Above: Precious Gee and Marcus Juanites. Photos: Rowan College at Burlington County
When Lumberton native Marcus Juanites was learning the basics of cooking, he decided to call his shot. Within two years of graduating with his cooking degree, he would be working in a Michelin restaurant. At least, that’s what he told his professor at Rowan College at Burlington County’s Culinary Arts program.
And two years out from graduating, that’s exactly what he’s doing – now working at Provenance in Philadelphia.
But just two years ago, Juanites was finishing up his finals at RCBC’s culinary school in Mt. Holly. His last class was a restaurant “rundown” led by program director, Chef Desmond Keefe.
Chef Keefe’s A La Carte class starts like any other culinary class: a day for vegetables, another for potatoes, another for meat and so on. But then the class becomes a fully functioning restaurant – and it’s open to the public. “We’re sold out for every seating,” says Keefe. “I even had a radio DJ call me once and ask if we do catering.”
At the student-run restaurant, a three-course menu is available for $25, or you can upgrade to the Chef’s Table and sit in the kitchen for $40. All the money is used to fund scholarships for culinary students.
Haitian-spiced pineapple upside-down cake topped with a rich caramel glaze
The menu rotates every three weeks. Keefe chooses a theme and students submit recipes. He chooses two for each category: appetizers, entrées and desserts. The students prepare service under Keefe’s direction to a sold-out dining room in the historic brick building in Mt. Holly. Each diner completes a survey after their meal, and the class goes over the feedback to continue improving.
“It’s a very ambitious class,” he says. “At the end of the day, they still have to follow recipes, and it has to be consistent because we’re serving the public. The guests have to get the same thing every time they order it.”
But the students also leave the program with hard-earned lessons that have nothing to do with technique, says Juanites.
“You control the food, the food doesn’t control you,” he says. “One of my professors, Christine Wendland, said that to me when I was really flustered about a dish I was making for a class assignment. I repeat that to my co-workers or line cooks I work with when they get flustered. It doesn’t matter what the ticket machine says, you’re in the driver’s seat.”
The students in RCBC’s Culinary Arts program range from recent high school graduates to military veterans to people changing careers, and they all receive a crash course in restaurant life.
The program starts with knife skills and cooking techniques, then students move on to learning different international cuisines and practice following recipes. In between, they take classes that review specific nutritional information, including macronutrients, vegetarian recipes and gluten-free techniques.
Keefe has been leading the Culinary Arts program for five years, passing on his 20 years of experience in the industry to students who are willing to take on the challenge.
That includes Precious Gee, who graduated from the program last month and was part of the RCBC team who won Mt. Holly’s 2025 Fire & Ice chili contest. Gee found her way into cooking during the pandemic, when she realized many of her neighbors were struggling to get by.
“I went to Sam’s Club for the first time. I created a membership and bought a lot of food,” she says. “I decided, let’s give back. Because a lot of these kids who are home, who got used to eating lunch at school are not getting that anymore. So why not do something if I can?”
Gee realized that people were loving her cooking, and that she could take something as normal as ingredients and turn them into a product people loved. She’s also a self-proclaimed picky eater and saw a career in cooking as a way to help create good recipes for her fellow picky eaters.
So she enrolled at RCBC and started her culinary career, landing in Chef Keefe’s A La Carte class this spring, where she let her self-expression shine in her dinner courses. “I like the plate to show my personality,” she says. “Which is bubbly and fun. I’m all about flavor and putting different colors together.”
Now she’s a graduate, but she’s not knocking on doors to find her place in a kitchen. Instead, she’s following a different path.
“I’m going to open a food truck,” she says. “First, I’m taking some time off, then I’m going to get my business degree from Rowan University. And maybe one day, I’ll pull up right on this campus with my food truck.”
A Final Showcase
Last month, a group of students at RCBC’s Culinary School began preheating ovens and prepping vegetables inside their Mt. Holly classroom – which is a fully- equipped, restaurant-grade kitchen. It was finals day for their A La Carte class, taught by Chef Desmond Keefe.
Chef Keefe
But this isn’t your normal final – there’s no exam or essay. It’s more of a Top Chef situation, where each student prepares a portion of the 6-course dinner served to about a dozen surprise guests, including their professor.
The class chooses a cuisine to focus on. This year, it was Haitian. And they each take a course: appetizer, entrée or dessert. Then they develop their recipe, and on the day of the final, everyone works together to prepare and plate the full menu.
This year’s class featured Haitian Potato Salad, made with eggs and beets; Soup Aux Pois, with beans and savory seasonings; Haitian Griot, marinated and then fried pork shoulder; Haitian Poul Nan Sos, chicken marinated with Haitian spices; Haitian Stewed Red Snapper, snapper simmered in a creole-style sauce; and Haitian-Spiced Pineapple Upside-Down Cake, topped with a rich caramel glaze.
When it was time for their course to be served, each student stood in front of their guests and described their dish, which was served in a tasting portion. The guests, with a grading form next to their plates, scored the dishes on presentation, portion size, creativity and flavor. Those sheets will make up 10% of their final grade, the remaining 90% decided by Chef Keefe.
