Namesake Bakery Café at Greystone to Open in July
St. Helena, CA, June 12, 2024 – The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, maker of premium chocolate products, has extended its longtime support of the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) with the new Bakery Café by Ghirardelli. The café, located at the college’s California campus in St. Helena, is situated adjacent to the Ghirardelli Chocolate Discovery Center, a classroom for CIA students that opened in 2014.
The café is a hands-on learning environment for students in the Baking and Pastry Arts associate degree program. Students will operate the café in their final semester at CIA utilizing the culmination of their learned skills. The café will proudly feature “Made With Ghirardelli” beverage and dessert creations, including hot chocolate and frappés, using Ghirardelli chocolate and cocoa powder. Seasonal sandwiches, salads, and sides created and served by students will also be offered.
“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with Ghirardelli Chocolate Company with this new imagining of Greystone’s Bakery Café,” said Thomas Bensel, managing director of CIA’s California campus. “The new café will give students interested in someday operating their own establishment the skills and know-how, in addition to product knowledge.”
“It is with great pleasure that Ghirardelli supports the Culinary Institute of America with our donation for the renewal of the Ghirardelli Chocolate Discovery Center and the creation of the new Bakery Café by Ghirardelli,” said Chris Eklem, the company’s vice president of professional products. “The new Bakery Café by Ghirardelli offers a delicious experience for both students and visitors, and I am happy to be a part of this collaboration that supports CIA students as they learn their trade to become the future of the foodservice industry.”
The Bakery Café by Ghirardelli will reopen July 6, 2024 and will operate five days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with full lunch service from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. There was a celebratory dedication on June 7, 2024.
Photo Caption:
On June 7, The Bakery Café by Ghirardelli was dedicated at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, CA. (Photo credit: Kristen Loken/CIA)
Media Contact:
Amanda Secor
Associate Director—Industry Marketing and Communications
845-451-1457
[email protected]
About the Culinary Institute of America:
Founded in 1946, the Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to developing leaders in foodservice and hospitality, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers master’s, bachelor’s, and associate degrees with majors in culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, food business management, hospitality management, culinary science, and applied food studies. The college also offers executive education, certificate programs, and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its conferences, leadership initiatives, and consulting services have made CIA the think tank of the food industry and its worldwide network of more than 50,000 alumni includes innovators in every area of the food world. CIA has locations in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.
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