The culinary program has a lot on their plate this month. Second-year students are preparing to open the Garden Court Restaurant. Wednesday marked their grand opening, where students culminate the skills they have learned up this point. A five-course meal is on the menu, which will include cold appetizers, soups, consumes, entrees and desserts.
Students have been preparing for the opening for the past month. They have been deciding on the menu, perfecting cooking techniques and tweaking their presentation.
Stephen Klassen, chef and instructor, participated in the Garden Court Restaurant 14 years ago when he was a student. He explains how the fine dining training they receive gives students a different experience from what many of them currently do in industry. “This is higher end, more formal dining,” he said, “They also learn proper etiquette and tableside service.” Klassen says it trains them for traveling abroad or working in hotels. “It gets them prepared for different experiences in different parts of the industry.”
The restaurant is open five evenings in October and another five in November. Each of the 11 students participating receives evaluations on their performance each night. Throughout the course of the 10 days, they will rotate on each of the seven different stations. These include grilling, proteins, cold kitchen, soups, desserts, serving, as well as the chef of the day station. Chef of the day is where students learn how to lead a team and run a kitchen.
Eric Schmidt, one of the 11 students participating, explains what he has been gaining from the experience. “I’m getting a lot more knowledge on ordering techniques and refining the skills that I already have,” he said. The opportunity has allowed him to perfect what he has learned throughout his first year of school and working. He explains that if at some point he needs to take on the role of head chef in a restaurant he has the skills to know what to do.
Mitchel Hahn, a third year culinary student and kitchen supervisor at Firestone, participated last year. Hahn said he gained a lot from the experience. “It helped me with a lot of things you wouldn’t just learn working in industry,” he said, “I learned about preparing complicated meals and plating them in a high-volume, high-stress environment.” Hahn explained that he also learned a lot about teamwork and restaurant operations, which has advanced him in his current job.
The anticipation is growing as opening night approaches next week. Second year students conducted a practice run through earlier this week to ensure operations run smoothly on Wednesday.
The Garden Court Restaurant will be open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday next week. Reservations must be made to attend and can be done so by calling the Garden Court Restaurant at (403) 320-3230. More information can be found on the website: http://www.lethbridgecollege.ca/student-experience/student-services/culinary-services.
