New England Culinary Institute to close down in the spring

The New England Culinary Institute, a Montpelier-based cooking school, is closing its doors after 40 years.

“The pandemic proved to be the burden that we could not overcome,” NECI president Milan Milasinovic wrote in a statement posted to the school’s website. The school shuttered retail operations in March, he added, “which severely limited our ability to continue to deliver a college level, hands on culinary education, on an economically viable basis.”

Most NECI students graduated in December, Milasinovic wrote in an email to VTDigger. The five that remain have been placed in apprenticeships and are on track to graduate this spring. All students will be given the chance to finish out their programs.

Once the school closes for good, NECI student records will be kept at the North Coast College in Cleveland, Ohio, according to Milasinovic. NECI merged with the then-Virginia Marti College of Art and Design in 2017. VMCAD has since been rebranded as North Coast College and recently started its own culinary program.

Read more: https://vtdigger.org/2020/12/28/new-england-culinary-institute-to-close-down-in-the-spring/

Alumni include celebrity chefs Alton Brown and Gavin Kaysen.