From staff reports

The Technical College of the Lowcountry recently received a $50,000 gift from Palmetto Electric Trust to establish the Palmetto Electric Cooperative Lobby at the Culinary Institute of the South.

“We are truly grateful for the generous support from Palmetto Electric Trust and are delighted that the Palmetto Electric Cooperative name will greet everyone who enters the Culinary Institute of the South,” TCL President Dr. Richard Gough said in a release.

“The Culinary Institute of the South will supply a much-needed pipeline of trained culinarians that will strengthen and enhance our hospitality and tourism industry,” Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Berl Davis said. “This is the type of community impact we seek to encourage and support through our donations.”

The Culinary Institute of the South is currently under construction at the Buckwalter Place Commerce Park in Bluffton. The 29,000 square-foot best-in-class culinary training facility will accommodate more than 300 students and will feature six academic classrooms, two teaching kitchens, a baking lab, a lecture theater and a teaching restaurant. The Foodseum, an interactive museum, will preserve and bring to life the true story of Southern food.

The Institute will offer associate degrees and college certificates in Culinary Arts, Baking &amp; Pastry, and Hospitality/Tourism Management as well as a variety of continuing education and personal enrichment courses and seminars.

Students can begin culinary and hospitality classes now at the new culinary kitchen at the New River Campus and then enter advanced courses when the Institute opens in the fall of 2021. For more information, visit www.tcl.edu/culinary.

<em>From left, Chef Miles Huff, Dean, TCL Culinary Institute of the South; Berl Davis, President and Chief Executive Officer, Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc.; Dr. Richard Gough, President, Technical College of the Lowcountry; Tray Hunter, Vice President Marketing &amp; Public Relations, Palmetto Electric Cooperative Inc.; Mary Lee Carns, Vice President for Advancement, Technical College of the Lowcountry; Chef Jacqueline Orak, Department Chair and Sommelier, TCL Culinary Institute of the South. Submitted photo.</em>