant too.
Unknown (32:03):
So yes, we see about 45 people. Yeah, three, four,
seating, six, 615, 636, 45 andso you're just going to be I
just want to make sure youremind everyone that it is not
bylb. You will not be able touncork when you arrive, sorry,
(32:24):
three course meal. 25 bucks. Youcan't go wrong. We do have a
chef table in the kitchen as fora little additional fee, and
that money goes all thescholarship. So there's an awful
lot of great things happeningright here in what we like to
call the pleasure palace.
Jason Varga (32:39):
I'm not touching that one.
Unknown (32:41):
Yeah, we're the school. Remember that destiny?
Yeah. So I just wanted tohighlight how the school kind of
brings all our studentstogether, especially culinary. I
love most of the students, theones that I've met. I absolutely
adore them. They are honestlythe best to work with. And I
(33:02):
feel like especially in theculinary arts center, you get to
work with a lot of differentpeople, a lot of different
creative minds, a lot ofdifferent thinking processes.
And with that, you can kind ofcollaborate, and it brings
everything together, because itliterally prepares you for the
workforce. It prepares you towork with different people. It
prepares you for challenges. Meand Chef Keith in the ala carte
(33:24):
class have had a lot ofchallenges within that class, so
definitely highlighting thestudents in general, this is a
really great place to start.
Jason Varga (33:33):
Well, I'm glad you're having a great experience
here at rcbc, and that's what'sall about, because being a
former professor myself, that'sreally the culmination of
everything. You get to see themin the beginning, and you grow
as a student and as a person,and they get to the graduation,
or go on to, you know, whoknows? Maybe, you know, be the
next guy, fieri, but somethingon Food Network, or whatever it
is. So it's just great to seeeveryone doing what we're all
(33:56):
doing, and we're allcontributing here. So Great
talking to everybody. Hope youhad a good time. Yeah, well,
that's gonna do it here for thisepisode of the program pod. And
I hope you enjoyed today's show.And again, I want to thank our
guests again. Destiny.Maldonado, the current rcbc
student, bun cake specialist,and what was the custard thing?
Flung. The flung I would havenever remembered that the flung
(34:19):
specialist as well chef DesmondKeith, Director of culinary
technology and hospitality hereat rcbc. And Rob wells, once
again, Director of economicgrowth and development of and
regional planning of theBurlington County Commission's
bridge commission, getting thereeventually, long and winded, but
again, Jay Varga, are signingoff for the program pod. If you
want to make sure to subscribeto this podcast, wherever get
(34:39):
your podcast, you can go aheadand do that. We are there
talking about all other programshere that we have to offer at
rcbc. But of course, you want tolearn about anything here about
the culinary rcbc.edu/culinaryor just go to the main website,
rcbc.edu and runs down all theprograms we have to offer here
in Burlington County for you. Sothanks for listening. Hope you
have a good time, and we'll. Getyou back next month for another
(35:01):
edition. All right, everybodyhave a good time. You.
Announcer, welcome to the program. Pod, a national
(00:03):
award winning program on thercbc Podcast Network, which
takes a deep dive into theprograms offered at rcbc through
different perspectives ofstudents, faculty and employers.
Well, it feels good to be backhere on the program. Pod, no
more commencement talk, actuallygetting back into what this
program was originally about,and that's the programs here at
RCBC. This is Jay Varga, andagain, as you heard in the
(00:24):
intro, national award winning,but now two time, national award
winning, just like our birds,right? So feels good. But
actually, we're live on locationand here at the Mount Holly arts
campus, because we're talkingthings culinary, and excited to
get into, you know, today'stopics and discussions and
joining us today. I have DestinyMaldonado, a current, current
rcbc culinary student. I haveChef Desmond Keefe, Director of
(00:47):
culinary technology here atrcbc, and Rob Wells, Director of
economic growth anddevelopmental and regional
planning for the BurlingtonCounty bridge commission. That's
a mouthful. Hey everybody, howyou doing good? Fantastic. Doing
great. Talking to Mike. You'regood to go. So, yeah, we're
talking things culinary here,and trying to get this little
(01:09):
triangular perspective of whatwe got going on here at the arts
campus. It's beautiful. We'reactually down here in the What
is this called the demonstrationkitchen? Yeah, I feel like it's
almost like ConjunctionJunction, you know, going on.
No, it's a gorgeous, it's agorgeous setup. If anybody
hasn't been here at the MountHolly arts campus. You know,
(01:30):
it's like a TV studio, but withthe kitchen, like doing a live
TV show, they have, you know,our wonderful AB team with Dan
Egan up there doing some stuff,doing some incredible film work,
and have all these camera shots,overhead shots, and everything
else. What up on our YouTubechannel? This is an incredible
setup chef. Thank
Unknown (01:38):
you so much. And one of the exciting things about this
is that we have been able tobring in some events and film,
mostly things like open housesfor prospective students to come
in. We'll do cooking demos forthem, and then obviously
encourage them to register for
Jason Varga (01:53):
rcbc.edu, all right, so we'll talk more about,
you know, about this actualprogram. We'll get everybody's,
you know, thoughts andeverything else. But as always,
we have a student firstphilosophy here on the program
pod and destiny. Maldonado.Where are you? Where are you
from? Yeah.
Unknown (02:09):
So originally I am from Brooklyn, New York, but have
moved to mount Laura about twoand a half
Jason Varga (02:15):
years ago. Okay, yeah. So what? How'd you come
down here? What? So I
Unknown (02:19):
yeah, I know jersey, it's such a 180 I feel, but
definitely family. I had a lotof family and friends out here
at first, and actually one of mycousins told me about rcbc in
their culinary program. So Ilooked into it, did some
research, and finalized mydecision here.
Jason Varga (02:37):
Yeah, so that's that's usually like my softball
questions to everybody get themon here. Why culinary so your
family, your friends, talked,told you about it. You did some
research. But what was it reallyabout culinary that made you
really want to go after this?
Unknown (02:49):
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I have been baking cakes for a
long, long, long time. I startedwith Box cakes and decorating
them, and all of my classmatesat the time thought that they
looked super good and was superyummy. And I just found a
passion in actually, like makingthem outside of the box cakes,
(03:10):
sure, just taking a deep diveinto recipes. And my family has
been very, very food orientatedsince before me. I remember
going to my grandmother's housealmost every week, and she would
always have food on the table.And just that comfort of
bringing each other togetherreally spoke to me, in a way. So
that's what I that's whatsparked it. It's always
(03:31):
grandmother's
Jason Varga (03:32):
house, and my wife would be so jealous, because she
can't bake for anything. And,you know, love her. Love her to
death. She'll admit it too.She's, you know, we have a three
year old now, so she's workingon her baking skills, because
trying to get her to, you know,teach her how to bake and stuff
like you have to learn how tobake before you can teach the
Tyler how to bake. But, youknow, that's incredible stuff.
So how is rcbc, you know, youknow, helping you out with that
(03:54):
culinary education.
Unknown (03:55):
Oh, yeah, absolutely. This is a great place,
especially for me to start. Myoverall goal is to get a
bachelor's degree, but withrcbc, associate's degree in
culinary tech, it kind of bringseverything together, from baking
to hospitality to that servesafe, which is very, very
important. You need to knowsafety before you can do
(04:16):
anything else. So it kind ofbrings all of those aspects
together. Chef, I
Jason Varga (04:19):
want to elaborate on that, because I think the I
think that's a very underratedstatement that she's talking
about, the actual
Unknown (04:24):
just the safety of the kitchen itself. So impressed
that she brought that up. It issomething that we continue to
talk about throughout thecurriculum. It's not just a
class you take once and thensay, Oh no, don't worry about
washing your hands anymore, youknow, or anything like that. And
it is so much more than justwashing your hands, but it is.
And not only that, but theyactually end up having to take a
service safe exam to becomecertified as a food handling a
(04:48):
food manager, actually. And sothose are all very important
aspects of that minor aspect,but major aspect of the program.
I
Jason Varga (04:56):
mean, that's the first thing kind of people when
they go into a restaurant, youkind of. Back the place a little
bit, right? And you're
Unknown (05:01):
like, Well, if you go to New York City, and they all
have little they have theirletter grades right on the
window, you know, they should dothat everywhere, but, yeah,
that's another story. I don't
Jason Varga (05:09):
even know about that. So here again, learning
some new stuff here on theprogram, pod. So destiny, what
are some of your highlights sofar here in the you know, being
culinary,
Unknown (05:17):
oh my gosh, I can go on and on about from working under
Chef Keith to all of ourcompetitions and all of our
showcases, we I've participatedin two baking showcases so far,
which they're very, very fun. Ihave been in both the A La Carte
and service management classes,which kind of goes hand in hand
(05:38):
with our student run restaurantas a whole. So with the a la
carte, which is my favorite, weget to, like, pick out our menu
items, design our menu items,and just work together with all
of our classmates. That washonestly my favorite thing,
because, personally, I've knownall of them for about a semester
or two, but just all comingtogether and making this menu
(06:02):
from all of us was just soamazing. So when you
Jason Varga (06:04):
guys are putting these menus together, though, is
obviously, it's theme based, I'msure, probably seasonal as well.
Oh yeah, absolutely. So chefgiving you a kind of like, carte
Unknown (06:13):
blanche, like, Oh yeah, yeah. So, so, of course, I am
the instructor for the Autocarclass, and so my, you know,
heart goes out to destiny for,you know, saying that that's her
favorite class, because it's myfavorite class. I love it, you
know. So we're open to thepublic. It's a restaurant. And
some people would say it's oneof the best kept secrets in
Burlington County, because, youknow, everybody's like, Oh, you
have a restaurant there? Ididn't know that. Or some people
(06:35):
say, did you have a culinaryprogram there? I didn't know
that. But that's another story.But nevertheless, the process
is, I tell the students, okay,here's the theme, all right,
submit four recipes from fromeach one of you, and then I'll
go through that, and then, andthen, usually two from each of
the students will end upbecoming on the actual menu. And
then we work together, put therequisition together, and then
(06:58):
descriptions, etc, all thatstuff like that. And that'll run
three to four weeks. And then wechange for we change for another
menu. How that goes? I knowbecause
Jason Varga (07:04):
Becky sends me for the website, and we're
constantly updating that menu.You guys are turning it over and
stuff too, which is some greatstuff, since I'm talking to you
right now. Again, you aredirector of culinary technology.
That's what I had at like leaseon the website and everything
else. You introduce yourselflike a little bit longer title.
You want to elaborate exactlywhat you do here, overall, at
the program?
Unknown (07:22):
Well, sure, so again, I am the director of Culinary and
Hospitality. We have ahospitality program here. We
have two degrees and twocertificates, you know, in in
both, you know, and then withinthe culinary program you can,
you can major in culinary arts,or baking and pastry. And then
we also have a certificate inculinary arts and baking and
(07:43):
pastry, so we can really divedeep and get the depth of
knowledge that the student isinterested in. And of course,
you know, a lot of students aretrying to figure out, should I
get a degree? Should I get acertificate? The beauty is, is
that it is seamless. So if youdecide on a certificate and then
want to continue on to get yourdegree later, that's that's
nothing. No problem doing that.And it also makes it so that
(08:04):
it's much easier to transferinto a four year school, you
know. So that's why we encouragethat hospitality. Both our
Culinary and Hospitalitystudents take the service
management class. So they alllearn to wait on table. They all
learn to to do the intro toculinary class. So there's some
some collaboration when it comesto that, which I like a lot, you
know, some overlap, so that youknow they all know each other,
(08:25):
and so those are reallyimportant aspects of the
program.
Jason Varga (08:29):
Well, I wish you know I joked about this, because
I used to be in the serviceindustry for a long time,
working in pizza shops and otherrestaurants. You know, my
college days and my earlierradio career, there was joke in
college, I feel like not justculinary people. I feel like all
students should take some kindof like waiting table or some
kind of customer service,because, because the way
sometimes people treat others inthe restaurants or whatever,
(08:50):
you're never going to satisfythem and stuff. It's like you
don't think you understand whatwhat the chef is doing back
there, or what the server isdoing, or something else like
that. And it's just kind of, Ifeel like they just took one
class, like one of these classeswe have here at rcbc, which is
kind of open our mind a littlebit, maybe, well, more kindness
in the world for that part,maybe
Unknown (09:07):
one of the most difficult jobs by far, is to
serve people, especially, youknow, when they're trying to
have a good time, you'd beamazed how, how hard that job
is, and how how difficult it isfor people to do that job and to
make it so you Have a wonderfulexperience. You're not wrong at
all. Everybody should have to doit for at least a little bit
Jason Varga (09:25):
of time. And that's Rob over there. Just, we're
gonna also, we're gonna get tohim part. We have this. Sorry,
no, you're good. No, that'swhat. Again, this is what
happens when you don't havevideo. And we're, we know we're
working towards that here,building out the program pod so
you can identify the voices andeverything else. Because, you
know, Rob and your team did anincredible thing with the
culinary students and studentsand this Harvest Dinner from the
farm to table, which I want totalk about in just a second. But
(09:47):
the other side, obviously wetalked about, you know, you're
talking about some of theprograms there, but one of your
other chefs just came in, ChefDesmond, and he was not just
now. He came in earlier lookingover my shoulder. No. He's like,
make sure you talk about me. No,he was talking about this other
tech as his wife went to aconvention, and I wanted you
know culinary technology. Andit's like, Where does the
(10:08):
technology part come into thekitchen aspect, or the cooking?
Because he was talking about howthere's this new tech, of
there's no more heat lamps kindof coming on. And it's like,
these not lasers. But I don'tknow something he was
describing, and that's why Iprobably should have him over
here talking about it, because,you know, like Michael Scott in
the office, like, explain to me,like, I'm five, right? Just, how
does it cook so fast? Is thatlike the heat lamps and stuff?
(10:29):
But are we using tech here inthese courses? And then,
Unknown (10:32):
so we have Combination Ovens, known as combi ovens, and
so those have the steaminjection technology and in
those so that's one of thethings that students learn how
to work with when it comes tothat. And we are fortunate to
have some great grants comingthrough the Perkins Association
and, and I have some capitalfunds as well. So we we are
(10:52):
incrementally adding moretechnology as we go forward to
make sure that students areseeing some of the stuff that
they're going to get out therein the industry and use and and
I've been fortunate enough toget out and do some research on
on some different aspects.There's some really cool
ventless technology out therenow. So, you know, you can have
(11:12):
a stove and not have an exhausthood, you know, which means
that, you know, you can open akitchen in a place that isn't a
kitchen, you know. So these arethings, and that's the whole
entrepreneurship thing, yeah,right, you know, is, you know,
students are like, you know,most of the time when you're
thinking about opening your ownbusiness, they're thinking, you
know, like food truck orsomething like that, because
that's the starting point. Andso, you know, now you might be
(11:35):
able to do that. I had a cheffriend back when I was in New
Hampshire, and he opened anoodle shop, and all of it was
what we call inductiontechnology. And so that's just
the same idea. There's no gas.It's just an electric burner,
but instant on, kind of a thing,very safe. Didn't have to have
any hoods. And so, I mean, I'veseen so many different kinds of
(11:59):
restaurants. I had one, onefriend who he did nothing but
crock pots, so he cookedeverything the night before.
Okay, interesting.
Jason Varga (12:09):
Yeah, when I was, you know, back then, when I was
kind of like bouncing aroundradio gigs and I was looking
into food trucks off my buddy,because I had a passion. Again,
I'm kind of, like a foodie, butI love, I think it's more about,
and you guys can relate. It'slike, it's like, it's more about
kind of cooking for others thanfor myself, right? And seeing
them light up and everythingelse, and you'll put all the
hours in only for them to eatit, like 15 minutes and be done,
and you're cleaning up the MSafter that. But it was when I
(12:30):
was looking at the food trucks,I didn't realize, you know, you
had to have all these permits,and you had to have a kitchen to
go where and prep and doeverything, and then you have to
go, then you have to get to thespot and fight with the people
that maybe other food truckwars, and because it's not
everything you see on TV, right?So, but hopefully this tech kind
of comes around making thoseoptions a little bit better.
Because, you know, brick andmortar is, you had a
(12:52):
competition, obviously, with thefood truck stuff, but, you know,
but Rob, let's jump over to you,because, you know, I want to
bring into the what you weredoing here is, again, you are
the Director of EconomicDevelopment and regional
planning for the BurlingtonCounty bridge commission. What
exactly is that in your kind ofday to day? Yeah.
Unknown (13:10):
So our job, our main focus, is to bring businesses
into Burlington County and tohelp Burlington County
businesses continue to grow. Sofrom an economic development
standpoint, you know, we'reconstantly kind of recruiting,
trying to bring in the next ofrecruiting, trying to bring in
the next huge employer. ButBurlington County is about 90%
small business, so I'm it'slike, you know, 50 and under. So
we run a lot of, like, smallbusiness trainings and classes.
(13:32):
We have some loan products. Somy job is actually kind of a fun
job. I get to, you know, go todifferent businesses and, you
know, host things like, we'redoing a networking event in a
couple of weeks, where it's, wehave it at a business. So that
helps showcase the business, butit allows people to come
together. It's free swap cards,that kind of stuff, you know.
And, you know, I always joke,especially with small
businesses, you find uncannypartnerships, you know, maybe a
(13:55):
chef and, you know, a plumber,and the plumber is actually
doing plumbing in a couple ofdifferent locations that need
to, you know, food, that kind ofstuff. So, you know, we
encourage people to talk and totell people what you do, and
have your elevator speeches andfind out that, you know, just
don't look further your nextcustomer, but look for your next
partner that may help you get
Jason Varga (14:12):
to the next level. So how did this partnership and
the next level happen? So
Unknown (14:16):
I've always been a big proponent of rcbc in general. I
sit on the on the businessadvisory board. I sit on chef
Keith's advisory board. Youknow, this is like, it's a
perfect gem, you know, it's ait's an affordable education
for, you know, Burlington Countyresidents, folks that want to
move down. So how do we dosomething to showcase that? So,
(14:38):
real long story short,agriculture is a huge driver for
Burlington County, absolutely,you know, we have 94,000 acres
of farmland, but you know,people don't realize that
they're employers, you know,they're family and community
leaders, you know, they'retaxpayers. So we came together.
We wanted to do something thatshowed the agriculture. Natural
(15:00):
and agritourism, you know, likethe Johnson's farms that, you
know, those places that peoplecome to pick and, you know, do
hay rides, that kind of stuffthat brings people in. And what
better way to do that than tobring a partnership with all
three, you know, governmentagencies, the county itself,
which is the Ag Center, thecollege, which is the Culinary
Center, and the, you know, theeconomic development from the
bridge commission and host adinner that we can use some of
(15:23):
the media to, you know, showcasethose farms, showcase the
students, and really put on areally good event that just
shows, you know, hey, this iswhat we're all about. So all of
the food was either a BurlingtonCounty farm or, actually, the
majority of food was either aBurlington County farm or
locally sourced or a farm thatattends our award winning
(15:44):
Burlington, you know, farmersmarket, so, you know. And we
really challenged chef withthat, because it wasn't easy and
his and his students to come upwith a menu that said, Hey, this
is, you know, everythingBurlington County. And then we
use the advertising for this toput out a lot of really fun
facts, and some, you know,things about our farm
preservation and that kind ofstuff. And then, you know, here
(16:06):
we are,
Jason Varga (16:07):
yeah. And this is where, you know, some of the
jersey comes out of me, becausea lot of people, when they say,
like, Oh, you're from Jersey,and it's right now, always
think, like, North Jersey,Brooklyn area, going up that
way, refineries, yeah. But it's,but it's like, but when you get
to South Jersey here inBurlington County. And you know,
yes, we have the Jersey Shoreand all that stuff. But like you
said, all that farm landing. Igrew up in tabernacle, so I'm
(16:27):
used to it, right? And all thatstuff. So it warms my heart to
see that this type of stuffhappening, obviously teaming up
with the students and lettingthem kind of showcase their
skills, network and everythingelse. But chef, I'm looking at
this menu here, and this was theFarm to Table event. We just
kind of recently had the HarvestDinner. Did you want to talk?
What was the thought process inputting together, like your apps
and your entrees and dessert andeverything that you wanted to
(16:49):
display and put on showcase herefor this event?
Unknown (16:51):
Sure, and before I mention that, I did want to
point out that I'm also a jerseyguy. I was born in Bridgeton,
New Jersey. I think Georgia is alittle it's a little known fact
that I moved when I was fouryears old, okay, but I was born
here, and so now it's kind offull cycle being back
Jason Varga (17:07):
here. Welcome home. I didn't know that. I just I
knew he came up from the south.
Unknown (17:11):
Every time he does a show, he suffered a different
place. Last week, I heard he wasfrom Virginia,
Jason Varga (17:20):
so yeah, wasn't that telling us?
Unknown (17:22):
Obviously, you know, coming up on the fall, I really
wanted to focus on the squashand so that's where the
butternut squash soup came in,which is just something that I
really love, you know, becauseit's got the curry in there.
It's vegan. I wanted to makesure that we offer had a vegan
option for for our guests, too,because that's so important,
yes. And so everybody got thesoup so there was no one's going
(17:43):
to be able to complain becauseit's gluten free and vegan and
and all that thing like that.Very, very important. And again,
tried to make sure I continuedwith that theme, to allow those
are folks that are vegan to beable to select a an entrees.
That's where the dumplings camein. Some of you may or may not
know I do have a passion forpotatoes, and so I had to sneak
(18:06):
some.
Jason Varga (18:07):
I think I knew that
Unknown (18:09):
potatoes in there somewhere. So that was the
dumpling filling for that. Andthen Masaka again has more
potatoes, but it is beef andeggplant. And so it's just a
rich dish, which incorporates alot of vegetables, you know. So
we were very fortunate to beable to get the eggplant from
one of our local farmers fromthe Bronte county farmers
(18:32):
market. And then finally, thechicken had a lot of beans and
greens, as it says right onthere. And the greens were the
kale, again, one of my favoritevegetables, you know, leafy
vegetables, I find it too,because it holds up so well.
Yes, when it comes to that, andit had a lot of flavor, had
fennel, onions, garlic, crushedred pepper, and a lot of stuff.
(18:54):
And that was a, they were all abig hit, yeah. And then the, I
guess I could, you know, sincecontinue with the apples fall
once again, yep. So there we gowith that dessert. And I found a
way to sneak some sweet potatoesin one more time with that
dessert ice cream, which wasjust phenomenal. I have to
Jason Varga (19:10):
say, I'm not the biggest sweet potato person. I
think it's a little on the sweetside, but I'm sure the way you
made it with this apple saucecake and everything else that it
would kind
Unknown (19:17):
of the sweet potato ice cream was off the charts. Yeah,
yeah. I'm actually lactoseintolerant, and I still tried it
because it's and it was amazing.Paid for it, but it was amazing.
Yeah,
Jason Varga (19:26):
yeah, it's, uh, I mean, it looks delicious, and
everything else. Now, is thisgoing to be, this is the first
event, right? Our first time youever did it, first one ever,
okay? It was just going to belooking to do this annually. We
were
Unknown (19:35):
just talking about that. I think that's something
that's going to happen again.Yes, that
Jason Varga (19:38):
looks great, yeah. Because, I mean, like you said,
it's not just the food andeverything else and the
networking, but it's just makingawareness, because I'm reading
all these stats that you justkind of pointed out, and
everything else that over 350preserved farms. It's just, you
know, there's great informationin here, and then just getting
the students to kind of showcasetheir skills, and then, you
know, can see the reaction ofpeople eating and everything
else too. And I'd be
Unknown (19:59):
remiss to. I didn't say that this whole event, all the
proceeds went to one of ournonprofits that's also located
in Burlington County. It'sfarmers against hunger. And what
farmers Against Hunger does isthey fight against food waste
and food insecurity. So whatpeople don't realize is farmers
don't use all of their prop, allof their crop. So farmers
Against Hunger puts together anentire group that people donate
(20:22):
their time to go out and glean,which is actually picking. So
they pick in the farms, pickapples, pick that kind of stuff,
and then farmers Against Hungerdistributes them to hundreds of
different food kitchens, smalland large, and food pantries and
stuff all around the county andall around the state to make
sure that healthy options get topeople are in need. You know, a
(20:44):
lot of times those foodkitchens, it's, you know, boxed
and processed and that kind ofstuff. So they that, and the
farmers donated happily, theyactually donate their their
leftover crop, because, youknow, it kind of hurts them to
see it go to waste. So farmersagainst hunger, all the money
went to that to help themcontinue to do this, to make
sure that, you know, we havereally good, healthy options for
(21:05):
people that are need.
Jason Varga (21:06):
Now, that's on. That's See, this is what I love.
When I used to own a brewery, wekind of teamed up with those,
those type of farms too, becauseyou always I hated, don't like,
you know, you can't throw thegrain like spent grains for
making the beer, right, dumpingand spent grains out and stuff,
plus Just the smell andeverything else of that. But I
call it the local farm. Now I'mfeeding the animals, and then
it's just kind of like the wholefull circle, right? So stuff
like that, 100% you know,donations or proceeds going to
(21:31):
that is amazing. Amazing work.
Unknown (21:33):
Rob, thank you. I just wanted to add also that how
proud I am of my students. Imean, it was a combination of
sophomores and freshmen. So someof these students actually were
only three weeks in to theirculinary program, and they just
rose to the calling. Did anamazing job. Destiny. Here was,
was a team leader.
Jason Varga (21:53):
Of course she was, yeah, she showed those
Unknown (21:56):
leadership skills. So, you know, I'm super proud of all
of them, and I just so many,
Jason Varga (22:01):
how many plates were there, or how many people?
Unknown (22:03):
So we had just about 70 attendees, a lot. Yeah, it
really was. It was a platedmeal. Everything was
biodegradable and went to thecompost we use, like the bamboo,
you know, plates and all thatkind of stuff. The the culinary
team was absolutely amazing. Imean, you wouldn't agree later,
yeah, you would never know thatthey were, you know, first or
second year students. They wereattentive. They actually
(22:26):
interacted well with the guests.You know, obviously, we had a
lot of guests from all over theplace, and had lots of questions
and everybody's, you know, theywere personable and, you know,
nice, and the food was amazing.So yes, that my hands off to
the, you know, to the studentsessions
Jason Varga (22:40):
for sure. Well, I really hope you guys get to, you
know, do it again and make thiskind of like an annual
tradition. I don't see why. Youknow, it wouldn't, but, you
know, there's always somefactors out there. And, well,
because you're also dealing withcrops and everything else too,
weather plays a big part ofmaking sure that this stuff is
growing right, and if we'regoing through droughts and
everything else too, so, but Ithink it's excellent what you
started. And I think you knowthe visions there, and then
(23:02):
teaming up here at rcbc andculinary students and Chef it's
just you do. Everyone's doingsome amazing work, but we're
gonna wrapping up shortly,except that want to have a
little bit of, kind of an opengroup discussion. And then I
said, I always have my littlebit here, because I am a radio
guy through and through, andbring back my YSP days, and as I
was talking to rob off the micas Tom gagila, a good friend of
(23:25):
his, good friends of mine. Soit's kind of like we're all
connected here, and I keep myradio vibes going here. But the
favorite meal to cook forothers, I know your destiny
market might say cakes, but ifthere's something, whatever you
can think about it, or chefpotatoes, probably right. But
(23:45):
what's your, what's your kind ofgo to, you know, or people, I
guess, a popular request, orsomething that you thoroughly,
you know, it's what your topyour list to make for others.
Unknown (23:55):
You're asking me first Sure. So, you know, it was
really great, actually, is. Soour new dean, Dr canado, yes,
she actually had an introductionof the division at a meeting,
and she said, everybody say yourname, your position and your
favorite food. And I just lovethat. It was so much fun. And of
(24:15):
course, there were three peoplewho said potatoes, so I like
them a lot when it comes tothat. But, you know, I mean, I
grew up in Gloucester,Massachusetts, and again,
somewhere else where I reallygrew up, where in the world is,
remember what, you know, NewJersey was like because I was
four years old, you know,originally, but nevertheless.
(24:36):
And that's a seaport, seaporttown, right? So a fishing town,
and so seafood is in my blood. Ilove it so much. We eat an awful
lot of seafood at home, and so Iencourage that a lot. So I mean,
I could eat salmon just aboutevery single day of the week. It
is one of those things. I lovesalmon, swordfish, scallops.
Those are probably the top threefor me. And I. Make my own spice
(25:01):
blend. Of course, sure, and, andI it's super spicy. No, no, it's
actually, it's a, it's a play ona Baha rat, which is an Egyptian
spice. So it's got a little bitof cinnamon and a little spice
to it. So it's that combinationthere. And I put that on there,
pan sear it, and it's just oneof my favorite dishes, and then,
of course, you know, a sweetpotato, and maybe some broccoli
(25:25):
or asparagus or something likethat. Then that's a go to meal
for us, for every day. I mean, Ialso do a feast of Seven Fishes
every, every Christmas. Andthat's a much more elaborate
Jason Varga (25:36):
family. Yeah, really, yeah. My wife's family
does the Seven Fishes good. Soit's amazing stuff. I feel
Unknown (25:41):
like we should say available for purchase.
That's another that's anotherpodcast.
Jason Varga (25:47):
Yeah, Destiny. It can be even like your favorite
food or prep or both, whateverfloor is yours.
Unknown (25:51):
So of course, desserts are my absolute favorite. I love
decorating cakes. As I saidbefore, I think that it there's
something so therapeutic andgetting the opportunity to go
out the box is so amazing. Like,I've seen some of my classes
cakes, like, when we do, likemidterms and finals and stuff,
and it's just so beautifulbecause we spend a whole class
(26:16):
just decorating. So it's, I lovedoing that. And, like, my
favorite thing to make is flung.So it's like a custard, and you
put it in the oven for like anhour or two, and it comes out
amazing. I remember spending anentire semester perfecting my
flung recipe, so I can say thatit is very good.
Jason Varga (26:34):
And so can I, yeah, and I think it's another you
kind of hit on something toowith culinary I just don't
people realize that the creativeprocess that goes into the
culinary too. It's not justfollowing a recipe and
everything else, like you said,it's thinking outside the box,
or taking someone's recipe andthen modifying a little bit to
your own taste, or whatever itis, but or just the simple
decorations and stuff and reallymaking things kind of come to
(26:55):
life, and the plate presentationand all this stuff too. There's
a whole artistic, you know,skill set that goes along with
just, you know, culinary aswell, which is perfect fit being
here at the Mount Holly arts,you know, campus Rob cooking,
eating. What do you got?
Unknown (27:11):
So probably favorite food I'd have to go is probably
seafood as well, like we're, youknow, obviously Jersey crabs,
you know, kind of down and dirtymussels, clams, that kind of
stuff to make. I'm actually abarbecue guy, kind of anything
on a grill. Got a smoker, youknow, we've done like that. I've
done, like, the wholeThanksgiving thing, except for,
like, the sides, you know,through a smoker and on a grill
(27:33):
that kind of stuff. So, youknow, the way I'm way I'm built,
you kind of tell so. And even,like, vegetables, like I did as
Vargas last night on the grill,yeah? So I'm kind of that guy,
and it just, it serves me, well,
Jason Varga (27:47):
yeah, curling, so good. Gotta Have patience. What
they said when doing the smokerand stuff, because we go to the
Poconos, my cousin has one ofthe, you know, the pellet ones
that will start, like, 16 hours.Or sometimes we're up to, like,
well, we're up from the nightbefore, still, like, two in the
morning, you know, and thenfiring it away, and then just
checking on it and stuff too.But when it's,
Unknown (28:04):
if you do Thanksgiving, you get to say you're gonna have
to be outside the whole timewith a beer, like 35 people in
the house. You all, you'reoutside watching the turkey in
the hame. You can't beat it.Yeah,
Jason Varga (28:18):
all right. Radio bit before we go. And then we'll
kind of wrap things up. We tryto, you know, we have a nice
little general conversation andstuff, and I think we're
touching on everything else, butit wouldn't be the program pod
without my stupid, cheesy dadjoke. Because, again, well, when
I started this a couple of yearsago, my wife was pregnant at the
time, and I was looking to, youknow, put a little of a radio
bit into it, because, you know,we're talking education at
(28:38):
times, and me having like that,you know, like, I say shock jock
radio and stuff, but they'rehaving these bits and everything
else. So I have these dad jokesbased on actual culinary or, you
know, the topic at hand. So withthis dad joke here, this awesome
work is what do you call a fakenoodle? Crickets, yep, an
(29:01):
impasta. The worst, the better.Yeah, I think I have one right
here, right? No, it's not itthat one. Yeah, there we go.
Little rim shot, right too. Youshould probably might be able to
pick up on this one then. So whydid the pie go to the dentist to
get a filling. Oh yeah, losingthem everybody, losing them,
(29:26):
losing them. Alright, we'll tryone more before we wrap things
up here. But what is ascarecrow's favorite fruit?
I know a strawberry. Yeah. Non
Unknown (29:46):
like dad
Jason Varga (29:48):
pulls it off. Yeah, I love it. So I gotta work on my
jokes for my daughter andeverything else, because, you
know, she's getting to thatpoint. But yeah, you know, like
to have some fun, and hopeeveryone else had, you know, had
a great time. Time before Iwould do wrap things up,
anything anyone else wants toplug in particular, you know,
you can talk about the programpod, or the culinary program,
(30:09):
the website, you know, Rob,anything you want to
Unknown (30:11):
promote. No, actually, just want to say that, you know,
we're kind of an unknowncommodity. So the Brandon
County, you know, economicdevelopment, if you have a
business, if you want to start abusiness, reach out to us. We
have, we can help you find alocation. We can do site survey.
We have demographics. You know,sometimes people think this is,
Hey, open it up right here,because it's cheap, but you
(30:32):
know, you might need windshieldsor rooftops. You know, there's
certain things that absolutelyhave to happen to make sure a
business is profitable. So largeor small, reach out to us. Let
us see what we can do. And ifnothing else, we can put you in
touch with, you know, some ofthe folks that may have grants
available. You know, the EDA,the New Jersey back. So a lot of
times we just help people cutthrough some of the red tape.
You know, we talked about the,you know, the hoods and those
(30:54):
kind of things. So let us dohelp you be successful, and then
ultimately you turn around by,you know, employing people and
paying taxes and makingBurlington County, you know, an
even better place than it wasbefore you got
Jason Varga (31:05):
here. And the website for that, or they can
just google county commission,brother County, bridge
commission. Welcome to the world
Unknown (31:11):
of crazy government. You can probably find us on the
on the Burlington County page.Yes, my website is actually BC
bridges.org but I'm on, youknow, LinkedIn and all those
places. Trust me, if you need tofind us, well, you know, just
keep Google until you get there,but find us another government
websites. Yeah, exactly. Itwould be like,
dot, this that us.nj. Dot, fourseven,
Jason Varga (31:32):
yeah. Google's our friend, yeah.
Unknown (31:35):
Well, of course, I want to promote the restaurant. Yes,
even get to that part ofcuisine. So, rcpc.edu/culinary
is how you can make areservation, and so you just,
it's almost like an Open Tablesituation. Just click on the
button, and then it looks
Jason Varga (31:49):
fast. Though I'm on that website, I know it gets
sold out really quick. People
Unknown (31:53):
are waking up like midnight the night before,
30 days out, that's the
Jason Varga (31:59):
like an Apple iPhone, because it's also a very
intimate restaurant too.
Unknown (32:03):
So yes, we see about 45 people. Yeah, three, four,
seating, six, 615, 636, 45 andso you're just going to be I
just want to make sure youremind everyone that it is not
bylb. You will not be able touncork when you arrive, sorry,
(32:24):
three course meal. 25 bucks. Youcan't go wrong. We do have a
chef table in the kitchen as fora little additional fee, and
that money goes all thescholarship. So there's an awful
lot of great things happeningright here in what we like to
call the pleasure palace.
Jason Varga (32:39):
I'm not touching that one.
Unknown (32:41):
Yeah, we're the school. Remember that destiny?
Yeah. So I just wanted tohighlight how the school kind of
brings all our studentstogether, especially culinary. I
love most of the students, theones that I've met. I absolutely
adore them. They are honestlythe best to work with. And I
(33:02):
feel like especially in theculinary arts center, you get to
work with a lot of differentpeople, a lot of different
creative minds, a lot ofdifferent thinking processes.
And with that, you can kind ofcollaborate, and it brings
everything together, because itliterally prepares you for the
workforce. It prepares you towork with different people. It
prepares you for challenges. Meand Chef Keith in the ala carte
(33:24):
class have had a lot ofchallenges within that class, so
definitely highlighting thestudents in general, this is a
really great place to start.
Jason Varga (33:33):
Well, I'm glad you're having a great experience
here at rcbc, and that's what'sall about, because being a
former professor myself, that'sreally the culmination of
everything. You get to see themin the beginning, and you grow
as a student and as a person,and they get to the graduation,
or go on to, you know, whoknows? Maybe, you know, be the
next guy, fieri, but somethingon Food Network, or whatever it
is. So it's just great to seeeveryone doing what we're all
(33:56):
doing, and we're allcontributing here. So Great
talking to everybody. Hope youhad a good time. Yeah, well,
that's gonna do it here for thisepisode of the program pod. And
I hope you enjoyed today's show.And again, I want to thank our
guests again. Destiny.Maldonado, the current rcbc
student, bun cake specialist,and what was the custard thing?
Flung. The flung I would havenever remembered that the flung
(34:19):
specialist as well chef DesmondKeith, Director of culinary
technology and hospitality hereat rcbc. And Rob wells, once
again, Director of economicgrowth and development of and
regional planning of theBurlington County Commission's
bridge commission, getting thereeventually, long and winded, but
again, Jay Varga, are signingoff for the program pod. If you
want to make sure to subscribeto this podcast, wherever get
(34:39):
your podcast, you can go aheadand do that. We are there
talking about all other programshere that we have to offer at
rcbc. But of course, you want tolearn about anything here about
the culinary rcbc.edu/culinaryor just go to the main website,
rcbc.edu and runs down all theprograms we have to offer here
in Burlington County for you. Sothanks for listening. Hope you
have a good time, and we'll. Getyou back next month for another
(35:01):
edition. All right, everybodyhave a good time. You.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.