Vendeville is named Savannah Tech’s 2012 Instructor of the Year

SAVANNAH – Chef Jean Yves Vendeville, department head of the Culinary Institute at Savannah Technical College has been selected as the College’s 2012 Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Education honoree.

“I highly recommend Chef Jean-Yves Vendeville for the Technical College System of Georgia’s 2012 Rick Perkins Award of Excellence in Technical Instruction,” said Dr. Kathy Love.“Chef Vendeville has brought his international experiences, including his specialties of pastries and desserts making, into the classroom and continues to convey the art of professional culinary techniques to his students. His leadership abilities are not only confined to his classroom and industry relationships. He has established an outstanding rapport with the culinary communities in our service area.”

The Perkins Award honors technical education’s most outstanding instructors. The award has been an ongoing statewide program since 1991 and the recipients are technical college instructors who make significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in their fields.

Under Vendeville’s leadership, the enrollment for the culinary arts program has increased 130 percent since 2008. Now, there are more than 200 enrolled with new classes offered. This spring he opened another teaching kitchen in Effingham, Ga. Vendeville has assembled a top-notch team of faculty, who has each earned national American Culinary Federation (ACF) certification under his leadership. He has embedded many aspects of sustainability into the program including an on-campus organic vegetable garden, an herb garden, and a composting site.

“That the students be successful in the culinary arts field is part of my goal,” said Vendeville. “That the students learn from me and perhaps someday even surpass me as leaders and innovators, entrepreneurs and instructors in the culinary profession is the rest of my mission. I can best accomplish that here, at Savannah Technical College, where I have support and the structure for success.”

According to his committee chair, the Culinary Institute of Savannah, offering ACF-accredited diploma and degree programs in culinary arts, is the “best in the U.S.A.,” and it has gone “well over and above the standards and expectations for a technical college teaching facility.” The committee recommended that the program receive the maximum accreditation time of seven years, when the average is three years.

Vendeville was recently named Chef Educator of the Year by the Low Country Chapter of the ACF. He has led student teams to two consecutive ACF Southeast Regional Championships – in 2010 in the Hot Food Team competition and in 2011 in the Knowledge Bowl competition. Vendeville recently achieved his ACF Lifetime Certification as an Executive Pastry Chef. He also holds a Lifetime Certification as an Executive Chef from the Chef Association of America.

He is developing his first book, entitled Croquembouche: The Art and Technique. His book will focus on pastry and desserts, prepared in traditional French technique. It will include 250 color photographs and recipes of his creations. His book is slated for publishing this year by Taylor and Francis of London and will be distributed internationally.

Additional STC Rick Perkins Award nominees include: Roberta     Richards (Adult Education), Susan     Pinkston (Business and Technology), Lester     Wiggins (Industrial Technology) and Asha     Anumolu (Health Services).

The state Perkins Award winner serves as an ambassador for technical education in Georgia and must have made significant contributions to technical education through innovation and leadership in his or her field of instruction. The winner must also exemplify excellence and a commitment to the mission of the TCSG. The winner of this award will carry the title of the TCSG Instructor of the Year and is announced during the annual GOAL program.

Savannah Technical College serves coastal Georgia with quality, market-driven technical education with campus locations in Savannah, Effingham and Liberty Counties. Serving more than 4,500 credit students each semester, Savannah Tech offers nearly 100 different instructional programs in Business and Technology, Public Service, Industrial Technology, and Health Sciences in addition to Adult Education classes, industry-specific training and continuing education. The College serves as an economic and community development partner for the region, offering corporate and customized training and assessment programs for business and industry. The College is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award the associate degree.

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For More Information Contact: Amy Shaffer, APR 912.443.5512 ashaffer@savannahtech.edu