Calgary’s Tastemarket culinary program serves up business skills

Not all young culinary workers begin their career paths with visions of Daniel Boulud stages and national restaurant accolades in their mind. Sometimes, can't a young person just dream of running a successful, small, independent eatery and turning a decent profit or developing a line of baked goods that gains a dedicated fan base? Of course they can, but it can be hard to find your stride in a Canadian food scene that is only becoming more competitive.

To help would-be culinary entrepreneurs, Calgary's Southern Alberta Institute of Technology is planning a new campus, the Tastemarket, to train students in the art – and business – of making it in the industry.

"Calgary is a vibrant city with incredibly innovative food and beverage establishments," explains Tom Bornhorst, the dean of SAIT's School of Hospitality and Tourism.

"This program will provide the necessary tools to future entrepreneurs and give them a leg up in a highly competitive industry."

Currently under construction, the 9,000-square-foot Tastemarket in downtown Calgary will include student-run concepts such as a charcuterie and wine bar, a patisserie and coffee shop and a food-product "incubator."

The Tastemarket is the latest in a long line of student-run concepts that include the Highwood dining room, the Market Place, 4 Nines Dining Centre and the Butchery on the main campus, and the Downtown Culinary Campus, which is one of the most popular spots to grab a quick, quality lunch in Calgary's core.

"From our research, we've seen a number of entrepreneurial programs that are only theoretical in nature. This program is definitely unique in Alberta," Mr. Bornhorst said.

"In fact, we are not aware of another program like this [in North America]. It's difficult to verify the extent of the hands-on learning out there and that is a hallmark of a SAIT education."

The program will offer 32 spots a year. While it's primarily targeted at graduates from SAIT's culinary-diploma programs, anyone with a minimum of three to five years of industry experience can also apply to the entrepreneurship program.

"I wish that they had this program available before I started my restaurant career," says Lam Pham, who graduated from the school's culinary-arts program in 2014 and now owns Pure Contemporary Vietnamese Kitchen and Bar.

"It definitely would have saved me from many mistakes and errors. Very expensive mistakes and errors."

This is exactly what the culinary entrepreneurship course is aiming to do: saving young, passionate people from the common pitfalls of running a business without experience, whether it's keeping track of finances and human resources, to branching off into the retail business.

"When I started my restaurant career, I thought that all it required was that I could cook," Mr. Pham says.

"I had to learn everything the hard way, and the funny thing was, at one point when I was struggling, I thought to myself, 'Why can't there be a course or a place I can learn all of this before opening my business?'"