Cafe Tuesday

Culinary and hospitality students from MHCC will prepare and serve guests freshly made meals at their Café Tuesday banquets, offered every other week at a new downtown Portland location this spring.

Students serve both a la carte items and three-course meals for guests. The next Café Tuesday will be held Tuesday at the University Place Hotel near Portland State University.

Court Carrier, hospitality and tourism instructor, describes the event as a labor of love and “just a fun, fun opportunity for students to learn.”

The menu will change each time to introduce various concepts to the eight culinary students working in the back with instructor, Chef Jason Elliott.

Tina Bernard, first-year culinary student, said, “It’s really preparing us for when we actually get out into the real world.” Bernard served dessert for the initial event this year April 16, but will be on hot line preparing the entrees this time.

This Tuesday’s menu consists of: Caesar salad, chicken cordon bleu, seared snapper, eggplant Parmesan, and fresh berries in sabayon. Diners are given the option of purchasing individually priced meals or purchasing three courses for $10. “We’re not there trying to make a profit. We’re there trying to make an experience and to teach (the students),” said Carrier.

Bernard said the experience is valuable. “You definitely have to have confidence. You definitely have to work as a team and you definitely have to communicate,” she said.

The front of the “house” will be the charge of catering, restaurant and food service management students. Their instructors, Carrier and Suzy Bicknese, will rotate the students through different jobs each time they host the event.

The rotation provides students with a variety of experiences, Carrier said. “They need to be able to understand and learn and appreciate how to interact and deal differently with different kinds of guests.” Students get classroom credit during the event.

Carrier said the three-course meal would usually run about $20 in a restaurant, but the food costs usually amount to $7. Any leftover proceeds from the Tuesdays go to purchase needed supplies or to fund scholarships or trips.

“That’s a steal of a deal,” Carrier said of the $10 cost for diners. “We can focus on quality and price it as an experience.”

Previously, MHCC has hosted Café Tuesday in the Jazz Café. But enrollment growth in the culinary program and additional Chartwell’s food service workers to serve a growing Mt. Hood student body simply put too many bodies in the campus kitchen, Carrier said.

He said he understands: The MHCC kitchen is not designed to be a teaching kitchen, nor is it designed to run two different food service operations at once.

“If I were operating (the Chartwell) food service establishment, I would be uncomfortable with the number of students being in the kitchen at the same time,” he said.

The University Place Hotel is not using their facility during lunch this term, and so it provides a better learning environment, Carrier said.

Finding customers does become a problem, because there’s no built-in clientele of MHCC students, faculty, administrators and staff, said Carrier. “We really have to try and market hard to get people to come in.”

On alternate Tuesdays, culinary students have lab sessions, of sorts. They study the menu the next week’s menu and make sure they understand terms and how the dish will be prepared. They also convert measurements beforehand.

“I know when I was first working in the industry, that was a great part of my education,” Carrier said. “The practical experience was a huge part of it. I treasure and value that to this day.

“It’s a challenge, real-world. That’s the goal, to give (students) real-world experience,” he said.

High customer demand had also prompted Café Thursday events, but those were dropped last year. Carrier hopes they can resume again, if appropriate.

MHCC’s first Café Tuesday this spring on April 16 drew 45-50 guests, shy of an ideal 70, said Carrier. The program averaged 60 to 70 guests at each sitting last year.

Remaining dates beyond Tuesday include: May 14, May 28 and a Western-themed Barbecue Buffet on June 4.

Reservations are required at least 24 hours in advance: Email [email protected] or leave a voice mail at 503-491-7230. You should leave a name, return number, date desired and number of diners in your party. Seatings are held 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.

The University Place Hotel is at 310 S.W. Lincoln St.