Culinary Arts Program Becomes Destination Spot for All Who Love Food

As Middle Tennessee continues to experience unprecedent growth and Nashville proper cements its legacy as a global destination, many are asking themselves: where do we want to eat?

Before that question can be answered, you must ask who will cook and prepare the food?

For that question, the Randy Rayburn School of Culinary Arts has the answer: Nashville State’s culinary students and graduates.

Led by dedicated chefs and professionals, the culinary school focuses on preparing students for life behind the line.

“Culinary being what it is, is highly experiential learning. It fits our students well,” Dr. Paul Brennen, director of the culinary arts program said.

“It gives them the chance to learn the theory side and then turn right around and go in the kitchen and see it, feel it, taste it, make it.”

Teaching both the theory and the practice to students with wildly varied experiences is a team of highly trained and experienced instructors.

• Chef Jessica Collins: Chef Collins serves as Pastry Chef at Conrad Nashville, as well as an instructor. She graduated in 2004 from Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS with AAS in Culinary Arts and Food and Beverage Management. And is a of Member of Les Dames d' Escoffier.
• Chef Emily Lewis: Chef Lewis is a pastry chef who serves as a full-time instructor. Before joining Nashville State, Chef Lewis worked in baking and pastry at D'Andrews Bakery, Richland Country Club, Liberty Common, and Ken's Artisan Bakery. She is a graduate of Nashville State with an A.A.S. in Culinary Arts and an A.O.S. in Baking & Pastry Arts from the Culinary Institute of America.
• Chef Patricia Marzella: Chef Marzella is full-time faculty and also runs her own culinary company called Nutrisha & Adventure Cooks, which features culinary nutrition and classes, private chef events and seasonal pop-ups. She graduated from Nashville State and holds a Bachelors in Nutrition and Food Science from Middle Tennessee State University.
• Chef Bianca Morton: Chef Morton is a Nashville native and has been involved in various food service venues in the greater Nashville and Atlanta area. She is a culinary graduate of the Art Institute of Atlanta. She has always loved the idea of serving and reaching people with food. At Nashville State, Chef Morton has found a home with a focused and intentional food-based mission in the community. 
• Chef Nicole Roning:  With a degree in nutrition from Texas A&M University, Chef Roning started her professional career in restaurant management and transferred those skills into teaching secondary culinary arts for 21 years. She has also worked at the Metro Health Department as a restaurant health inspector and as a program manager with Jones Lang Lasalle.  
• Chef Jamika Pessoa-Smith: Chef Pessoa-Smith is an instructor who graduated from the Art Institute of Atlanta. Before entering television and media, she was the owner of Life of the Party Catering and Personal Chef Service, where she worked for several athletes and entertainers after having worked at the 5-star, Ritz Carlton (Buckhead) Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Chef Paul Brennen, Program Director, Ph.D.: Chef Brennen is a World Certified Master Chef who studied at some on the top post-secondary institutions in the country culminating in his earning his doctorate of education degree. He has provided training to top chefs throughout the United States at such institutions as the Breakers Resort on Palm Beach and the Grand Hotel on Mackinaw Island and other globally recognized establishments.

The program, accredited by the American Culinary Federation, is dedicated to training a new generation of great chefs and, like the city and region it serves, has become a destination for anyone interested in either making their professional mark in the culinary arts or wanting to expand their skills for personal reasons.

One such chef that has left his mark at Nashville State and throughout Nashville is Chef Marcio Florez who owns and has been operating the popular Peruvian food truck, The Inka Trailer. Earlier this year, Chef Florez and a partner opened Limo Pervuvian Eatery on Fatherland Street in East Nashville.

After raising a family and having careers in finance and the automotive industry, husband and wife Jonathan and Gwendolyn Greer came to Nashville State to study culinary arts and thought, “It would be fun doing that together.”

Even in such a hot culinary market, “Come to school and get your degree,” Chef Brennen said. “Not having that culinary degree can be the difference in getting the job you want and not even having the opportunity to interview for it.”

Culinary Arts A.A.S. graduate Marietta Wright, who just walked in the Spring Commencement, befriended award-winning chef Deb Paquette while working at the Nashville State Foundation’s annual Tennessee Flavors tasting event.

By the end of the event, Wright asked Chef Paquette if she was hiring, “got her card and within weeks I applied, interviewed and got the job.”

Wright has been working at etch on Demonbreun Street in downtown Nashville.

Chef Brennen said of the Randy Rayburn School of Culinary Arts at Nashville State, “Come see us. The light on the front porch is always on.”