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Holmes Community College welcomes James Durham to the Ridgeland Campus as the new Culinary Arts instructor. Durham brings extensive experience and passion for the culinary arts to the college. In his new role, he and Chef Alexei Harrison are enhancing the college’s culinary program and spearheading the addition of Hotel and Restaurant Management Technology (HRT).
Born in Nashville and a graduate of Jackson Academy, Durham holds a degree in archeology from Mississippi State University. He was also in the Mississippi Army National Guard, but while he was in the military, he injured both of his feet and was discharged.
“After being discharged from the military I started looking for jobs in archeology,” Durham said. “While I was looking for those jobs, I was cooking in various places in Starkville. I decided to move back to Nashville and go to culinary school at the The Art Institute of Tennessee. I worked full-time while I was in school, so I was going to school at 8 a.m., getting done at 2 p.m., and then going straight into work and not getting off until one in the morning. I guess you could say I sold my soul to the service industry while I was in Nashville. I did lots of fine dining up there, I worked for the Gaylord Opryland Resort right next to the Grande Ole Opry for a while. I helped open up two traditional Japanese ramen restaurants, as well.”
After Durham’s work with the Japanese restaurants, the pandemic hit in 2020, changing everything for him.
“I’m not going to lie, that was a very dark time for me,” Durham said. “I was out of work, and of course, none of us saw this coming…especially being told, ‘you can’t work your job.’ As we were able to go back to work, the way things turned out I worked for three different restaurants, but because of the way things were going in the world, all three of them shut down permanently, they couldn’t make it. As it worked out, my wife, Sarah, was offered a job with the Department of Archives and History in Jackson. Fun fact, she had been in the archeology program with me at Mississippi State, and that’s actually where we met. We moved back here, and I started working as a catering and events manager for Elvie’s in Jackson.”
While at Elvie’s, Durham gained even more valuable experience in the culinary/hospitality field, as the establishment catered large events like Belhaven’s Bright Lights, Best Dressed of Jackson, Mistletoe Gala and weddings. The restaurant, owned by a classmate of Durham’s, Chef Hunter Evans, was also a two-time nominee for the prestigious James Beard Award. When Durham found out his wife was pregnant, however, he decided to pivot with his career.
“When I found out that my wife was pregnant, I knew I wanted to do something different,” Durham said. “I had been working in the service industry for about 12 years at that point and I’d seen how relationships go with people in the service industry. There’s just a lot of stress, and all those hours gone from home and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to be a dad first and be home to tuck my child in at night.”
That was when Durham found the job at Ridgeland High School teaching culinary arts, where he taught for one year. During that time, Chef Harrison started talking to him about coming over to Holmes as there were plans to expand the college’s culinary arts program and add in the hotel and restaurant management track for students.
“We are excited about these new course offerings and I’m excited for James to co-teach with me and bring his wealth of knowledge and experience,” Chef Harrison said. “In a few years, when our program moves into a larger space on campus, we will run a restaurant in the Student Union open to faculty, staff, students as well as those in the community. We plan to run this program more like a restaurant, so the HRT students will do a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff as far as pricing, budgeting, catering and set-up. We’ve added in a culinary math course and managerial courses, as well as others to help them learn the business aspect of it.”
The Hotel and Restaurant Management Technology program provides specialized career/technical instruction in all phases of hotel and restaurant management to prepare students for careers in the hospitality and tourism industry. Students completing this program will be eligible to obtain ServSafe Sanitation certification from the National Restaurant Association. The students in Holmes’ program will be able to pick electives based on their particular interests, whether they are leaning more toward working in restaurants, hotels, resorts, etc. Both Culinary Arts and HRT are two-year programs, but students interested in completing both can do so in just one extra semester.
Durham’s excitement to share his knowledge with these students is apparent, as is his zest for enjoying life.
“So a little about me, my one-year-old son Alton and I love to go to the farmer’s market every Saturday, I eat tacos every Tuesday, I love eating ice-cream, I like fermenting foods, my favorite movie is ‘Pulp Fiction,’ my favorite Band is the Grateful Dead and I’ve traveled to 32 countries,” Durham said. “When my son gets older, we’re going to go to the Amazon River; I have a goal to go to every continent. Funny story, during the pandemic, I actually applied and was offered a job in Antarctica, but my wife said absolutely not. I also enjoy cooking for her, especially my coq au vin (a classic French stew), and I’m excited to teach these students the culinary arts.”
Those interested in the Holmes Culinary Arts Technology program, and/or the new Hotel and Restaurant Management Technology track, can contact Career Technical Counselor Jovonna Parker at (601) 605-3355 or jparker@holmescc.edu for more information.
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