TRACE at W Seattle and The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Seattle are pleased to announce an exciting partnership that will bring real-time access, experiences and funding to students seeking a career path in the culinary industry. The corporate, educational association of TRACE, The Art Institute of Seattle, and culinary students will be brought to life through collaborative, structured programming throughout 2013.
For TRACE and W Seattle, who require talented culinary individuals that are well-trained and ready to work in any number of culinary arts and management positions within the hotel and restaurant, this partnership will provide direct interaction with students for mentorships and to cultivate future employees.
The Art Institute of Seattle, part of The Art Institutes system of more than 50 schools, offers programs that include Associate degrees in Baking & Pastry and Culinary Arts, a Bachelor of Science in Culinary Arts Management, and diplomas in Art of Cooking and Baking & Pastry. This relationship will provide The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Seattle with additional recruitment and placement opportunities. The Art Institute of Seattle culinary students can receive scholarship funds, cook one-on-one with noted TRACE Chef de Cuisine, Steven Ariel and his pastry team, and work with Executive Chef, Ryan Loo, and the hotel’s banquet managers and staff.
A kick-off announcement for the partnership will be held Thursday, January 17, 2013 at TRACE. Celebrity chef Tiffany Derry, a 2003 graduate of the Art Institute of Houston, and a 2010 “Fan Favorite” contestant on Bravo television’s Top Chef, will be the guest of honor. Beginning in February 2013, events will include: quarterly dinners at Portfolio, the student-run restaurant at The Art Institute of Seattle, led by Academic Director, Chef Ian Mackay, that will incorporate Chef de Cuisine Steven Ariel; dinners at TRACE with students helping to produce the meals; internships at TRACE and W Seattle; culinary student competitions that will result in menus being featured at TRACE; culinary workshops** and cooking classes at The Art Institute of Seattle for students and the public; and individual donor opportunities. (**The workshops are noncredit bearing and do not transfer into any program offered at The Art Institute of Seattle.)
Elden Monday, President of The Art Institute of Seattle, is delighted with the partnership that will bring additional awareness to their culinary programs, create relevant career experiences for students and help raise student tuition funds. Says Monday, “Our alliance with TRACE and W Seattle is an ideal parity of brands that will bridge talent and opportunity. We look forward to engaging our faculty, alumni, student families, industry and governmental leaders and the community at large to support this endeavor to help realize the goals of our students.”
W Seattle’s General Manager, Tom Limberg, views the relationship as a great chance to simultaneously contribute to the local community and build a strong workforce for the hotel. Says Limberg, “We are leaders in the hospitality industry because we offer our guests high-quality services and relevant, exceptional dining encounters 24/7. Our success is due in large part to the skill sets and training of the people who come to work here. This relationship with The Art Institute of Seattle will allow our employees to give back and share their knowledge, provide our guests with interactive events, and ultimately, links us to capable, accomplished culinary professionals that we can hire.”
Thank you, TRACE, and congrats!