New Richland One culinary arts wing wins prestigious design award

December 1, 2020

The new culinary arts wing recently added to Heyward Career and Technology Center was selected for a design award from the Columbia chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

The impressive facility, which includes a culinary arts classroom, kitchen, lab, serving station, walk-in freezer and courtyard, provides state-of-the-art equipment rivaling that of professional restaurants and food service venues.

Heyward Principal Dr. Sherry Rivers sees the huge advantage that it will provide to her students, who will learn all aspects of hosting an event from planning the menu to serving the customers.

“The skills and certifications students will receive from being trained at the new facility will prepare them for a wide variety of careers in the hospitality and tourism industry,” said Dr. Rivers. “Each component of our new culinary arts wing was designed with students in mind. The culinary kitchen provides three different workstations that include specialized equipment which will improve the quality of instruction for our students. It also provides technology that allows students to observe teacher demonstrations via large monitors. This facility will open many doors that give our students a competitive edge which propels them into a bright future!”

Dr. Rivers says the new facility will be available in the future for rental to the public for community events.