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Culinary Academy

Employers interested in learning more about this program or the inmates who completed the course should email the DOC at ra-contactdoc@pa.gov.

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Since its implementation in 2003, the Department of Corrections' Culinary Academy has trained almost 300 inmates in basic food service skills to prepare them for jobs following their release.

This 10-week program provides intensive instruction in food handling and food preparation skills needed for employment in the food service industry.

Students in the Culinary Academy:

  • Develop basic skills for preparing, soups and stocks, starches, vegetables and proteins
  • Learn essential techniques in bread baking, cake baking and decorating
  • Are selected through a competitive program that requires a high school diploma or GED
  • Receive a ServSafe Certificate

Graduates are now working as line cooks, prep cooks, kitchen managers and chefs at a variety of restaurants and institutions. The main Culinary Arts Program for male inmates is located at the DOC’s Training Academy in Elizabethtown. SCI Waymart and SCI Muncy also runs a culinary program.

Muncy's Kitchen

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On June 14, 2018, SCI Muncy held an open house for its newly-established Restaurant Trades vocational program, at which an extensive cross section of staff enjoyed an array of homemade cookies made from scratch by the eight culinary students.

Mirroring that of SCIs Camp Hill and Waymart, the students must meet specific requirements to be considered for the program, after which the students are on a probation period and must pass the ServSafe test to continue.

The hands-on learning is sequentially structured to cover basic kitchen equipment safety, stocks and sauces, pan sautéing, baking and much more. 

SCI Muncy also will incorporate a restaurant hospitality component and cake decorating to the curriculum.

The first round of students were given the task of naming the culinary space, and they called it: "Second Chance Café"