Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES has named Chef Chrissy Conklin its new Culinary Arts instructor at the LoGuidice Educational Center, announcing the appointment on October 9, 2026. Conklin brings nearly a decade of culinary industry experience to the role—and a personal history with the institution, having completed the BOCES Culinary Arts program at the Hewes Educational Center while in high school. For her, the position is a chance to combine two enduring passions: cooking and education.
A Culinary Journey Comes Full Circle
Conklin's path back to BOCES is a story the institution itself frames as coming full circle. She first entered the world of professional cooking not as a chef but as a Career & Technical Education student, learning the fundamentals of the trade in the same regional program she will now lead from the instructor's side of the kitchen. That student-to-teacher arc gives her an insider's understanding of the program she now shapes. As the local Post-Journal reported in its October 24 coverage, she is now sharing her passion for cooking and education with the next generation of culinary professionals.
From Culinary Institute to Farm-to-Fork
Her professional résumé stretches well beyond the classroom. Conklin originally set her sights on opening a bed and breakfast, but after attending the Culinary Institute of America, her career carried her to Houston, Texas, where she worked at a farm-to-fork restaurant. There, she built a wide-ranging skill set: cooking techniques, South American and Mediterranean flavor profiles, creating specials, and the demanding hands-on work of butchering and processing meat and seafood. The farm-to-fork setting also grounded her in ingredient sourcing—an appreciation for where food comes from before it ever reaches the pan.
Shaping Future Chefs with Real-World Skills
In her new role, Conklin intends to translate that industry background directly into student learning. Her plans include teaching ingredient appreciation and sourcing, passing along the practical butchery and processing skills she developed professionally, and simulating the fast-paced environment of a professional kitchen so students learn what it takes to work as part of a team under heat and pressure. She is candid with students about the trade's demands. "The hospitality industry is early mornings, late nights, holidays, and weekends," she said. "The hospitality industry is equally rewarding and demanding. Make sure you love it!"
Embracing the CTE Path
Conklin's return is also a vote of confidence in Career & Technical Education itself. Having experienced the CTE model as a student before building an industry career, she represents the alternative pathway the program offers to young people who learn best by doing. Her presence in the classroom gives current students a working example of where the program can lead—into professional kitchens, across the country, and eventually back to teach the next class of cooks.
Chef Conklin's Experience: A Recipe for Student Success
The table below maps each element of Conklin's professional background to the corresponding learning she plans to bring to BOCES students, showing how her industry history becomes curriculum.
| Professional Experience or Skill | Planned Student Learning at BOCES |
|---|---|
| Completion of the BOCES Culinary Arts program at the Hewes Educational Center as a high school student | Firsthand understanding of the CTE student experience, informing how she teaches and mentors in the same program model |
| Nearly a decade of culinary industry experience, including work at a farm-to-fork restaurant in Houston | Teaching ingredient appreciation and sourcing, drawing on her focus on where ingredients come from |
| Butchering and processing meat and seafood | Passing along the same hands-on butchery and processing skills to students |
| South American and Mediterranean flavor profiles, plus creating specials | Exposure to diverse flavor traditions and menu development as part of culinary training |
| Working in professional kitchen environments | Simulating a fast-paced professional kitchen so students learn teamwork under heat and pressure |
A New Era for BOCES Culinary Arts
BOCES culinary students will benefit from a curriculum enriched by Chef Conklin's extensive industry experience, particularly in farm-to-fork practices, butchery, and global cuisines. Readers can watch for future BOCES culinary program descriptions or student project showcases reflecting advanced butchery skills, diverse global menus, or farm-to-table initiatives as the earliest measurable signs that her industry background is taking root in the classroom.
