Dear Lorna,

I’m Ty Laughlin, you might remember me from our meeting last month. I am currently a student attending Dover Bay Secondary where I will be graduating with a certificate that would hopefully bring me through one of the programs at VIU. I have already sent an application in respect to my seating for next year’s culinary arts program but I wish to have guidance on what I will need such as books and supplies.

I am also currently attending the cafeteria program at Dover Bay where I have been learning new skills in the kitchen. What inspired me to excel cooking is meeting the chef at school and getting to know more on how it is like to be one.

The main purpose is to find out what is needed to be done after registering a seating at VIU and what I will need before beginning the course. Will be very much appreciated if you could send back to me at: tylaughlin@hotmail.com



Thank you for your time and effort
Sincerely, Ty Laughlin

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Hi again Ty,

I see Admissions just mailed you a letter saying they either need your BC Personal Education Number or a transcript confirming you are about to complete Grade 12 graduation, OR you will need to write an assessment test.

Also you need to provide Admissions with proof you have FoodSafe Level 1 before they put you on the list for a seat in our Culinary program.

Once you provide proof of Gr 12 or pass the assessment AND you provide proof of Foodsafe, then they will put you on the list of people who are admitted and are waiting for a seat in an upcoming intake of the program. I do not know how soon you would be actually starting in the program, that depends on how many people are ahead of you. Right now the program starts each September, so it might mean waiting an extra year.

As for program costs and supplies: program costs are always updated on this link:
http://www.viu.ca/calendar/TradesAppliedTech/culinaryartsfees.asp

A list of supplies is given out by the head of the program a few weeks before the program starts, when the person has moved up the waitlist enough and been told by Admissions that they will get a seat in that September program intake. However the cost for the supplies is on the link above.

I hope this all makes sense. Let me know if you have more questions.
Lorna Millard Coordinator Advising Centre Vancouver Island University Telephone: (250) 740-6410 www.viu.ca/advising

My profession image

When I'm at the job I will have to be a team player and be very kind to the hungry folks because if they like the service they'll always come back for more. On the job I will be wearing a chefs hat and apron, possibly including pants and work shoes, and will have the equipment ready to go in the kitchen for anything that is needed to be cooked. If a custumer comes into my workplace I will greet them and present myself to show that I care for their hunger.

Tools of the trade

There is one thing that will always have to kept safe and that's the knives which would have to be bought on my own meaning that I will only use them in the kitchen at school. It can be hard to master a knife and never make a mistake like cutting your finger, which had happened to me not too long ago. A teacher at VIU will teach me everything that I need to know about knives, which makes me excited to even think about.

Getting actually started

I am soon graduating from Dover Bay and have already placed a V.I.U form in for a seating that I will hopefully get soon so that I could jump right in and start cooking like a real chef. After I receive news of my seating I will be placed at what they call "The lab kitchen" where I watch food be made and get to know more about foods in general. After I will be rotating stations and learning certain areas like pastry or meats. When I am finish the program I would get a certificate stating that I could work as a chef and I would be planning on working at a kitchen that needs me most and suits my qualities.

Typical day at work

Cooking is currently in-demand so a typical day at the job can be very excruciating and exhausting if it were to be a busy day. If I were to work as a cook I would need my equipment such as knives and clothing. Some places would allow me to work at my own pace but most likely be working at a fast pace, depending what type of job. I would also be doing alot of preparation at work and even possibly be working on a team so that we would beable to help eachother but it can be very stressfull working in a kitchen but that is something that doesnt bother someone like me.