MOREHEAD CITY - Three recent graduates of Carteret Community College's culinary school are headed to kitchens where cooking is more than just a skill.

They'll spend the month of September training under French chefs as interns in fine-dining restaurants in Beaufort (Nord), the sister city of Carteret County's Beaufort, as well as the nearby city of Lille.

The cultural exchange with a culinary twist couldn't take place in a better setting.

"In France, their culture is their cuisine. It's really a big deal there," said Joshua Lewis Macklin of Newport, one of the three culinary school graduates making the trip.

Also participating are Jason Foster of Beaufort and Katheryn Baumer of Havelock.

Foster, Macklin and Baumer were selected by the Beaufort Sister Cities organization to travel to France after an application and interview process. The group is funding their trip through contributions from the food service industry, local restaurants, civic clubs and other community support.

The nonprofit Beaufort Sister Cities is committed to educational and cultural exchange and is a member of the International Association of Beauforts, which was founded in France to foster contact among towns of the same name.

The cultural exchange brought French Chef Alaine Capelle to Carteret County two years ago and sparked the program that is now sending local culinary graduates to France for the first time.

For Baumer, who's never traveled out of the country, it is an opportunity to experience a new country while also improving her skills.

"I've only really worked in one kitchen so far, so this is a way for me to grow," said Baumer, who is working her second season at the Coral Bay Club on Atlantic Beach.

Foster, 29, has been working in the food service industry for 12 years and currently works at William's Fine Dining in Morehead City. He's been to Europe but never to France, where he'll be learning new skills under top-notch chefs.

"I'm looking forward to the whole experience and taking in whatever comes my way," he said.

The interns were recognized during a reception held this week at William's restaurant.

Chef William Bell hired Foster as his sous chef and knows he'll come back with experience that can't be replicated in Carteret County.

Carteret County has the culinary talent, he said, but it is France that has the deep culinary roots and experience that comes with time.

"When you've done something that long, there's a depth of understanding," Bell said.

Chef Thomas Hosley, who heads the college's culinary program, just returned from a two-week trip to France, where he visited several of the restaurants in which the local trio will intern and helped make some final arrangements.

He said the graduates of the program will see the techniques and practices they learned in Carteret County at work in the country from which they came.

"There are traditional techniques to everything we do in the kitchen, and when you go to France there's no question that this is the way it is done," Hosley said.

Carteret Community College President Joe Barwick said the exchange program takes the skills the graduates have learned to an even higher level.

"We have an incredible pool of talent here, and this raises the bar," he said.

Ann Goellner and Joyce Gross of Beaufort Sister Cities worked together on the internship program, which they hope to see continue.

With their organization's ties to France, a culinary exchange seemed only fitting.

"Americans eat to live; the French live to eat," said Goellner, pointing out brochures featuring the restaurants and regional products of the area.

Gross, owner of Sharpies Grill & Bar in Beaufort, agrees.

"For French chefs, it's their life, not a job," she said.

Macklin said being on the culinary "front line" will be a challenge, but one worth taking.

"I'm taking things to the next level," he said. "I think it will be an opportunity of a lifetime."

Contact Carteret County reporter Jannette Pippin at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 252-808-2275.