Saturday, November 20, 2010
The Vindicator ( Youngstown)
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Students attend to last-minute details in the dining room of The Bistro.
The Vindicator ( Youngstown)
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Chef Matt Putzier gives South Range's Julia Coburn tips on how to prepare a plate presentation at the restaurant..
By Denise Dick
White tablecloths cover the tables with cloth napkins folded into tepees at each place setting.
Sunlight filters in through the windows that line the dining room, overlooking a field.
It’s all part of The Bistro, the restaurant operated by culinary-arts students at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center.
Last week, the restaurant opened to school personnel, allowing students to perfect their skills in the kitchen and practice taking orders, running the cash register and setting tables.
Next week it opens to the general public. The hours are 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays.
“It’s all done by the students,” said Chef Matt Putzier, the instructor.
The menu includes soups, salads, sandwiches and entr es as well as dessert. Prices range from $1.50 for a cup of soup to $8.50 for a grilled Angus sirloin.
“Our most popular has been the Mediterranean chicken salad,” said Christopher Murdock, 20, of Canfield.
The salad of mixed greens, kalamata olives, tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumbers, red onion and artichoke hearts costs $6.50 with grilled chicken or shrimp or $3.50 without.
The restaurant is the last piece of MCCTC’s remodeling project.
“Before, the restaurant was almost like an afterthought,” Putzier said. “Now it’s more of a focus.”
The old restaurant, called the Oak Room, was an oak-paneled, windowless room in the center of the school. Patrons couldn’t access it without going through the school.
The Bistro has a separate entrance and its own parking lot.
The students say working in the newer facility is a welcome change.
“It’s a lot bigger and it looks a lot better,” said Julia Coburn, 17, of South Range.
In the kitchen, the stations are much larger, allowing more room, said Zac Book, 17, of West Branch.
Geoff Gearhart, 19, of Austintown said he enjoys coming to class more in the larger, improved facility.
The students rotate between working in the dining room, the front of the house in restaurant parlance, and the kitchen, or back of the house.
“I like being in the back,” said Devin Cowher, 17, of Struthers. “I just like to cook.”
Grilling is her preferred cooking method.
Ken Walter, 17, of Austintown worked as cashier Wednesday, punching carry-out orders in the computer, then cashing customers out.
P.J. Marquette, 19, of Austintown worked french-fry duty. While finishing a mouthful of his own work, he acknowledged that fries are a popular menu item.
“I make a lot,” he said.
When patrons finish their meal, there’s an assortment of desserts from which to choose including New York-style cheesecake and Granny Smith apple tart.
Nichole Suderman, 18, of Sebring, placed dollops of whipped cream next to each sweet treat before returning them to the refrigerator,
“It’s a dessert tray for the servers to take into the dining room,” she said.