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Career center students open restaurant
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Jaclyn Magurira, of Youngstown, a student enrolled in the Adult Education Culinary Restaurant Management Program at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, plated an entrée while working at The Bistro restaurant on Oct. 8.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Mahoning County Career and Technical Center Adult Education Culinary Restaurant Management Program student Jonathan Baust, of Youngstown, readied a tray to serve diners at The Bistro restaurant Oct. 8.
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Neighbors | Abby Slanker.Stephanie Needham, of Austintown, a student enrolled in the Adult Education Culinary Restaurant Management Program at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, prepared entrees at The Bistro restaurant as part of her training Oct. 8.
By ABBY SLANKER
The Adult Career Center students enrolled in the Culinary Restaurant Management Program at Mahoning County Career and Technical Center are gaining first-hand experience operating a restaurant, as they have opened The Bistro, located in MCCTC, for evening hours. The restaurant is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. through Oct. 31.
Each of the seven Adult Education Culinary and Restaurant Management students enrolled in the program work in every aspect of the restaurant. They will gain experience in restaurant management, cooking skills, food prep, taking orders, serving and each student takes a rotation in the kitchen.
This marks the first time The Bistro will serve dinner to the public. The restaurant, which is typically operated throughout the year by students in the high school program, will serve as an opportunity for students in both programs to gain valuable, real-world experience. The students are led by certified executive chefs Sean Kushma and Stephen Grant.
“Watching our students open and run a restaurant is like watching your kids learn to walk. At first, you hold their hands and then you eventually let go and see them stand on their own,” said Grant, who is also a chef at the Vista Center in Boardman.
The menu at the Bistro Restaurant changes every two weeks and includes appetizers, such as crab cakes and homemade fried Swiss cheese planks; soups, such as French onion and New England clam chowder; salads, such as mixed salad and Caesar salad; entrees, such as grilled barbeque salmon and chicken marsala; and side dishes, such as saut ed spinach and portabella mushrooms, mashed potatoes and bow-tie carbonara.
Homemade desserts are available on a daily basis. The restaurant also offers a kids menu and takeout.
“The menu is set every two weeks with input from the students. They make suggestions and we come up with a menu together. Everything is homemade from scratch,” said Grant.
Sandy Furano serves as the MCCTC Adult Education business training coordinator and the culinary coordinator, overseeing the Culinary Restaurant Management program on a day-to-day basis.
“Once our students complete this program, they are ready to go work at a restaurant. They receive several certifications throughout the program and also serve a three-and-a-half week externship at local restaurants. It is designed to get them out of their comfort zone and give them some real-world experience,” Furano said.
The students were also responsible for marketing the opening of their restaurant.
“They were given fliers and menus and were assigned to pass them out at local restaurants. We have gotten several guests just from those fliers. This experience also lets the students get a sense of busy, good nights at a restaurant and slow nights. We have had very busy nights and some slow nights throughout the month and it helps the students to realize what the real restaurant world is like,” Grant said.