The commencement ceremony for Oregon Coast Culinary Institute wasn’t like anything else you’d expect at a school graduation — at least one without a cooking program.

Instead of tossing their caps, students donned tall white chef’s toques as a symbol of their accomplishments and coming foray into the world of cooking.

“We wanted to give them professional OCCI toques and send them off looking sharp,” said Shawn Hanlin, the executive director of OCCI. 

The end-of-year celebration, held on Thursday at the Hales Performing Arts Center, wasn’t a true graduation, as the 84 baking and culinary students  have to wrap up externships before earning their degrees. Still, the event seemed just as joyous, as students stopped to embrace instructors as they picked up toques and certificates.

One culinary student, Irina Shalashova, said the memories she and her schoolmates share won’t be just of 8 a.m. classes and living in Coos Bay. They will be of the Hello Kitty birthday cake they made for Chef Woojay Pointer, the safe sex lecture — and condoms — doled out by Chef Tina Powers, towel snapping and the many friends they made.

“Everybody has something to remember from this past year,” Shalashova said.

Of the graduates, Hanlin said about 22 will be returning as second-year students to take either the baking or culinary program. Four completed both  this year.

The ceremony also came with a bit of a twist from the traditional graduation, as several speakers abandoned a lectern at the foot of the stage and turned toward the students to give them words of advice. Among them was keynote speaker Chef Edward G. Leonard, the assistant general manager of the Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y.;  the former manager and captain of the last three U.S. culinary teams for the World Culinary Olympics in Europe; and the past president of American Culinary Federation. He’s also one of Hanlin’s mentors.

“This is their day,” he explained to the audience.

Other speakers included Southwestern Oregon Community College interim President Patty Scott and former president Dr. Stephen J. Kridelbaugh.

Leonard, dressed in a suit rather than chef’s whites, told students to embrace diversity in the kitchen, to keep a five-year plan, to never underestimate who they can learn from and to work under a chef who is firm but fair.

“Hell’s Kitchen is a joke. Nobody should be made to cry. ... Find and environment that is other than that,” Leonard said.

He ended, saying that students have chosen a rare field where people still work with their hands.

“What you’ve accomplished, what you’ve trained for is a very special career,” Leonard said. “We have a craft like no other.”