Kitchen upgrade at Lafayette's Career Center to help prepare students for culinary careers

There are many factors in egg production, light, housing, diet and health of the chicken. Sunlight once signaled the hen to lay — lack of sunlight in the fall and winter signaled her to cease laying. Now scientifically controlled lights keep chickens producing all the time.The term "pecking order" frequently used to describe status, actually comes from a natural chicken behavior. Chickens especially the light breeds can develop extremely aggressive behaviors. So as a preventive measure some people trim the birds' beaks with a special hot cutting blade which cauterizes the beak. The process is not unlike clipping a dog's nails or trimming a horse's hooves. The hens can still eat and drink.

An old cafeteria is getting a new life as an industrial kitchen and lab space for Lafayette Parish students who are aspiring culinary workers.About $1.5 million in renovations are underway by Rudick Construction to transform the old cafeteria space at the W.D. and Mary Baker Smith Career Center into an industrial kitchen with classrooms, lab space and a café area.The parish school system has had a long-standing program for students interested in culinary careers at the Career Center, housed in a home economics-style classroom space with electric stove ranges found in most home kitchens."Right now, the program is limited because the existing space was never set up to be a cooking kitchen area," said Kyle Bordelon, the school system's facilities planning director. "Once, they move into the new area, they'll have a full commercial-grade kitchen, learning on equipment used in commercial restaurants to give them an advantage in their careers."

Students at the Career Center attend career-focused classes, including cosmetology and carpentry, and become prepared for industry-based certification in their fields of interest.About 24 students are currently enrolled in the Career Center's culinary arts program, said Herb Menard, the program's instructor.The new kitchen and lab space will provide students the level of training their new employers will expect, Menard said."Our business partners want people who have experience with industrial equipment," he said.