By Randy Savoie,
BCL New Orleans

New Orleans Job Corps Center Culinary Arts trainees toured Bayona today – one of the city’s top ten restaurants in a town known for its exquisite fine dining.

Bayona was featured as one of Restaurants & Institutions magazine’s 1996 Ivy Award winners and received “5 Beans”, the highest rating, from the New Orleans “Times Picayune.” Most recently, Bayona was voted #1 Restaurant in New Orleans in a poll of 29,000 readers of Gourmet magazine.

Bayona, a true New Orleans gem, is located in the city’s historic French Quarter where world renowned Chef Susan Spicer’s menu serves a blend
of food that crosses the spectrum of culinary styles and infuences.

New Orleans Culinary Instructor Simone Burrell said the field trip gave her students an up close look at the life of a chef. “They saw today how the life of a true chef is,” said Chef Burrell. “It’s fast-paced, determined people who love to cook. Cooking is a passion for them”

Kimberly Williams, a New Orleans Job Corps Center Culinary trainee said, “We learned what Culinary Arts is like in the real world and what we need to be prepared for in the future. The pastry area motivated me to want to pursue this as a career.”