Thursday, January 25, 2018: The way to a (hu)man’s heart is through their stomach. Too right!
I was very excited to be visiting the Food Services CEN not only because of the meal I knew I would be enjoying, but because, as everyone knows, there is something very familiar and comforting about being in a kitchen. Well, these were not your grandma’s kitchen let me tell you. I was shown around the Centre, which is housed at the Pearson Adult and Career Centre, by teacher Denise Giguère. There I was welcomed into their huge restaurant-grade kitchens, where students were hard at work prepping the lunch meal, to be served in their restaurant (yes, the operate a small restaurant!) and where others were working on various dishes, and even one student was hard at work training for the upcoming Vocational Olympiad.
I was also shown to the pastry kitchen where students were making brioches as part of their bread module. Their teacher had also shown them how to make scones and I was lucky enough to be given the 4 samples, which I happily shared with my office mates upon my return! Another impressive part of my tour was to see the butchering lab. There, students were butchering Quebec lamb, chicken and beef. I was super impressed by the talent of the group.
The last part of my visit was the meal I enjoyed in the school’s restaurant. I had the pleasure of tasting a variety of dishes from the day’s menu which had an Indian theme. Everything was delicious!
Everyone I met on my tour was wonderfully hospitable and passionate about what they do. I can’t wait to visit again!
