Community Profile: Cecilia Garcia

Manager of the Commercial Kitchen, Northern New Mexico Community College

Garcia helps cooks turn pro.

In an unassuming building just a stone's throw from Fairview Avenue in Espanola lies a godsend for fledgling foodies: the Commercial Kitchen. Cecilia Garcia is the Kitchen Manager and Food Science Director of the Northern New Mexico Community College. The Kitchen and other programs at the college support local entrepreneurs and farmers. Cecilia explains, "This kitchen was created with the intent of doing value-added food production as well as helping entrepreneurs get into the food industry." Aspiring food entrepreneurs make use of the Kitchen and its wealth of equipment as they learn to translate their favorite recipes into commercial products.

Cecilia and the Kitchen supply potential food entrepreneurs with information, food testing and a monthly course with the New Mexico environment department. "What we do is give them the rules, the regulations, the paperwork, the necessary information on food labeling. I also help them with some research and development. Most of them come in with this wonderful recipe that works at home, and I help them scale that recipe up so that they still have the same quality characteristics that they are looking for in their final product."

The Johnson Controls Northern New Mexico Commercial Kitchen came about in 1995 after several hundred layoffs at the Los Alamos National Lab. "The Johnson Controls Commercial Kitchen was actually an endeavor that developed from the laboratory's need to create economic development outside of the lab. This kitchen is mainly designed for food processing. It can also be used by caterers, but not as a restaurant-style kitchen. It's inspected by the Livestock Board and the New Mexico Environment Department so we can do both meat and non-meat foods in this facility."

Cecilia points out that start-up and small businesses face numerous challenges trying to find markets, especially so far from the economic hub of Albuquerque. "Distribution and marketing -- I see those as two of our biggest issues in this particular area. Also we don't get enough positive PR in this area. We've just been the whipping boy for the negativity that happens in northern New Mexico, even though we have a lot of positive things going on here."

Noting the Espanola Valley's long history of ranching and farming, Cecilia says, "People in this area in particular have such a strong entrepreneurial spirit. They've been doing this since the 1600s, so it's kind of in their genes. I think it's part of the culture of this community that agriculture stays at the forefront." And city and county entities are actively preserving the agricultural endeavors that have been here for centuries. "We are trying to plant the seeds to get people back into farming, especially with the interest in organic produce. There are large populations that are interested in produce grown without chemicals. It reinforces agricultural growth here because you get a higher dollar for that particular product. It's a wonderful way to bring back farming and ranching in our communities."