There may not be a future Gordon Ramsay among individuals in the Vancouver Island University (VIU) culinary arts program, but there are some A-plus students. The classroom and kitchen where they study is at Brooks Secondary School.
The main course takes place in the Future Chefs’ Café, a small restaurant tucked away in a back hallway at Brooks, where students do everything in the preparation and serving of food to guests. Few people in Powell River even know of its existence.
Lunch on any given day can include a salad or seafood chowder, a choice of three entrees, such as a duo of deep-fried cod and salmon, grilled apple and mango chicken breast or Indonesian pork satay, with a dessert of apple pie or carrot cake.
The café is open to the public and everything is done by the students, who do double duty as cooks in a commercial kitchen and servers in the restaurant.
Students work under the watchful eyes of restaurant supervisor Lori Alexander and VIU chef instructor Chris Gray, who ask guests to be understanding, as it is a school and students are still learning.
“We ask guests to be patient because a lot of the students don’t want to be in the dining room, they want to be in the kitchen,” said Alexander. “They’re nervous and shy and have never served before. We do make mistakes and that’s how we learn.”
Gray has worked in restaurants in North America and abroad, including Norway, London and Ireland; this is his seventh year at VIU.
“It’s a bigger class than the last couple of years with 10 students,” said Gray. “Normally it’s about eight.”
According to Gray, most of the students have taken part in the Brooks culinary course offered in grade 10 and 11.
“I usually get them in grade 12 and I have three mature students who signed up for the course,” he said, “but the majority are dual credit so they either graduated last year or are graduating this year, so they are getting their credits. They receive credit for this course and then do up their requirements for their Dogwood diploma.”
According to Gray, he teaches students sound knowledge of the basics of professional cooking and they keep him happy at his job.
“I can see their skill level develop,” said Gray. “They keep you young, they’re funny, pretty creative and they have the world in front of them. They keep you laughing and have their dramas and stuff like that, too.”
The reason students are in the program, according to Alexander, is to learn an employable skill. Students go through a five-station rotation, between the kitchen and restaurant area, in working toward completion of the three-year program, which is level one of a trade certificate to become a Red Seal chef.
“We have a few that have Red Seals already,” said Gray.
Red Seal chef is a recognized certification of apprenticeship in Canada, an endorsement of skills and experience that apprentices acquire in their chosen trade.
“That means they have their trades qualification and go on,” said Gray. “Most of them in the last couple of years have done really well. I think last year’s class was the only trade in the town that saw 100 per cent employment in the field they picked.”
One of the students Gray believes could go far is Kale Wyse, who took the culinary course while in high school.
“I enjoy cooking,” said Wyse, and, according to Gray, he’s good at it.
“He’s a brilliant cook,” said Gray. “It’s not just his skills, it’s also his leadership and camaraderie. He’s not a prima donna; he fits in well. He’s good and there are a couple of others who are in a similar boat. I’m pretty confident with this group.”
However, Wyse has different plans when he gets out of the kitchen.
“Thanks to the dual-credit program, I can take this for free but my main passion is medicine,” said Wyse, “so afterward I’m planning to apply to UBC Okanagan and start their pre-med program.”
Wyse said he can always get a job in a restaurant to pay his tuition.
Future Chefs’ Café is open Fridays for lunch and Wednesday evenings; reservations are required. Call 604.483.7967 to book a table.
