Greenville Tech’s Truist Culinary & Hospitality Innovation Center has the community cooking
Mary Fowler sets the table. Three generations are coming for the family’s weekly Sunday meal and the earthy, sweet smell of paella hangs in the air. “It’s everyone’s favorite,” she says. “They request it all of the time.” There was a time the healthcare worker shied away from cooking such a complex dish, loaded with spices and multiple meats. “I’ve cooked my whole life,” she reveals. “But lessons at CHI have broadened my horizons. I’ve taken more than 10 classes, including Asian, Italian, and French cooking.”
It’s safe to say it’s getting hot in the CHI kitchen. More than 3,400 people tie on an apron at the Culinary & Hospitality Innovation Center at Poe West. Slightly more than half are students knocking off requirements at Greenville Technical College or securing job skills to enter the restaurant industry. Roughly 1,500 are like Fowler, taking recreational classes on weekends. “We’re known for our workforce training,” explains Director Jessica Allendorf. “But we also host hands-on corporate team-building, corporate training, venue rentals, holiday parties, demonstrations, and recreational classes, too.”
Fowler starts listing the dishes she’s conquered and can now cook at home with ease: “General Tso’s chicken, potatoes Dauphinoise, a killer French onion soup, lasagna with homemade pasta!” She raves about the shiny, clean industrial space, easy-to-understand chefs, no-shopping-required cooking, and the amount of food you take home. “You work in teams of about three,” she says. “I’ve made several good connections. One friend and I now book all of our classes together. I’m registered for an artisan bread class and then Apples, Apples, Apples in October.”
Allendorf takes pride in the way the industrial and recreational needs balance each other out. In addition to equipping West Greenville neighbors with tools to earn a living, CHI also works with fourth-year residents at USC School of Medicine–Greenville. “They come in and learn to cook and make recommended dietary modifications for patients,” she reveals. “We want them to be more holistic and approach patients with a 360-degree view. It’s really fantastic when they can adapt recipes and make diet changes when needed, rather than just medicating.”
With more than 300 class offerings, CHI is positioned to continue supporting and feeding the community, literally and figuratively. No matter where you dine, odds are someone in the front- or back-of-house has been to at least one class at CHI. Allendorf has a couple of projects marinating for the future. “We really want to expand,” she says. “We’re looking at a lunch-and-literature type of thing and forming partnerships with chefs and food writers. Awareness is the big push right now.”
Fowler is very aware of one particular task, and the way it is set up will keep her coming back to CHI again and again. “It’s wonderful! When you’re all done, you pack up this wonderful food and go home to eat with your family, and they do the dishes!” Now that’s a great way to cook.
For more on CHI and a list of recreational class offerings, visit CHIGreenville.com.
Upcoming Classes
Cookies of All Kinds, Dec. 7
Recipe from Greenville Tech’s Truist Culinary & Hospitality Innovation Center
Apple & Cranberry Frangipane Galette
Yields 1 galette
Ingredients
- 1 uncooked pie crust
- Frangipane filling (see recipe below)
- 2 apples, tart variety
- 4 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 2 oz granulated sugar
- 2 oz butter, melted
- 2 oz sliced almonds
- Sanding sugar
- Prepared apricot glaze (can substitute apricot jam thinned slightly with water)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Peel, core, and cut apples into 8 slices (approximately ½” thick) and toss with granulated sugar and cranberries.
- Roll pie crust into a round shape approximately ⅛” thick and approximately 18” diameter. Transfer to a parchment-lined sheet pan.
- Pipe frangipane filling in the center of the pie dough, creating a circle approximately 9” diameter.
- Arrange apples and cranberries over the frangipane in a spoke-like pattern, completely covering the filling.
- Fold the edges of the dough circle up and over the apples, leaving an opening in the center through which apples are visible. Brush the pie dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sliced almonds and sanding sugar.
- Bake at 400°F approximately 30 minutes until apples are tender and almond filling is set.
- Remove from oven, brush with apricot glaze, and cool.
Frangipane Filling
Ingredients
- 1 lb almond paste
- 8 oz sugar
- 8 oz butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 4 oz. all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, almond paste, and sugar at low speed until evenly mixed.
- Add eggs and mix well.
- Add flour and mix until smooth.
