DATE: Sunday, August 24, 1997               TAG: 9708210070

SECTION: FLAVOR                  PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: MORSELS

SOURCE: RUTH FANTASIA

                                            LENGTH:   65 lines

MEET MAN BEHIND TCC'S CUTTING-EDGE KITCHEN

SHINY NEW griddles. Gas stoves bare of the tell-tale smoke marks that indicate use. Stainless steel mixers with the beaters resting in the bowls.

This place looks like a toy store for chefs. Two big rooms full of the newest, most advanced kitchen equipment for the restaurant industry. But this is not a restaurant supply store. It is the culinary training center at Tidewater Community College's Norfolk campus.

``We want to give the students the cutting edge of what's available today,'' says John Cappellucci, the school's culinary instructor.

Cutting edge it is.

Along with the usual array of commercial equipment, there are induction stoves, flash-bake ovens and combination ovens - the latest advances in electric cooking - donated by Virginia Power. In all, there's more than $350,000 in tools here, much of which was provided by Vulcan, a manufacturer of kitchen equipment, and Virginia Power, Cappellucci says.

But equipment is merely the tools of the trade. More important is what the students will learn.

``The goal is to expose students to most every aspect of being a professional chef,'' says Cappellucci.

The program starts with the fundamentals of cooking such as knife skills, stock making and soups. It will progress through vegetables, starches, butchering, regional American cuisine and international cuisine, says Cappellucci.

This is not a classic French program.

``To be trained only in one style is limiting to creative development,'' says Cappellucci, who says the students will explore the styles of Asia and South America as well as the traditional European countries.

Along with kitchen skills, students will learn about sanitation, nutrition, cost analysis, professionalism, motivation and the historical aspects of cooking, Cappellucci says.

He knows a thing or two about running a restaurant kitchen. A native of Newport News, Cappellucci graduated from James Madison University in 1990 with a degree in restaurant and hotel management. From there he went to the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1992.

Through the years, Cappellucci worked at restaurants in Boston, New Orleans and Detroit. And everywhere, one thing was the same:

``I was frustrated,'' he says. ``I was a professional in an area where there isn't a lot of professionally trained staff.'' When he was offered the teaching job at TCC, he chose to be part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

``I want to turn out a well-rounded professional,'' Cappellucci says. ``Someone who understands financial responsibility as well as cooking expertise.''

TCC's new culinary program can accommodate 18 students this semester. At the end of the two-year program, students will have earned an associate's degree. For more information, call Cappellucci at 822-1350. MEMO: John Cappellucci will demonstrate how to select and use meat

thermometers properly today on Local News on Cable (Channel 8 in

Chesapeake, channel 4 in other cities) from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

John Cappellucci... KEYWORDS: PROFILE BIOGRAPHY CHEF

COOKING

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