UFV Culinary Arts students are broadening their cooking repertoire with a new initiative at UFV.  They’ve already mastered lunch-time fare; now they’re looking to hone their fine dining skills.
Next week, Rivers Dining Room will be opening its doors to the public for dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday nights through to May.

Located at UFV’s Trades and Technology Centre at the Canada Education Park in Chilliwack, 5579 Tyson Rd, the restaurant is launching on Tuesday, Feb. 14 — Valentine’s Day.

All of the meals will be prepared by UFV’s Culinary Arts cooks-in-training, who currently take on the daily task of feeding hundreds of fellow students in the Trades and Technical Centre cafeteria. (The public is also welcome to drop in for lunch.)

“We want our students to get a really wide range of cooking experience, and offering gourmet prix fixe dinner menus a couple of nights a week will round out their repertoire,” said UFV culinary arts instructor Bruce Corbeil.

The 18 students have experience in standard cafeteria items like made-from-scratch burgers, pizzas, bacon and eggs, grilled cheese, and soup, as well as more adventurous fare such as linguine with creamy shrimp sauce, roasted pork loin with apple sauce, roast beef, quiche, orange ginger chicken, and beef and cashew chop suey.

When it comes to Rivers, the students will not only be gaining first-hand experience facing a dinner rush, they will also be working with Corbeil to learn to prepare fancier fare. The first week’s menu includes a choice of appetizers, including Qualicum Bay scallops and shrimp with cream cheese and spinach filling. Entrees range from chicken cordon bleu to planked salmon, rounded out with a dessert selection of chocolate mousse and black forest cake.

Each week, the menu is a prix fixe four-course meal for $25. The first two evenings, UFV’s Alumni Commemorative Wines by Bounty Cellars will be available. Seatings are at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., with reservations recommended.

For more on the Rivers dining experience, and the menu, visit www.ufv.ca/rivers . The menu will change weekly so come back often to check it out.   Call 604-847-5404 or email rivers@ufv.ca to reserve your spot.

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