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Gerry and friends celebrate anniversary at esteemed Canadian culinary school Gerry is writing today This past July, I had the pleasure while in Ottawa of enjoying lunch at Le Cordon Blue Paris at the Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute. I was celebrating with a group of friends a special event. Whenever traveling to a large city, you should check out the option of dining at their culinary institute for a grand meal at an excellent price. Reservations are a must, for these facilities are operating schools and Lori Gysel & Gerry Kentner their dining rooms have set days and hours. The students take several roles in the dining room and Pizza Dough Makes 2 lbs pizza dough (enough for two 12-inch thin crust pizzas) Ingredients · pinch granulated sugar · 1 and 1/3 cup warm water · 4 tsp quick rising, active dry yeast · 2 tbsp olive oil · 1/2 tsp coarse salt · 3 cups all purpose flour Method 1. Ensure that water is quite warm, but not boiling hot or you will kill the yeast (approximately 120 B degrees F). 2. Sprinkle the yeast on top of the water. Let rise until foamy, approximately 10 minutes. 3. Whisk in oil and salt. 4. Stir in flour, using hands if necessary. Let rest for 30 minutes. 5. Punch dough down and knead 10 or 12 times, until dough comes together in a smooth ball. Transfer to a clean, oiled bowl. Set dough in bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, approximately 2 hours. 6. When ready to use the dough, roll dough out to form base and then dress with desired toppings. kitchen throughout their training. This Ottawa school has a very intensive nine-month course to graduate and their students are assured of excellent job placements upon graduation. The lunch dining rooms are called Club des Amis and are run by the students under chef/teacher supervision. In the evening, the same rooms are operated by chefs and are named Signatures Restaurant. This restaurant is rated by CAA/AAA as one of the best three restaurants in North America and also has been given a full three star rating in Where to Eat in Canada. It is the only culinary institution to operate a five-diamond restaurant. We chose lunch over dinner to experience the talents of the international students. Upon arrival, we were escorted into the opulent interior of this building in the Tudor Revival style of architecture. Our private dining room was tastefully decorated. The china and crystal shone on the starched white linen. It was a fixed price menu including wine and our own waiters. We spent a very enjoyable and delicious couple of hours over creative food and fabulous conversation. The chef/teacher and his students take time out of their lunch-time schedule to visit with the Halton Hills group who dined at the Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute. Gerry recommends visiting culinary institutes for a good meal at a good price. Photos by Gerry Kentner The students who prepared our meal that day were from Canada (three) and Peru (one). They presented themselves to us after lunch with their instructor, to rounds of applause. Students come from all over the world and on any given day, your four student chefs could be from four different continents! The students are required to devise the menu, prepare and present it and more than likely, clean up too! These students are in their third trimester of training when they get to prepare food for the restaurant. A truly unique dining experience to be able to share in these students' passion for this industry. And who knows where they will be next-- we wish them future successes! Here is the lunch menu: July 13 and 14, 2006 First Course Warm gateau of eggplant caviar, cured tomato and buffalo mozzarella served with balsamic and fresh basil vinaigrette Main Course Salmon fillet cooked unilaterally with a gingered compte of cabbage and apple, served with a chive beurre blanc and crushed potatoes Dessert Passion fruit mousse cake with strawberry coulis and chocolate sauce Have fun and keep cooking!