UTICA — Mohawk Valley Community College has named Vincent Petronio as the college’s director of hospitality programs in the college’s School of Business and Hospitality.

Petronio is an executive chef and entrepreneur in the Mohawk Valley, who with his business partners launched the restaurant “motus” in downtown Utica.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in culinary arts management with a focus in beverage management at the Culinary Institute of America.

While in college, Petronio worked at Blue Hill at Stone Barns under Chef Dan Barber, where he developed and refined his passion for local, sustainable, and handcrafted food and beverage, according to the MVCC announcement.

After graduation, Petronio returned to the Mohawk Valley and honed his craft while working at The Tailor and The Cook as a sous chef, chef de cuisine, and providing direct supervision to all kitchen staff.

With “motus,” he strives to bring together an approachable atmosphere with a quality of cuisine and service found at the most celebrated establishments in the country, the college announcement said.

In his new role at MVCC, Petronio said that he aspires to help the next generation of chefs reach their academic and professional goals in the hospitality industry and is enthusiastic to give back to the Mohawk Valley, where he was born and raised.

MVCC’s Hospitality programs prepare students for transfer to four-year programs and for career placement in the food service administration, catering, and culinary arts fields.

Programs, which are held at the MVCC Rome Campus, 1101 Floyd Ave., include two-year associate degree offerings in culinary arts management and food service administration: restaurant management.

The college offers a one-year chef training certificate, and shorter-term micro-credentials in kitchen competencies, introduction to baking, and advanced baking.

To learn more about the programs, visit www.mvcc.edu/academics/business-hospitality.