Trinity Joseph-Gibbons is learning to become a food artist

Joseph-Gibbons is a student in the one-year Professional Cook certificate program at the College of New Caledonia. Four days each week, six hours per day, she’s acquiring skills and knowledge that will help her carve a spot for herself in a restaurant or hotel kitchen. In the first level of the program, she and her classmates learned things like culinary terminology, basic knife skills and cooking methods. 

Whenever food meets heat, artistry is at work, something which has great appeal to Joseph-Gibbons. When she looks ahead to the second part of the program, she expects to be even more in her element. 

“Level 2 will be more on plating and the fine art of it so I’m very excited for that,” says the 21-year-old, who enjoys drawing and painting in her spare time. 

Joseph-Gibbons’ journey to the CNC Professional Cook program started with a job in food services at Prince George’s CN Centre arena. From there, she landed a position at the Civic Centre, where she worked front-of-house for banquets and special events. 

“They had amazing food, obviously, and it was just really the plating – the way they designed their plates – that made me want to be able to do that,” she says. 

Joseph-Gibbons then decided to take the four-month Smokehouse Hospitality Program, which operates out of the restaurant at the Prince George Native Friendship Centre. The Smokehouse program helped her develop entry-level-cook skills and led directly to her enrollment at CNC. 

Through her involvement in the CNC Professional Cook program, Joseph-Gibbons is now doing a work placement at Moxie’s Grill & Bar. She’s there every Friday for a six-hour shift in the kitchen and says there have been hints about keeping her onboard once her placement is complete. 

For all aspiring food artists – those with professional ambitions or those seeking to create fine-dining experiences in their own kitchens – Joseph-Gibbons suggests giving the CNC program some consideration. 

“It gives you a lot of opportunities,” she says. “I think if you’re really interested in making a lot of different types of food, it’s totally worth it.”