SKYCTC Culinary Students to Cook at the Kentucky Derby

 

Seven Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College (SKYCTC) Culinary Arts students will trek to Louisville, Kentucky the first week of May where they will join the Churchill Downs culinary team in preparing food for more than 170,000 guests at the Kentucky Derby.

The SKYCTC students will join students from Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) of New York and the Pennsylvania College of Technology (PCT) to comprise a select group of culinary students chosen nationwide to prepare culinary dishes for various venues at the week-long schedule of events.

The 2017 Kentucky Derby, scheduled for May 6, marks its 143rd running. The tradition-steeped event attracts the largest crowd in sports, including red-carpet celebrities.

To prepare, students will spend the week at Churchill Downs helping to mix, chop and cook thousands of pounds of ingredients that they’ll serve to guests in suites and luxury boxes throughout the facility.

In addition to cooking for the main event, several students will prepare food for “Dawn at the Downs,” a popular Louisville tradition that gives visitors an opportunity to enjoy breakfast in Millionaires Row while watching the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks contenders conduct morning workouts. Students will be accompanied by SKYCTC Culinary Arts instructors: Executive Chef Michael Riggs and Executive Chef Jason Lindsey.

“This is going to be a tremendous experience for our students and future culinarians. They will be working alongside the talented chefs of Churchill Downs, their management team and culinary students from other states. It is an opportunity to participate in one of the largest, most recognized sporting events in the world.  It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Dr. Michael Riggs.

SKYCTC Students working at the Kentucky Derby are:

Mary Dequilla           Bowling Green, Warren County
Jerry Keen               Bowling Green, Warren County
Collin Ritchie            Bowling Green, Warren County
Juanita McIntyre       Bowling Green, Warren County
Brad Aubrey             Scottsville, Allen County
Drew Farlow             Elkton, Todd County
Thomas Sly              Bowling Green, Warren County.

Inaugurated in 1875, the Kentucky Derby is the oldest, continuously held major sporting event in North America and the first leg of horse racing's Triple Crown series. Also known as “The Run for the Roses,” it is the most attended horse race in the nation, with more than 170,000 attendees in 2016.

To learn more about baking and pastry arts, culinary arts and hospitality management majors at SKYCTC, call Mike Riggs at 270-901-1009, mike.riggs@kctcs.edu or Jason Lindsey at 270-901-4351, Jason.lindsey@kctcs.edu or visit https://southcentral.kctcs.edu/academics/programs_of_study/culinary_arts.aspx.

For more about Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College, a state leader in applied technology education, transfer pathways, and workforce development, visit

www.southcentral.kctcs.edu, email southcentral-admissions@kctcs.edu, or call toll-free (855) 246-2482.