Denis Boucher is the newly appointed program manager of NECC’s culinary and hospitality programs

As the newly appointed program manager of Northern Essex Community College’s culinary and hospitality programs, Denis Boucher is very interested in the progress being made on “The Heights”, a 10-story luxury building under construction on Merrimack St. in downtown Haverhill.

That’s because The Heights will include two floors dedicated to Northern Essex’s culinary and hospitality programs, and Boucher has been hired to monitor the construction as well as build noncredit and credit programs in these two growing fields.

The college currently offers an Associate of Science in Hospitality Management and is planning to offer a Culinary Arts Certificate Program, likely by the fall of 2020.

With extensive experience as a chef, restaurant manager, and culinary educator, Boucher is well qualified for the responsibilities of his new role.

As director of Tompkins Cortland Community College’s Coltivare in Ithaca, NY, he oversaw a similar project, successfully developing a sustainable culinary lab, restaurant, and event space.

“Denis’s background makes him uniquely qualified for this position,” said Lane Glenn, president of Northern Essex.   “I’ve been to Coltivare and I was so impressed.  I can’t wait to see what he can do in downtown Haverhill.”

The college’s two floors will include classrooms, laboratories, and a teaching kitchen where credit courses and noncredit courses will be taught.  While the college won’t run its own restaurant, it will work closely with the full-service restaurant that will be located on the first floor of the building.

Born and raised in southern Maine, Boucher earned an associate degree from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and a Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from Florida International University in Miami.

He spent 20-plus years as a chef and restaurant manager in Atlanta, Colorado, Miami, North Carolina, Maine, and Antarctica, where he served as a chef at the South Pole and Palmer scientific research stations.  He taught at the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) in Montpelier Vermont from 2005 to 2014, receiving “Teacher of the Year” in 2006, and managed the institute’s restaurant for some of that time.

While his focus is now management and teaching, Boucher still enjoys cooking for family and friends, especially during the holidays.  “I love the farm to table and sustainability movement,” he says. “I love visiting farmers markets, like the one in downtown Haverhill, and picking up everything that’s fresh.”

To learn more, contact Boucher at dboucher@necc.mass.edu or 978 556-3201.

Northern Essex Community College has campuses in both Haverhill and Lawrence. It offers more than 60 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth.  Each year, more than 5,000 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 2,600 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus, and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley.  For more information, visit the website at  www.necc.mass.edu or call 978-556-3700.