Anyone who has stepped through our doors at Piguet’s Prime Time has been treated to more than “just” an amazing meal with delightful aromas and mouth-watering flavor.
They’ve been treated to a fun and interesting education about food and the value it provides our bodies and families. From the historical decorations in the restaurant to learning about farm-to-fork food to offering classes in our restaurant, we love educating people about their food.
All that is thanks to our founder, Carolyn Piguet. She spent 40 years teaching in the public school system and has been educating people locally about farm-to-fork food through her work at the farmers market for countless years. You may have also seen her on KOTV Channel 6 with her food episodes. As she will tell you, Carolyn’s work to be a lifetime educator is about caring about people and helping them prosper.
We asked her to tell more about her background and we am sharing it in her voice below.
I taught for 40 years. I started in 1981 and retired in 2021. Early on, I knew I loved science and it was something I wanted to research. I initially thought I was going into pharmacy and was a pre-pharmacy major but I lost interest. It was just too methodical for me and it was being around a lot of sick people.
I decided to change my plans, and with three semesters of science already done, it was an easy transition. My first job teaching was at Adair and I taught life sciences. It partners well with agriculture and my lifetime experience living on a farm. Then I got my masters in counseling and did other leadership and administration roles.
I ended up back in the classroom in what I called STEM-based agriculture. It all came full circle, and I still find that science, and especially agriculture, is easy to teach to all ages. Science is great for anyone who is curious and it’s all things that are happening in our real live world. That works really well here at the restaurant because of the farm-to-fork aspect. Then of course, there are our classes!
I wanted to have classes here because it’s another way to offer something that is fun and helps people learn life skills. Our facility already centers around food so the cooking classes are already a clear and easy match. We offer other kinds of classes, such as the popular sip and paint, and even then people are learning a skill. The painting classes would make a fantastic training and team building exercise for professionals.
With our classes, I love that we’ve had such a great mix of people from all walks of life. We’ve also done something different from day to day with each session. We plan to continue offering a variety of learning and training opportunities.
People ask why I do this and I still say it goes back to how educators have a heart for people. A particular passion of mine has become helping people with food allergies and sensitivities. I can answer questions about not only how the food is prepared, but where it comes from and how it was grown. All that makes a huge difference when you have a food allergy.
Our goal is to make sure people prosper and succeed. That’s how I feel about everyone who comes into the restaurant. We nurture and care for them here.