Algonquin restaurent cooks up success

By Nicole Thompson-Walker

thom0745@algonquincollege.com

There was a buzz in the kitchen as everyone anticipated 5 p.m., the start of dinner service. For Matt Allen, it was the culmination of months of hard work.

He walked around the kitchen, carefully observing his classmates, and gently informing them of any mistakes. Tonight, he was playing the role of head chef, with his very own menu appearing at Algonquin’s Restaurant International.

“It’s scary being head chef,” said Allen, 23. “It’s all your menu, so if things don’t work out, it’s all on you.”

But then again, Allen and everyone else in the culinary management program realize that this job is about being under pressure.

“Sometimes you have to come down on your classmates in the kitchen, which can be hard,” Allen said. “But it’s understood that that’s how it is. In the real world, your boss will be yelling at you one minute, and the next, you guys’ll be splitting a pitcher of beer.”

Restaurant International is known as “Ottawa’s Best Kept Secret,” because not many know about this hidden gym. It is a restaurant fully run by students – namely, students from the culinary management program. The teachers are the ‘managers,’ and the serving staff is all students. Every week, each student takes on a different position in the restaurant ranging from dishwasher to head chef.

Students of the culinary management program take a data class in their third semester of the program, and the first thing they learn to do is create a Table D’hôte menu, where they come up with two appetizers, two soups, one salad, four main courses and one dessert. This is the meal that they will present in their forth semester at the restaurant.

“You get a four-course meal for less than $30,” said Chef Mario Ramsay, a professor in the culinary management program. “The same meal at any other restaurant would be three times that cost.”

The restaurant does absolutely no advertising; its reputation is spread by word-of-mouth only, yet it still manages to attract an average of 60 people for lunch, and roughly 40 for dinner – mostly staff, students and a few local community.

“The restaurant is so cheap, because we do not want to make money, nor do we want to compete,” said Ramsay. “We simply want to recover the costs, or break even.”

The kitchens in Algonquin are industry standard and are remodeled every 10 years. The culinary management program prides itself on giving its student the tools to be successful.

“In this industry, if you can make 10 per cent profit, you’re doing well, but that doesn’t happen very often,” Ramsay said.“Competition is there, and it is very challenging.”

Nevertheless, almost 90 per cent of students find jobs after they graduate.

“The culinary management program is very well-connected,” Ramsay said.