The pencils are sharpened and the chef whites are pressed: The first batch of students earning a Latin Certificate from the Culinary Institute of America-San Antonio will begin their 9-month program tomorrow.

The certificate, a first of its kind, is offered to students who have an associate’s degree or other certificate in culinary arts and will cover all forms of Latin cuisine from Mexican to Argentinean fare. Students in the program will be taught by CIA instructors such as Mexico City’s Ileana de la Vega and Alain Dubernad, department chair for baking and pastry arts. The program will also include a slew of visiting instructors including Peru’s Pedro Miguel Schiaffino, Bolivia’s Eric Calderon, Argentina’s Huberto O’Farrel and CIA Latin Cuisines Advisory Council chairman, Rick Bayless. The council was responsible for designing a curriculum for the program.

What’s in it for San Antonian gourmands? The addition of the yet-to-be-named Pan-Latin restaurant opening in early May directly across from the upcoming Boiler House Grill. The restaurant will serve as practical contemporary and relevant experience for student-chefs. Bonus: Visiting chef instructors will be featured in the restaurant during their stay in San Antonio. The restaurant will accommodate 78 guests (with an additional 24 seats open in the Tapa Lounge). Designed by Dallas design firm Duncan Miller Ullman, the Pan-Latin restaurant will feature a 6-foot parilla grill, hearth oven, and contemporary Latin touches.

“The restaurant will give the students front of the house and back of the house experience,” Stephan Hengst, director of communications for the CIA, says. “Our head chef, Geronimo Lopez, will have to manage a kitchen, as well as teach students.”

The menu for the Pan-Latin restaurant, much like the space itself, is still under construction, but will feature integrated menu options from several Latin American countries. Currently, students in CIA-Hyde Park campus are working the restaurant’s signature drink.

“The restaurant will be a showcase for the city,” Hengst says, adding it will add another component to the city’s booming tourism industry.

The 9-month program that runs from March to October will be split into two semesters and feature classes such as Cuisines of Mexico I & II, Central America, Caribbean, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. The program will also feature two languages classes in Spanish and Portuguese, as well as two thesis development courses that will culminate in presentations during the Latin Flavors, American Kitchens Leadership Symposium in October.