Ken Rubin

Ken Rubin isn't really interested in just teaching people to cook. He's more interested in turning Portland into a hub for food professionals—be they chefs, food-policy activists or anthropologists. That's the thought behind the Art Institute's new International Culinary School, which uses food as the core of a four-year university degree program—a bachelor of science in culinary management—that includes classes in everything from biodynamics to economics. That's a wild departure from teaching organizations that focus specifically on the kitchen, a trade-school model popularized by the Julia Child-name-dropping Le Cordon Bleu. AI's program is also the only culinary school in the country to have an academic minor focused on sustainability. "I can't, in good conscience, look at people and say, 'Yeah, you need a bachelor's degree so you can go work at the Hilton and make hash browns.' That's just ridiculous.… I want students to take classes in things that they'll use for their food vocation," says Rubin, the sickeningly accomplished 32-year-old academic director of the AI program, who spent his 20s working as a food anthropologist, cooking instructor and editor for Le Cordon Bleu's chefs.com website in Austin before accepting the AI position last year. When the school opened in April, the program had five students. WW caught Rubin at work finalizing details for fall term, which kicks off Monday with nearly 45 food-pros-in-training. But he's already moved on—brainstorming ideas for future courses, from nutrition in health care to cheesemaking.

WW: I don't spend a lot of time thinking about cooking school.

Ken Rubin: Yeah. You shouldn't. [Laughs] My issue has always been that culinary schools define the industry in the narrowest terms possible. They see their mission as training chefs only. They see the industry as mostly hotel restaurants. We should be training people to get involved in every facet of the industry that requires a culinary lens. We're training people how to see the world through food and the education that they have should reflect that to make them versatile.

Why not just teach 'em how to cook?

The reality is that half or two-thirds of students find reasons why working in a kitchen does not fit their lifestyle—they're making a lot of money…don't want to work every night. You know, real real-people stuff. They ask themselves, "What next? I spent all this money and all this time at culinary school. That sucks."

What are some of the core courses?

About 40 percent of our total credits are in general education and liberal arts. Most students will take an [intro] class called Concepts and Theories of Culinary Techniques, and a lab class called Fundamentals. You know—knife skills, stocks, sauces, vegetables, eggs and protein. But they also take a class called Principles of Visual Communication (a requirement class for all AI students). It teaches them basics of composition, basics of design theory—in the physical sense, but also temporal sense. So much of what we try to teach people about the culinary [world] is how to organize space and time.

Do you teach any classes?

Sanitation and Safety, which, uh, I kinda like teaching. We talk about supply chain and seafood contamination, food policy. We actually have them read [Upton Sinclair's] The Jungle. When I was 8, I decided to become a vegetarian, because my brother [told me], "There's this book called The Jungle and it's about how rats get into meat." And I was, like, "That's so fucking disgusting. I'm never going to eat meat again."

What got you so hooked on food in the first place?

Food was all I ever really cared about. My mom was a great cook; my grandparents were poultry farmers. Food was always magic. My parents actually bought me a Henckels knife when I was 6. I'd dig holes in the backyard with it. By like 8 or 9 I was already cooking dinner two or three nights a week for the family.

That's weird.

Instead of comic books, my parents bought me cookbooks. I catered my own bar mitzvah. I actually built a business plan. I made $6,900. That's how I bought my first car after college. It's actually the same car I still have.

So, "international" culinary program. Does that mean you don't learn just French dishes?

We start with fundamentals. They learn [French] mother sauces in their very first class. It's important, but chef instructor Dave McIntyre also had the class tasting balut [fertilized duck eggs].

What do you want to accomplish with this program?

I think that the actual outcomes from this program can be really unique. The proof will be in the pudding in a year or two, when we start having students graduate and they start working on farms, in vineyards, in food-marketing companies and working in kitchens (obviously)…and doing RD work and doing work in food development and micro-enterprises and all these things. And that's where the real conversation starts as far as I'm concerned.

The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Portland starts fall term Monday, Oct. 5. Visit artinstitutes.edu/Portland and click on "Areas of Study" for more info on the Culinary Program. Winter term starts Jan. 11.

WWeek 2015