A Vegas institution: Culinary program added to Art Institute of Las Vegas

Lynn Goya

Wednesday, July 31, 2002 | 8:25 a.m.

Lynn Goya is a free-lance writer and author of the book "Fun With the Family in Las Vegas" (Globe-Peqout Press). Reach her at lgoya@lvcm.com

The Art Institute of Las Vegas, founded in 1983 by interior designer Nancy Wolff as the Interior Design Institute, has recently added culinary arts to its slate of media, design and graphic associate and bachelor degree programs.

Relocated this year into a new 45,000-square-foot building in Green Valley's Corporate Center, one of Nevada's newest colleges specializes in hands-on education in some of the hottest commercial arts and science careers in the country.

The institute offers associate and bachelor's degrees in arts, science and applied science including Drafting Technology and AutoCAD, Media Arts and Animation, Culinary Arts, Multimedia and Web Design, Graphic Design, and Interior Design.

"We don't take a cookie-cutter approach to education," Steven E. Brooks, president of the Art Institute, says. The parent corporation, Art Institutes International, traditionally acquires related colleges in various cities, then expands upon their existing programs.

With 24 schools nationwide, the institute allows each location to specialize according to local demand and expertise.

The Design Institute came with a strong interior design and drafting focus. Interior design and drafting is a high profile business in Las Vegas because of the strong housing market as well as the lure of designing Strip properties.

But as Las Vegas grows, there is an increasing demand for other commercial art services.

Since the school was acquired in April 2001, the curriculum has expanded to include animation, Web design, multimedia and, most recently, culinary arts. Attracting Chef Raimund Hofmeister, who heads the culinary program that opened in early July, from Washington, D.C., was a real coup for the institute.

One of only 56 Certified Master Chefs worldwide, Hofmeister was part of a four-member team that won the World Cup Culinary competition for the United States in 1986.

But Hofmeister's highest accolade may have been for a job that he didn't do. Hofmeister had long been one of Ronald Reagan's favored chefs.

"Reagan was as down-to-earth as they come," Hofmeister says. But when Reagan offered Hofmeister the job as White House chef, Hofmeister declined.

"It would have been a 30-percent reduction in salary," he says.

Enticed to Las Vegas with a new $1 million kitchen complex and the chance to head up a new program, Hofmeister had no qualms about the job.

"For me, coming to Las Vegas is like coming home," he says. "Some of the world's greatest restaurants are here.

"The world's greatest chefs are here too, including the nation's second highest concentration of certified master chefs. If you love the culinary arts, this is a great place to be right now."

The first session began in early July and added 18 students to the approximately 400 current institute student roll. Directors expect that the culinary program will eventually boost future enrollment to as high as 750.

Currently, students are flocking to the multimedia and animation programs.

"It is all about geometry," Academic Director Francisco "Paco" Virella says. Animation techniques are all built around wire frames that the animator has to first illustrate.

"But studios are tired of aliens," he says. "They won't even look at aliens. The industry is looking for new ideas and although the industry is predominantly male it is the women who are coming up with those."

The institute is making its presence known as a corporate citizen by reaching out to the community to support the local school district. Middle and high school teachers can sign up for free two-day workshops in Adobe Illustrator I and II and Photoshop Illustrator I and II.

"The school district bought new computers and computer programs, but the teachers were telling us that they didn't know how to use them," Sally Palmer, director of student services, says.

Reaching high school students with a penchant for art is also on Palmer's agenda. Early each summer, the institute lets high school juniors and seniors get a taste of the institute experience during a three-day workshop where students spend a half day in each program.

"We offer a more focused program with a different kind of atmosphere for folks more artistic in nature," Terri Clark, director of human resources, says.

The small size of the school facilitates communication between staff, faculty and students.

"Students feel they can talk to us," Palmer says. "It is the little things we give students that can totally change their lives."

She remembers one student who had been on welfare who now has bought a home, but at one point needed a $20 loan to buy a bus pass.

"If she hadn't felt that she could talk to me, we wouldn't have known," Palmer says. "She might have simply failed to show up to class and we would never have known why.

"It is the little things that we can give students that can totally change their lives -- and that is what makes it all worthwhile."