February 19, 2010, Calgary, Alberta – Helping to prepare more than 2,000 meals a day, SAIT student Ricky Frennette is hard at work at the Vancouver Olympic Games.

Frennette took the current school term off from the Professional Cooking program to gain valuable experience working as a sous chef and kitchen manager with Whistler Cooks Catering Company, the local business in charge of meal preparation at the Whistler Sliding Centre and Alpine Ski Area. His instructor, Chef Ian Bragoli, says he wasn’t surprised that Ricky applied for a job at the Olympics.

“Ricky was always picking my brain about traveling and working in different places,” says Bragoli. “I’m from the west coast so I told him he should consider going out there.”

Frennette will be kept busy working six days a week for the duration of the Olympics, but he says he is eager to experience everything being at the Olympics entails.

“There is such a great vibe going on here in the village. I hope to be able to watch some of the events that will be taking place all around me.” 

Frennette is looking forward to returning to SAIT for his second semester in the fall. He says the experience he has gained over the past few weeks has been invaluable.

“I’ve been looking at this as an opportunity to make some connections for my future career as a professional chef. I am making a point to network and look at some of the permanent job options around the village. I would love to be based in Whistler permanently after finishing my schooling at SAIT.”

When Frennette does graduate from SAIT he can count Chef Bragoli among his biggest fans.

“Ricky is a dynamic young man and will do very well in this industry. He is just one of those dream students.”

SAIT Polytechnic is one of Canada’s most exciting destinations for post-secondary education, offering more than 100 career programs that position people for success in technology, trades and business. A leader in innovation, SAIT also collaborates with industry on applied research and delivers corporate training worldwide. SAIT is a member of Polytechnics Canada and one of Alberta’s Top 50 Employers for 2011.

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