Training Tomorrow’s Chefs

The Grand Opening for BCC’s Douglas Terhune Center for Culinary Arts was Thursday, October 21.

Brunswick Community College (BCC) is excited to announce that the Douglas Terhune Center for Culinary Arts celebrated a grand-opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 21.

Plans for a culinary center on the campus of Brunswick Community College have been in place since December 2019, when Terhune shared his vision with college staff.

“The old Firebird Cafe that was sitting idle on the BCC campus was my initial impetus,” Terhune says. “Then, I considered the number of high school students that were probably not going to pursue a two- or four-year degree but could certainly benefit from a culinary arts program in their backyard. Lastly, Brunswick County restaurant owners need all the skilled help they can get, especially with all of our tourists and the growing population.”

Dr. Gene Smith, president of Brunswick Community College, says, “The renovation of the original Brunswick Community College cafeteria into the Douglas Terhune Center for Culinary Arts is critical to meeting the culinary and hospitality workforce needs of our service area. We are grateful for the generous donation to transform our cafeteria kitchen and serving area into a premiere teaching and learning kitchen.”

In addition, the original dining area is now a state-of-the-art meeting, dining and hospitality space that will be utilized for many different needs to educate our students and host various events on the BCC campus.

The inaugural class using the renovated learning space consists of students who are currently working in the food industry locally and are seeking to hone their skills. The students have been learning everything from stocks and broths, hors d’oeuvres, recipe conversion and sanitation and will start baking and pastries soon.

To learn more about the courses offered at the Douglas Terhune Center for Culinary Arts, call (910)755-7378.