Chef David Burke and Brookdale Community College announce new culinary scholarship

Attention all aspiring chefs! Chef David Burke and Brookdale Community College have announced a new scholarship to help train the next generation of chefs.

Beginning with the fall 2021 term, Chef Burke has agreed to contribute $5,000 to the Brookdale Foundation to establish a scholarship fund for Culinary & Hospitality Management students. Two scholarships will be awarded, one for a culinary student, one for a Hospitality Management student. Each scholarship will be for $2,500.00 per term (a total of $10,000 per academic year).

Chef Burke will cover the cost of an entire semester of Brookdale classes for one Hospitality Management student and one Culinary Arts student. In return, the students will work for Chef Burke in one of his local restaurants for six months. In addition, while they are working, they will also be paid.

The full-time students must be in the second semester and be in good academic standing with a 3.0 GPA in Career Courses. Brookdale will select the applicants, and Burke will make the final selections. So, not only will they get classroom instruction, but real world experience working under one of New Jersey’s best-known chefs.

The students will not only work in the kitchen, but as servers, as well.

“It is a great opportunity to work in the back and the front of the house at the same time,” said Chef Burke. “Watching the customer enjoy what you made, and see the results of the work you did in the back in real-time, helps to learn where mistakes can be made. Like why a cocktail fork is important or why a dish needs to be plated a certain way. It cuts out the separation of the front and back of the house and creates a respect for both sides.”

Chef Burke owns, among others, Drifthouse in Sea Bright, Red Horse in Rumson, and Orchard Park in East Brunswick.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.