Nashville State Community College
Faculty
Tracy Barkley, 615-353-3419
Chef Tracy Barkley started at the age of 12 in her mother’s small café in Alabama. Cooking was a way of life for her family and she did not veer from it. She spent 2 years in the Army Advanced ROTC at Marion Military Institute where her MOS was dining services. After receiving her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Public Administration (while working her way thru college in the industry), she attended Culinard in Birmingham, Alabama. An externship at Opryland Hotel as a Lead Banquet Cook brought her to Nashville in 2003. She apprenticed under Chef Julio Orantez at Four-Star Arthur’s in Union Station and became an Executive Sous Chef of the Nashville City Club. Chef Barkley was an Executive Chef at RED Restaurant for three years before becoming an adjunct instructor at both Nashville State and the Art Institute of Nashville. She is very happy and proud to be a full-time instructor in the Nashville State Culinary Arts program. “My students and my craft are my life”.
Tom Loftis, 615-353-3783
Chef Tom Loftis became a full time instructor of Culinary Arts at Nashville State Community College in the fall of 2003 after serving two years as a adjunct instructor in the Community Education Program. Prior to coming to Nashville State, Chef Loftis served as the Executive Chef at Temple Hills Golf and Country Club in Franklin Tennessee. From 1999 until 2002, Chef Loftis was employed at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel, working in both restaurant and banquet settings and training under Chef Michael Folz..
Chef Loftis is a 2003 graduate of the Culinary Arts program at Nashville State Community College and holds a Bachelor’s degree in business management from Belmont College.