People interested in careers in the culinary field have an opportunity to train this fall by applying now to The Culinary Institute of Montana at Flathead Valley Community College.

For consideration, aspiring chefs may pick up an application at the Admissions Office inside Blake Hall, call 756-3846 or complete an application online at www.culinaryinstituteofmontana.com. A priority deadline to apply is May 3.

At the institute, students learn entry, basic and advanced technical skills in food preparation, service and management. Along with jobs as personal and professional chefs, this training opens careers in retail and wholesale food sales, food styling, photography, writing, catering, recipe testing and bar management.

Instructor Hillary Ginepra leads the program. Certified as a culinary educator through the American Culinary Federation, Ginepra brings to students her varied experience working for the prestigious Calphalon Culinary Center in Chicago, the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont and The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago.

Before joining the college in 2005, Ginepra operated her own catering and personal chef business for private clients and yachts in the World Trade Center Marina in New York City and worked with numerous restaurants and caterers in New York, Chicago and the Flathead Valley.

Ginepra was trained at New York’s Natural Gourmet Cooking School, the only chef training program in the United States focused on preparing whole foods for wellness.

Chef Howard Karp, another FVCC culinary instructor, draws on nearly 50 years of culinary industry experience. A former director of food and beverage operations at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, Karp trained at three five-star hotels in Switzerland.

He later taught at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and the Western Culinary Institute in Portland, Ore. His former clients included U.S. presidents, Britain’s Prince Andrew, foreign dignitaries and SuperBowl commissioners.

For consideration for the culinary institute, applicants first must apply and receive acceptance to FVCC. Students then apply to the institute and receive acceptance before registering for classes.

The program has limited student capacity with spaces filled as available. For more information, call 756-3846, or visit www.culinaryinstituteofmontana.com.