Get a Look Inside Newly Renamed, Upgraded Groce Pépin Culinary Innovation Laboratory
After completing a four-month, $200,000 renovation, the kitchen space at the heart of Metropolitan College’s Programs in Food & Wine has been rechristened: the Groce Pépin Culinary Innovation Laboratory.
The designation honors acclaimed chef and cofounder of MET’s Certificate Program in the Culinary Arts, Jacques Pépin (Hon.’11) as well as 2017 MET Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Ralph H. Groce III (Questrom’82, MET’84), a major donor who took particular interest in growing the program and lab during 2018’s Culinary Arts 30th Anniversary Gala.
The kitchen’s first major renovation in decades brings with it more than just updates to countertops and appliances—the laboratory now features a state-of-the-art video monitor setup that will give students an up-close look at chef instructor’s handiwork whether they are in the back of the classroom or learning from home.
Take a behind-the-scenes look at the renovated Groce Pépin Culinary Innovation Laboratory in the below video from BU Today.
Fittingly, the first to put the benefits of the kitchen’s updates on display was Chef Pépin. As described in BU Today, the famed cooking impresario’s recent customary visit to campus for a classroom demonstration served as an unveiling of the new-look lab. The upgrades mean more students will have greater access to a culinary education, as the new high-definition display shows the same perspective on cooking technique whether studying online or in person.
Groce, who in 1984 earned his Master of Urban Affairs at MET, is global head of operations technology at Wells Fargo and serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board. As he told BU Today, he is passionate about helping cultivate the next generation of culinary artists through the redesigned kitchen space.
“Food shows us we have more in common that we might think, and I hope the Groce Pépin Culinary Innovation Laboratory is a place where that perspective becomes a reality for everyone who graces its doors,” Groce says.
Read more in BU Today.