CLEVELAND, Wis. — It was two hours before the students at Lakeshore Technical College started serving special lunches to staff.
Brandon Becker was pitching in where he was needed to make sure the meals were ready to go.
“I’m getting dashi stock reduction going,” he said during a short break from working on a stove. “There I have rice just finishing up and right there we have miso soup with seaweed.”
Becker is a culinary arts student at the college.
Once a week, Becker and other students host staff for a special themed lunch. Students handle everything from cooking to greeting and serving guests.
During that week, the theme was Japanese food. Other weeks, it’s been New Orleans dishes or foods from Italy.
“It’s keeping me on my toes for different cuisines I could possibly see in different kitchens,” Becker said.
This is the second year the culinary arts program has offered the Chef’s Table series of meals. It’s focused on giving students an environment similar to what they may find after graduation.
Amanda Weber is the chef instructor and culinary arts program coordinator.
“It plays on the passion our students have, which is serving people. That’s why they’re here. That’s why they’re getting this education,” she said. “It’s something they really feel passionate about and it’s a way for us to focus that and give them this experience but also have a safety net and a cushion of, ‘It’s OK to mess up.’”
Weber said there’s satisfaction in seeing the meal and the experience come to fruition.
“It’s really amazing to watch them grow from week one of everyone is so nervous and talking so quietly and jittery to just having this bloom of confidence toward the end of our eight weeks of service,” she said.
Shawn Engel wanted to learn more about food as part of his job at a large sausage maker, so he entered the program.
“Thankfully, all staff that eat at Chef’s Table understand it’s a learning environment. I think they enjoy it just as much as we do,” he said. “Especially after that first week of service, that built up a lot of people’s confidence.”
Becker said this aspect of the education gives students more of a purpose than just cooking for themselves.
“It’s nice to see them enjoy the foods,” he said. “Since we’re cooking right here and they’re eating right in front of us, we can see their facial expressions and experience the live reactions.”
