Last night the Schoolcraft College Culinary Arts program hosted an Eastern Mediterranean dinner at their American Harvest restaurant located on campus. We filmed the students who prepare the dinner themselves and serve to guests as a way to practice for their future endeavors.
“Dinners like this give our students a first hand opportunity to understand what it takes to not only prepare a dinner of this magnitude but also serve it to paying guests." - Certified Master Chef Brian Beland who orchestrated the dinner.
The days leading up to a dinner of this complexity means several practice sessions with each recipe so that on the night of the dinner all of the menu items have been fully tested.
Chef Beland and Maitre d’ Margaret Fleming invited Master Sommelier Madeline Triffon to select the wines for the evening. Madeline met with Margaret and the dining room service team a few hours before the dinner began to talk about the selected wines she decided to pair with the Eastern Mediterranean cuisine.
The menu consisted of:
Kurdish Red Lentil Soup
Horiatiki (Greek) Salata
Roast Cauliflower & Almond Salad
Mejadra (Lentil, Rice & Onion Salad)
Roasted Beet & Orange Salad
Ghaliyeh Maygoo (Herb & Tamarind Shrimp)
Duck Ras el Hanout
Mechoui Roast Lamb Shoulder & Couscous
Chicken Shawarma
Pork Souvlaki
Chermoula Roast Cod
Chicken Tagine
It was evident that the dining patrons truly enjoyed what we hope to be a wonderful gastronomic memory in their life playbook of dining experiences.
We are thrilled we could feature this story about the next generation of chefs and restaurateurs being trained and inspired through the Schoolcraft Culinary program. Thank you Schoolcraft College for allowing us into your busy space and for the fabulous dinner!
One of the evening guests was JoAnne Purtan, radio personality from WOMC Detroit radio with her husband Eric.
JoAnne had some great comments about the evening that you can listen to here: https://vimeo.com/933727728?share=copy
As a reminder, our giveaway opportunity is still available for participation! If you want to receive some new kitchen gear, please visit our giveaway post.