Chef Jonathan Nagy (left) joins the ICTC Family as the New Culinary Arts Instructor upon Chef Dennis Gehly’s (right) retirement.
On Thursday, October 5th, the Indiana County Technology Center’s long-time Culinary Arts Instructor, Chef Dennis Gehly will retire. His expertise has aided hundreds students and aspiring culinary aficionados for almost 23 years.
Chef Gehly has enjoyed a prolific career in the food industry for 47 years, and joined the ICTC family on September 15th, 1994. Chef Gehly describes ICTC as a “Good experience with great students who have a passion to learn. The ICTC Staff is like family.” Over the years, Chef has realized that he wants nothing more than to see his students succeed. Chef Gehly provides multiple key notes of advice for students coming into and leaving ICTC’s walls. He says the key to being successful in Culinary – and even in any other field – is to focus and do what interests you. His second piece of advice is to do a task to the best of your ability. A quote his grandfather always told him was “Better to do it right the first time than to do it another time.” And his last, and most crucial bit of advice: “Even if you don’t pursue the career you studied here, you earned a valuable key to the industry; Work Ethic!” Chef Gehly plans to move to Myrtle Beach to be close to his family and grandchildren. He also plans to do a lot of golfing!
The newest recruitment to ICTC’s staff is Chef Jonathan Nagy, an alumni of IUP’s Academy of Culinary Arts. Mr. Nagy has been featured in many local newspapers and magazines and has been on a food network TV program. He gained experience in the food industry working at a Florida Resort in Boca Raton and most recently held the position of Culinary Instructor in the Pittsburgh Public Schools System. Chef Nagy first met Chef Gehly when Chef Gehly was judging a competition at IUP’s Academy of Culinary Arts. They met again five years later when Gehly invited Nagy to give a presentation to his students for career day. Nagy was 24 and knew immediately he wanted to work as a culinary instructor, but wanted to learn more about being a well-rounded chef first. Chef Nagy’s 10-year expedition to get the name of ICTC’s Culinary Instructor has left him with expansive knowledge on both the food industry and education. A quote he has lived by is “If you put your time in and work hard, you will eventually get to where you want to go; but it does not happen overnight.”