Brian Peffley and Robert Corle Jr. have hung up their chef’s aprons on the state- and national-award winning culinary and pastry programs they taught at the Lebanon County Career & Technology Center.
The last day on the job for pastry instructor Peffley and culinary teacher Corle was Tuesday, June 2. Although both have retired following successful 30-year teaching careers in their respective disciplines, the awards and accolades were secondary to their true calling.
“It’s been about the journey of the child, the journey from where they were to where they are when they leave us,” Peffley said. “To see a student who doesn’t know the right end of a spatula or how to hold it and can win in three months a state cake-decorating competition and blow the competition out of the water … it’s that Visa commercial, you know, priceless. That’s the priceless moment to see the growth of a child in such a short amount of time.”
“I’m training this child up. I want them to be successful. That was always our goal, to get them out there so they will be fruitful workers in society,” Corle said. “They won’t have to worry about anybody else helping them. They can do, and have all these opportunities so they can be self-sustaining.”
Both instructors – who came to the LCCTC in the mid-1990s – always emphasized to their charges an acronym for success in life.
“Even if they don’t stay in the hospitality industry, we use an acronym called PAW,” Peffley said. “It stands for professionalism, attitude, and work ethic, and we drilled those three hallmarks because a lot of our students went on to become really successful.”
PAW was evident in the example set by the two instructors, both of whom met while working at Hotel Hershey in the 1980s. Peffley was already at the LCCTC and was instrumental in getting Corle hired, they said.
“Whether students want to admit it outright or not, they love the structure. Because there was an accountability every single day when they walked in what was expected of them. If you weren’t clean shaven, you had to go and shave in the locker room. And if you didn’t have a part of your uniform on that day, you were assigned to pots,” Corle said.
Both instructors led by example the principles they espoused through PAW.
“Brian and I would come in every day, clean shaven, have clean uniforms, and set an example. So we never asked them to do something that we ourselves wouldn’t do. And that would include getting down on our hands and knees, scrubbing with our heads in the pot sink, right beside them, scrubbing pots. So the kids knew that this was the real deal,” Corle added. “They didn’t know any difference. They only know what happened here. And it was nice that when they went out and got to see other places, they would come back and go, ‘Oh my god, chef. I can’t believe they do that. It was terrible.’ … At that point, they were so thankful that they were at the Lebanon County CTC.”
When asked for their most memorable moments during their illustrious careers, the answer naturally concerned a student.
Corle noted that Derrick Stauffer was a Cedar Crest High School graduate in 2001 who found his life calling in LCCTC’s culinary studies.
The above and below descriptions for the state- and national award-winning programs at the Lebanon County Career & Technology Center hang on the wall outside the nationally acclaimed classrooms. (James Mentzer)
“A Cedar Crest cast-out, he came over here and did the impossible. Never missed a day of school (as a senior), missed 60 some days of school, his junior year. Can never get a license because he was driving at 14 years old and got busted. Just had a rap sheet a mile long,” recalled Corle. “But as he said here, ‘I love this. This is my passion.’ And he lived by it every single day he was here. And he died less than a year after he got out of high school in an accident in New York, where he was working at a French inn and spa at that time and doing really, really well.”
Corle mentioned an early dismissal due to snowfall and Stauffer remaining in the kitchen to finish a salmon project, and it was also noted his relentless need for cleanliness that inspired other students to keep the pastry kitchen just as spotless as its counterpart in the culinary department.
“There would be snow days and then everybody left and he’s like, ‘Chef, can you take me home?’ And he says, “’I gotta finish this salmon before I walk out the door.’”
Stauffer became class president and was a major influence on his classmates and the two teachers. “As far as a student impacting me, he really did,” said Corle, whose voice began to break while talking about him.
“There’s something to be said when you go to a funeral and you see your student in the casket wearing our uniform. And then having his class show up in that uniform. You know, it’s a year later, I mean, to come back and give their respects,” said Peffley, wiping tears from his eyes.
“His reputation wasn’t good but he came in here and then impacted his whole class. They voted him as president because he was so dynamic,” Corle said.
“The medals, the accolades will all fade, but the memories that you have with the students are forever,” Peffley said. “I mean, to not have any more memories with him is the most profound loss for us by far.”
While they will never forget Stauffer, the hundreds of students they led in the classroom will never forget them either.
That’s especially true for those who brought home medals in what became state and nationally renowned and respected educational programs. LCCTC alumni from both programs are honoring the teaching dynamic duo with a retirement party in Manheim on June 18.
“We have nine national titles that our students have taken, first, second, or third place at the national level. We have well over 40 state titles in different entries,” Peffley said, with Corle pointing out placards that are posted with all of their award-winner’s names hanging on the wall inside Hilltop Cafe.
Hilltop Cafe, the school’s public restaurant, was a passion project for the teachers and unique as a hands-on learning experience for the students. Although it existed before they became teachers, they took the business to the next level.
“The program, when we got it, was in good shape but it was in need of an overhaul – and this is kind of like what’s happening now – in good shape but in need of an overhaul,” Corle added. “When we came in, this restaurant was only open to the staff. And we saw the need there to be open to the public, but then we had to go through the motions and get our advisory board to say, ‘Yeah, that’s great. You guys open up the restaurant to the public.’ And so we did.”
That led to other opportunities for the school’s programs.
“Not just having a pretend restaurant but actually having a licensed restaurant, you know, because the Hilltop Cafe is licensed by the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association. It’s a real restaurant, so we’re giving the kids real-world experience,” Peffley said. “And then in conjunction with that, we have a retail bake shop that is open to the public.”
Two such entities is rare in the education arena.
“It’s hard enough to run a food service operation with a staff much less trying to do it with students. So if you can successfully do it with students learning, I mean, it’s pretty incredible,” Peffley added.
That experience in a commercially run kitchen gives LCCTC students a leg up over their contemporaries at other schools. The LCCTC’s full-day program is for seniors who study for one year while other schools’ students have up to four years of experience by the time they compete at state and national competitions.
That expedited experience undoubtedly has contributed to the school’s standing as a state and national powerhouse, but is also cause for their retirement since a certain physicality is needed to run a restaurant, according to Peffley.
“I think once things started happening here, our second year here, we took students to nationals and SkillsUSA, which all of a sudden, everybody’s like, ‘What’s happening in Lebanon?’” Peffley said. “Penn State recognized us with an outstanding educator award in our second year of teaching because of what we did in just that short amount of time to go from building a program and already having students competing at nationals.”
Two of their most recent successes are Amber Hewitt and Jordan Weierbach, both of whom are Cedar Crest seniors and silver medalists at the 2026 PA SkillsUSA competition. Hewitt won honors in Baking and Pastry Arts while Weierbach placed in the Culinary Arts.
“I came in not really knowing anything. If you would see the cakes that I decorated before coming here, well, they’re really bad. We spent the first two months just going over so much book work, just book work and more book work and just learning all the different principles of the program and baking and stuff,” Hewitt said, adding she’s excited to continue her studies at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, Georgia.
Weierbach, who will also study at The Landings, highlighted the discipline imparted to him during his year in the LCCTC’s culinary program.
“This program did a lot for me, like, discipline-wise, the same way it did for her,” Weierbach said. “Chef Corle was a big influence on me this year, being not only an instructor, but, like, man-to-man sort of thing. So, yeah, I’m very honored to go through this program.”
He noted the intense assignments that had to be completed as part of the course work.
“Ninety assignments within the first 90 days of school was really a good kickstart to this year and it only showed what the rest of the year held for you working towards goals and working hard every day, especially with keeping this restaurant open,” Weierbach said.
Both instructors are excited for the next chapter in their lives. Corle will take time to enjoy his grandchildren and decide later what the Lord has in store for him, he said, while Peffley has numerous culinary consultation gigs lined up.
As they enter retirement, neither has any regrets about their work-life decisions – even though they shared with LebTown that they often thought of opening their own restaurant together, which was an early-career discussion that never quite got fulfilled. However, they’re long-standing decision to retire simultaneously came true.
“I have no regrets. I wouldn’t change a thing,” Peffley said.
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