INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Indiana Pork Producers Association is sponsoring hands-on meat fabrication labs at Ivy Tech Community College and Central Nine Career Center that officials said are helping students build practical skills, while exploring careers in culinary arts, food production and the pork industry. 

In these labs, culinary students learn how to properly break down pork cuts, and understand how different cuts can be used in the kitchen and in their student-run food services, called Courses Restaurant, officials added.

Jeanette Merritt, Indiana Pork director of communications, told Farm World the hands-on experience strengthens students’ technical abilities, while also building appreciation for the versatility and value of pork in professional food preparation.

“Indiana Pork has had a long-standing partnership with Ivy Tech Culinary Center,” she said. “Through this partnership, we are able to supply pigs for the meat fabrication classes to gain hands-on butchery skills.”

Merritt said she is able to speak to the students, educating them about pork production and to talk them through proper cooking techniques: “The students are always incredibly receptive, and have amazing questions about pork.”

In addition, Indiana Pork sponsors sausage-making labs at Central Nine Career Center, which partners with Ivy Tech, providing high school students with the opportunity to learn the science and technique behind sausage production.

Merritt said the opportunity with Central Nine Career Center is new and part of an effort to promote work-based learning with culinary students: “Indiana Pork has made great strides with educating students going into careers in pork production, but we also have to focus on training that next generation of chefs, line cooks and restaurant owners.

“Career centers are perfect for those efforts as high school students spend half of their day in culinary training,” she added. “During the sausage-making lab at Central Nine, every student told me they intended to have a career in the culinary industry.”

Julie Scholl, Ivy Tech Community College executive director of marketing and communications, told Farm World the meat fabrication lab includes sausage-making equipment used as part of both the meat fabrication course and the garde manger course within the college’s program.

According to Ivy Tech’s School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, the garde manger class helps students develop skills in producing a variety of hot-served cold food products. Students prepare items appropriate for buffet presentation, including decorative pieces such as tallow, which is a rendered, purified form of animal fat, most commonly derived from beef or mutton; and ice sculptures.

Scholl said, “Indiana Pork does not sponsor the lab space or any certificates associated with the program. They do provide general financial support to the program, but that support is not tied to a specific room, course, or credential.

“Additionally, the lab and related coursework are not offered as stand-alone or one-time classes,” she added. “Students must be enrolled in the program and complete the required prerequisites before taking these courses.”

During these labs, Merritt said students gain experience grinding, seasoning and cooking pork, while learning about food safety and product development.

Through partnerships with educational institutions like Ivy Tech and Central Nine Career Center, she said Indiana Pork continues to support workforce development, while introducing students to the many ways pork plays a role in the food industry system.

“These programs give students a chance to connect classroom learning with real-world food production skills,” she said. “By supporting these labs, we’re helping students see the many career opportunities that exist within agriculture, culinary arts, and food processing.”

For more information about Indiana Pork and its educational outreach programs, visit: www.indianapork.org. For more information about Ivy Tech Community College’s School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management programs, visit: www.ivytech.edu under Academic Programs and scroll down to Culinary Arts/Hospitality Administration & Events.