Student Activities and News

Forms for Current Students:

CCI Open Lab Information and Request
Service Learning Passport

Events

Cascade Culinary Institute students, the Culinary Club, and faculty have been busy with these events! See our Facebook and Instagram pages for current activities!

Upcoming  2024 Student Activities

• The CCI Culinary Club is currently planning for a Valentine’s Dinner fundraiser. Prospective guests should save the date for Friday, Feb. 9, 2024. Information will be emailed to the Elevation guest email list in the third week of January.
• Current CCI students are invited to lunch with the Coast Guard on March 6 2024.
• Faculty are busy planning class collaboration March events including a Wine and Charcuterie Pairing and a Butchery Showcase and Market. Information to come in mid-February 2024!
• The CCI Culinary Club is planning a trip in early April to the Pebble Beach Food and Wine show. Students will drive by van to the Monterey, California area where they will get to work with celebrity chefs!
• The COCC Foundation’s Meal of the Year is April 13. CCI students will be creating and serving plated desserts and participating in the meal service.
• High School students will be invited to collaborate with CCI students for a CCI-High School Competition in May.
• The CCI office is currently planning guest speakers for Winter and Spring terms.
• The CCI Career Fair will be in May 2024; details will be released by early March.
• A CCI student Mushroom Hunting local trip is scheduled for late May!

Past Activities:

• November 2023 Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser was a huge success! See 11/1/23 announcement.
• Elevation Restaurant Veterans Program Lunch, November 16, 2023.
• US Coast Guard Cooking Demonstration, November 15, 2023. See the Central Oregon Daily News story!
• Thank you Bent Coffee for the Latte Art workshops in November 2023.
• Anthony’s at the Old Mill generously donated an entire dinner to CCI for the Feast at the Old Mill! This community fundraiser dinner was October 17, 2023 and raised funds for Cascade Culinary Institute scholarships.
• The 22nd Annual Empty Bowls event took place on Sunday, October 29 2023 at COCC. Culinary students worked together to make a huge volume of soup for this NeighborImpact annual fundraiser that raises awareness of hunger. See the KTVZ news story!
• CCI Danish Exchange Program (2023-24): CCI welcomed friends and partners from Silkeborg, Denmark in May. Over the course of two special weeks of activities, Cascade Culinary Institute and College 360 students learned from each other. For three weeks in Summer 2023, a group of five CCI students visited their school and completed internships! Partnership/exchange years may vary.
• Valentines Dinner 2023 (Culinary Club fundraiser)
• Fermentation Workshop This nine-week fall Community Education non-credit series offered cheese making, kimchi, kombucha, vinegar, pickles, bread, and more.  Students studied under Julian Darwin, CCI Retired Chef & Andy Laursen of Windy Acres Farm, with additional guest speakers.
• Culinary Club Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser 2022 (see also Facebook post)
• NeighborImpact Fundraiser, Empty Bowls 
• Fall 2022 Culinary Club Activities included the Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser, community volunteer events, alumni establishment tours/tastings, and fun with a Pickleball Tournament!
• New CCI Student Orientation (CCI offers this, typically the Friday before fall term begins, each year. Details are emailed to enrolled students.)
• Lita Kilpatrick Celebration of Life, April 30, 2022. Lita was a passionate advocate during the creation of Cascade Culinary Institute. An endowed scholarship is also being created in Lita’s name.
• Sheri’s Hazelcream Challenge, April 27, 2022. Students competed for cash prizes sponsored by a local dairy substitute company. It was covered by two local news stations!
• Food and Wine Tasting, March 1, 2022. CUL 242 Charcuterie and Wine and Beverage and HM 160 Wine and Beverage Management teamed up to offer the community “action stations” where guests rotated through food and wine pairings/discussions.
• Valentine’s Day Dinner,  Wednesday Feb. 16, 2022. A Culinary Club fundraiser!
• Chocolate Bourbon Pecan and Chai Apple Thanksgiving Pies were for sale by the Culinary Club. See details
• “Fresh Vs. Frozen?” –  Ann Colonna of the OSU Food Innovation Center presented the latest science in the fresh vs. frozen debate. Thanks to the CUL 110 Culinary Foundations class for cooking the fish for the taste test at these events: Community Presentation was October 11, 2021 5:30pm Info flyer; Student Presentation was free) October 12, 2021 5:30pm Info flyer
• Hotel Tour of Best Western Premier Peppertree Inn and ZPizza Tap Room (February 2021) (see photo to the right!)
• Hyggekrog Danish Exchange Program – Pandemic Newsletter about all things hygge (Winter term 2021: Episode 1; Episode 2; Episode 3); (Fall 2021: Episode 4)
• PrepBend Tour (January 2021)
• Culinary Club – Outdoor Pizza Night and Costume Contest (October 2020)
• Graduation Car Parade at Cascade Culinary Institute (June 2020)
• Chefs Cycle CANCELED (due to Covid-19) (originally scheduled for June 23-25, 2020)
• Student Instagram Contest  (#cascadeculinarycontest) (spring term 2020)
• Danish Hygge Dinner (March 6, 2020)
• Interactive Culinary Learning Experience (Tapas) (February 20, 2020)
• Valentine’s Dinner (February 14, 2020)
• Midterm Buffet (February 12, 2020)
• Fred Harvey Dinner at Elevation (December 5-6, 2019)
• “Chopped Competition” CCI Fundraiser at Anthony’s at the Old Mill District (November-December, 2019)
• Thanksgiving Pie Fundraiser 2019 (November 2019)
• Culinary Danish Exchange (Summer 2019)

Cascade Culinary Institute in the News

• New Coast Guard Recruiting Method Aimed at COCC Culinary Students Central Oregon Daily, Nov. 15, 2023.
• It’s a floating restaurant: Coast Guard chef pays a visit, gives demonstration at COCC’s Cascade Culinary Institute KTVZ Nov. 15, 2023.
• Taste This! Cascade Culinary Institute’s Bakery Kiosk, Central Oregon Daily, Feb. 28, 2023
• ‘It’s like cooking for your family’: COCC Cascade Culinary Institute trains ‘Coasties’ for shipboard chef duties. KTVZ, Nov. 10 2022
• Get T-Day Pies, Support Culinary Students: Culinary Students are baking up Chai Apple and Bourbon Pecan pies for Turkey Day. Source Weekly, Nov. 2 2022.
• COCC Culinary Institute hosts a hazelnut challenge as student chefs compete, KTVZ, April 27, 2022
• COCC cooking competition highlights local milk substitute, Central Oregon Daily, April 27, 2022
• Culinary Instructor Selected for Arts-Meets-Agriculture Residency, Spring 2022
• Dining, Food Truck Open at Elevation, Source Weekly, April 6, 2022
• Culinary school teaches more than the craft of cooking, Bend Bulletin, September 2021
• With new name, COCC’s Nancy R. Chandler Lecture Series announces fall lineup, KTVZ, September 16, 2021
• High Desert Food & Farm Alliance Harvest Box fundraiser helps fund food access for all, KTVZ, September 9, 2021
• Elevation, the student-run restaurant on the COCC campus is now open for takeout, The Broadside, February 27, 2021
• COCC Culinary Training Merits Top Status from American Culinary Federation, COCC news, Winter 2021
• Culinary Cuisine Served from a Food Truck, Bend Bulletin, February 10, 2021
• Testing their Takeout Skills, The Source Weekly, January 20, 2021
• Cooking at Home with Chef Erickson, Bend Bulletin, May 7, 2020
• Passion Is Key Ingredient in Culinary Careers, Bend Bulletin, March 4, 2020
• Becerra’s Bistro on 6th offers great food, remarkable service in Redmond, Bend Bulletin, February 13, 2020
• Food on the Run, COCC Launches a Food Truck, The Source Weekly, December 24, 2019
• COCC ‘Chopped’ Winners Showcased at Anthony’s Seafood, The Source Weekly, December 11, 2019
• A little food for thought about how to get kids to eat healthier, KTVZ News Channel 21, December 5, 2019
• Hunting for chanterelles in Central Oregon’s restaurants, Bend Bulletin, October 17, 2019
• Cook Like a Chef (Series of instructional cooking videos), Bend Bulletin. These are older 2015 videos, but great!

Asparagus
Roasted chicken
Salted caramel
Zucchini tart
Rib eye steak
Potato salad
Baked ham
Chicken soup
Chicken and vegetable stock
Apple pie
Scrambled eggs
Hazelnut brittle
Mixed berry shortcake
Thanksgiving mashed potatoes
Vanilla sponge cake with simple syrup
Grilled salmon
Risotto with Renis Canal
Ground beef and burgers
Salad and vinaigrette