It’s not like Monica, in “Friends.” Not like Jack, in “Three’s Company.” It’s hard, fast and, always something to do. It’s an Art.

Cerritos College offers certificates in Professional Baking & Pastry and Professional Chef’s Training Programs. Chef Michael Pierini is the instructor of Professional Baking & Pastry Program and Chef Ellis G. Robinson is the instructor for the Culinary Arts Program.

Robinson has been at Cerritos College since 1974, and made the Culinary Arts program into what it is now.

The kitchen has been remodeled with new equipment. Students serve their masterpieces of the kitchen to the students and faculty, for a price of course.

At the beginning, there was fairly low enrollment, mainly because this is an Art that’s not as much as respected as most Arts are. Now, in the last five years, enrollment really has been booming.

Students like Andrea Peaz joined the culinary, “Because it’s an Art to have the ability making people enjoy their food.”

And others see it as a career choice, like Daniel Hernandez comments, “I just did it [joined the program] to have the background to be a health inspector. It’s hard work, that’s why I don’t want to be a chef.”

Pierini comments, “the number one reason why they join is because they love it, they know it from the beginning, they have passion for it.”

It’s not for everybody, but if you do. You should have these in mind.* Have to have the personality for it,* Have to have the passion for it * Willing to learn and work hard.

“Like most courses students are all hype about enrolling, then a week or two they drop the course. On the flip side the not so motive students turn out to be the ones with the passion for it.”

Pierini encourages his students by reading quotes in the beginning of the course for example “Cooking is at once one of the simplest and most gratifying of the arts, but to cook well one most love and respect food.”-Craig Claiborn.

The Culinary Arts program at Cerrito College keeps in touch with its pupils and passed ones too.

“We keep in touch with almost most of our students, it’s a small industry and in circles.”

Pierini also encourage his students and others to get an education and work experience at the same time.

With the question of art, what is art? Whose to say what is or isn’t, but with of creating your own master piece, using food as your tools and give it a touch of class, it’s an art of it own.