BOCES Culinary Program to Launch at Tilly Foster Educational Institute

The Culinary Arts Program at the Putnam/Northern Westchester Board of Cooperative Educational Services will move to Tilly Foster Farm in Putnam County in September.

Culinary Arts is one of BOCES' most popular programs — and not just with students! Its restaurant, the Educated Palate, has been offering four luncheons per school year on the Yorktown campus.

Reservations must be booked months in advance and the food — this reporter speaks from experience — is fabulous.

“We are excited to welcome BOCES as a partner and our first Putnam-based institution of higher education,” said County Executive MaryEllen Odell in the announcement. “Through this partnership we are putting an under-used county asset to work in multiple ways. Rental income will serve to offset the costs of maintaining and preserving this beautiful historical property. In addition, BOCES’ Culinary Arts program, as well as future programs, including environmental science and veterinary science, will give our children greater educational and career options right here in Putnam.”

The county and BOCES have finalized a lease agreement to use the farm, now to be known as the Tilly Foster Educational Institute. Under the 3-year lease agreement, effective immediately, BOCES will begin accessing the Lodge (Building 8) to set up kitchen facilities and classroom space in advance of the Culinary Arts program commencement and full occupancy date of beginning of September.

In late July, prior to signing the lease, PNW BOCES staff took a final walk-through of Tilly Foster Farm.

“Everyone was tremendously impressed with all that had been accomplished since the walk through just a month ago,” said Cathy Balestrieri, BOCES Tech Center Director. “All of the effort put forth by Putnam County in readying the facility for Tech Center students in September was clearly evident. The attention to detail, the marrying of function and aesthetics, were impressive and went beyond expectations. The Tech Center culinary program at Tilly Foster Educational Institute will be delivered in a state-of- the-art facility! Putnam County is to be recognized and congratulated in moving forward this exciting, new collaboration.”

Students in the Culinary Arts program learn fundamental cooking and baking/pastry arts skills; safety, sanitation, and basic nutrition; management principles of menu planning, purchasing, culinary service, sanitation; front-of-the-house hospitality training and culinary business concepts; and applied cultural, English, and technical skills. Students operate a restaurant, cater functions, and intern in the School-to-Work program.

The idea of using Tilly Foster was born in March 2014, when the PNW BOCES Tech Center began a new partnership with the Putnam County Department of Highways and Facilities to provide construction skills training to Carmel School District’s 9th and 10th graders in Putnam.

“The PNW BOCES Tech Center is implementing a comprehensive marketing and recruitment plan to let students know about the new program in Putnam,” said Balestrieri.

The plan is to offer a state of the art culinary program for high school students with placement in local internships. In addition, the PNW BOCES CTE Continuing Education Department will be offering culinary programs for adults in the BOCES plan for the future is to expand the CTE programs that are available at Tilly Foster Educational Institute to include an environmental science program and to relocate the current veterinary science program from Yorktown to Tilly Foster.