Betty Ann Donegan
When you think of the culinary arts in Branford you think of Betty Ann Donegan. She grew up on Townsend Avenue in New Haven, the daughter of Vince and Julia Cacace. Her family ran the neighborhood market where the slogan was, “Five Generations of Fine Food Merchants,” Betty Ann spent many years helping out at the store where fine food was the center of their universe. Betty Ann went on to graduate from Sacred Heart Academy and Southern Connecticut State University where she earned a degree in Science. In 1965, she began teaching science at what was then East Haven Junior High School.
Given her family background it should be no surprise that Betty Ann's career path would eventually take her into the culinary arts. Early on, Betty Ann earned a reputation not only as a fine cook but also as someone who wanted to share her expertise with all that were interested. Betty Ann has always been the first one to bring food to families who were going through a difficult time. She found that culinary delights often brightened the day of someone who was ill or someone who was grieving after the loss of a loved one.
Betty Ann's cooking school career began in 1975 when the family had a foreign exchange student living with them. One day the exchange student asked Betty Ann to teach her to cook everything Betty Ann had prepared for her family during the year. The exchange student enjoyed the weekly lessons but as word spread that Betty Ann was giving lessons, friends and neighbors of all ages were asking to join in. By word of mouth the "cooking school" was born.
Since then, teaching the culinary arts has become a large part of who Betty Ann has become as an educator. Over the last thirty-eight years the Donegan's have added a large teaching kitchen to their Branford home, complete with multiple stoves and six refrigerators. In addition to her weekly lessons in the culinary arts, Betty Ann conducts a two-week summer cooking camp which she began seven years ago. She has also raised money for a number of causes by planning and organizing menus and hosting open houses.
In 1993, Betty Ann began her college teaching career at SCSU where she taught chemistry until 2000. When asked what aspect of her teaching she enjoys most, Betty Ann replied, "I love developing a good rapport with the students. You develop a good working relationship built upon trust and respect and then you can effectively teach just about anything."
Betty Ann has been married to John Donegan who has been the benefactor of her cooking skills for forty-seven years. Word is that Betty Ann's ricotta pie was part of the marriage contract. The Donegan' s have two adult daughters, Christine and Stephanie and two grandchildren, Nathan 17 and Julia 15.
Clearly, be it in the kitchen or in the chemistry lab, Betty Ann has demonstrated she is a highly effective educator and has developed a widely known reputation for being the guru of the culinary arts in Branford and beyond.
Given her family background it should be no surprise that Betty Ann's career path would eventually take her into the culinary arts. Early on, Betty Ann earned a reputation not only as a fine cook but also as someone who wanted to share her expertise with all that were interested. Betty Ann has always been the first one to bring food to families who were going through a difficult time. She found that culinary delights often brightened the day of someone who was ill or someone who was grieving after the loss of a loved one.
Betty Ann's cooking school career began in 1975 when the family had a foreign exchange student living with them. One day the exchange student asked Betty Ann to teach her to cook everything Betty Ann had prepared for her family during the year. The exchange student enjoyed the weekly lessons but as word spread that Betty Ann was giving lessons, friends and neighbors of all ages were asking to join in. By word of mouth the "cooking school" was born.
Since then, teaching the culinary arts has become a large part of who Betty Ann has become as an educator. Over the last thirty-eight years the Donegan's have added a large teaching kitchen to their Branford home, complete with multiple stoves and six refrigerators. In addition to her weekly lessons in the culinary arts, Betty Ann conducts a two-week summer cooking camp which she began seven years ago. She has also raised money for a number of causes by planning and organizing menus and hosting open houses.
In 1993, Betty Ann began her college teaching career at SCSU where she taught chemistry until 2000. When asked what aspect of her teaching she enjoys most, Betty Ann replied, "I love developing a good rapport with the students. You develop a good working relationship built upon trust and respect and then you can effectively teach just about anything."
Betty Ann has been married to John Donegan who has been the benefactor of her cooking skills for forty-seven years. Word is that Betty Ann's ricotta pie was part of the marriage contract. The Donegan' s have two adult daughters, Christine and Stephanie and two grandchildren, Nathan 17 and Julia 15.
Clearly, be it in the kitchen or in the chemistry lab, Betty Ann has demonstrated she is a highly effective educator and has developed a widely known reputation for being the guru of the culinary arts in Branford and beyond.