The first crop of Vancouver Community College (VCC) students arrive this week to start work in an innovative kitchen space located in the Save-On Meats building at 43 West Hastings Street.
The Vancouver Incubator Kitchen is a partnership between Vancouver Community College, Mark Brand Inc., Vancity Credit Union, and the City of Vancouver to help prepare budding young chefs for the realities of the working world.
The kitchen is designed to provide hands-on training for VCC culinart arts students, support food business development, and provide free or low-cost access to commercial kitchen space for community organizations.
“This project is a culmination of three years of partnerships and countless trials,” said Mark Brand, owner of Save on Meats, in a press release on Thursday. "I'm extremely proud of its impact to date and with the formalized incubator we're stacked with community applications. The future is bright."
With the installation of state-of-the-art kitchen equipment in a renovated space on the ground floor of Save On Meats, the dedicated kitchen facility will meet a wide range of community needs.
In the next phase, Save On Meats will be seeking tenants for the business incubation component of project. In addition, community organizations will soon be accessing the kitchen for non-profit, community-based activities such as healthy cooking workshops, and training in canning, and preserving fresh food.
“This innovative incubator kitchen will serve as… [a] learning environment where students can interact with industry professionals, community members, and non-profit organizations,” said Irene Young, VCC Interim President. “This partnership provides an incredible opportunity for us to expand our culinary programming and promote job growth while supporting community groups and emerging entrepreneurs.”
