17 May 11–17, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Appetite for Instruction Dallas College sets the table to feed the city’s rapidly growing dining industry. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS T he new restaurant Komodo on the edge of Deep Ellum is liquid eyeliner and a tight black corset. Every- thing at this Miami-born restaurant is seductive, bordering on intimidating — even the long, red-shimmering walk to the unisex bath- rooms. With hip-hop bass just below club volume and VIP-level service at every table, it was made for only the most-coifed Insta- gram feeds. Inside, through the oversized wooden doors — held open by a doorman — just past the floor-to-ceiling wine racks is a Peking duck-frying station. Fourteen crispy, cop- per-red fowl hang from metal hooks in a perfect line. Past those are several more kitchens, including a sushi station. Every seat at the wide oval cocktail bar is taken. The dining room is packed, and reserva- tions are required weeks out, even on a Tuesday. A quick headcount tallies about 50 workers in the kitchens and on the floor, and that’s just the ones who are visible. E arlier that day in northwest Dallas, Daniel Alvarenga was wearing a but- ton-down shirt under a sports coat as he stood at the edge of a dining room, scanning the scene. He enrolled in the culi- nary and hospitality career path in high school after making his mom breakfast one day and seeing the joy it brought her. He simply loves making people happy. He dreams of having his own little restaurant one day. But for now, at 17, he’s enrolled in the cu- linary program at Dallas College, or in local parlance “El Centro,” a reference to the original location downtown. Alvarenga is also working at the Ritz Carlton restaurant LAW. Later this year he’ll move over to John Tesar’s new spot, Knife Italian, when it opens at the hotel. This was the last service at Dallas Col- lege’s weekly lunch created and run by stu- dents: from table decorations to seating arrangements and, of course, any mother sauces on the menu. Each week the students rotate roles, and this time around Alvarenga is the maitre’d. About a dozen other students — some in chef hats, some refilling waters — buzz around. The chef de cuisine works the room, going from table to table talking about his menu. It’s all spot on. And at $15 a plate, it’s not only a stellar deal but a glimpse into the future. In late 2019, Dallas College took over this 50,000-square-foot culinary space with 10 kitchens, six classrooms and a restaurant. It had been the home base for Le Corden Bleu until its closing in 2017. (The France-based culinary college shuttered all its campuses across the U.S. at the time.) While Dallas College still has the lauded El Centro campus downtown, this extension on Webb Chapel Road at Interstate 635 al- lows the school to reach more students north of Dallas, expand enrollment and gain some much-needed elbow room. In March 2020, just before the pandemic blasted the restaurant industry, Steve DeShazo, the se- nior director of workforce industry and workforce inquiries at Dallas College, told The Dallas Morning News the new space would allow enrollment to grow from 100 graduates a year to between 350 and 500. Given the explosive growth of the local culi- nary scene, the timing was like a fluffy, tall souffle: perfect. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the employment of chefs and head cooks is projected to grow 15% from 2021 to 2031, “much faster than the average for all occupations.” The BLS projects more than 24,000 new openings for chefs and head cooks each year over the next decade across the country. The Dallas area is experiencing the na- tion’s largest year-over-year percentage in- crease in employment. Dallas, Plano and Irving are up 5.1%, and Fort Worth and Ar- lington are up 4.9%. The next-fastest-grow- ing market is the Miami area at 4.8%. Major restaurant groups from New York, Las Vegas and Miami are opening upscale restaurants and lounges in the Dallas area, all with weeks-long waitlists: Carbone, Sadelle’s, Le Neta, Crown Block and Ko- modo to name just a few. But these standalone restaurants are a drop in the bucket compared to hotel open- ings. JW Marriott just debuted a Nathan Hunsinger Student Daniel Alvarenga ( left) talks with chef instructor Patrick Stark about how he will manage the last Dallas College lunch this school year. | CITY OF ATE | t Dish >> p18
