Culinary students prepare fall feast

By Diane Carter

The Culinary Arts department presented a delectable buffet at the Chef’s Table restaurant at City College, Ocean Avenue Campus on Wednesday, October 18.

  The event featured a variety of cuisine prepared by both students and Culinary Arts department professors.

One hundred tickets were sold at $21 per person to cover the cost of the bountiful variety of cuisines around which the buffet was orchestrated. Three days before the buffet all tickets had been sold and there was a waiting list for the event.

  Every aspect of the buffet accentuated abundant varieties of tastes, textures and colorful garnishes using harvest colors and spices. Long buffet tables were exquisitely decorated with autumn flowers, pumpkins, and leaves arranged by the students of the Horticulture department.  

The bounty of prepared dishes communicated a real desire to prepare food to please attendees of the event and the spirit of the seasonal mood that the Culinary Arts department was attempting to convey. Entrees on the buffet tables included three different kinds of meat and one fresh fish recipe.

Event attendees Nona Nangdama and her friend Marilyn Weed, City College students, praised the cuisine.

“It is my second year to attend the harvest festival,” said Nangdama who had turkey, roast beef, cranberry sauce, halibut, grilled carrots and salad.

Weed enjoyed cantaloupe, salad turkey and roast beef.  

“The food is delicious and so expertly prepared,” said Weed.

Another attendee, Tandra Lowe enjoyed the green mix and gravy, turkey and carrots, she described her buffet items as “tasty.”

Desserts and salads were prepared by instructor Stella Kwan and her students in the first semester of the culinary program.

The students presented a plethora of exotic sweets such as matcha green tea mousse; mexican chocolate pots de creme, peanut caramel chocolate bars polenta cake, and thai tea panna cotta.   

The complex menu of the event was evidence of the diligent attention to details and plannings of the instructors Chris Johnson, Stella Kwan and Keith Hammerich.

Jeffrey Fung, a former alum of CCSF, who graduated in 1970 said “I  enjoyed the salmon, turkey and salad.”  

Justin Fung, his son, invited his father to the event and continued to eat as his father spoke.

CCSF has a long standing tradition of restaurant culinary excellence.

Fung and his son are one of many families who have supported the college by participating in its events over multiple generations.

Finally, Kevin Chang, a continuing education student, summarized the event when he said “I am very impressed with the food, especially since the students cooked all of the buffet items on this college campus.”
Guests enjoyed a spread that included a myriad of choices. They were served everything from grilled chicken breast with capers, onions, and bell pepper topped with sherry and oregano; seared halibut with olives and tarragon; roasted tomato coulis; carvings of roast NY strip with horseradish to a, traditional seasonal roast turkey breast with cranberries and gravy.

A Fall Harvest Festival attendee enjoys a plate of Autumn food on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Diane Carter.
A Fall Harvest Festival attendee enjoys a plate of Autumn food on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Diane Carter.

 

Bread made of different grains that only grow during the fall are arranged in a basket for guests to taste and enjoy on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Diane Carter.
Bread made of different grains that only grow during the fall are arranged in a basket for guests to taste and enjoy on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Diane Carter.

 

Fruit brought by attendees are arranged and cut in an artistic fashion for display and enjoyment on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Diane Carter.
Fruit brought by attendees are arranged and cut in an artistic fashion for display and enjoyment on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2017. Photo by Diane Carter.