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Loyola serves up culinary careers to students by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver 11 | Thursday, January 22, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary School hopes its new restaurant will serve students with all the tools they need for successful culinary careers. The Oakville high school's diner was taken over by culinary students for the first time on Thursday, Jan. 15 and drew a full house -- to the delight of food and nutrition teacher Jeff White. "It's unbelievable to see it come together. The school went through a big rebuild in the last three years. To finally bring it all together is a relief and it's been a smashing success. We don't have a single seat available," said White. The student-run restaurant doesn't operate daily. Rather the school's culinary students "build their skills" over a semester then open for one day at the end of the term. At least that was the plan. "The opening was such a hit, we are going to open once a month, with the dishes becoming more difficult each month," said White this week. The venue provides the students an opportunity to promote their new capabilities to teachers, the Halton Catholic District School Board (HCDSB), the union and local entrepreneurs. "The kids showcase all of their skills and they design everything -- recipes, menus, decor. They cost the food, do the shopping, everything you can imagine. It's awesome," said White. He noted there is a demand for trades in Ontario, including culinary, which is why the HCDSB established a restaurant in Loyola and other schools in Halton. "There are 400,000 jobs opening in the restaurant world, plumbing world and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) world. The board decided to get these people ready, so we're training them for the culinary trade," said White. "Whether they do it as a career or to help them get into university, or pay back some of that debt, it's a great career or second career for them." The Loyola teacher stressed the importance of operating a school restaurant, as it gives students "real-world experience." "They're doing everything they need to do. They take these skills and move forward in life with them," said White. Students Anthony Ciaccia, left, and Scott Docherty, of St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary School, cook in a restaurant staffed by students. Loyola offers the Oakville Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) culinary program that introduces students to the many job and career opportunities in the hospitality world. | photo by Eric Riehl ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) It's all part of Loyola's food and nutrition Thai barbecued chicken with roast potatoes, course, where students learn "everything, not just vegetables and garlic, among others. cooking and preparing things," he said. The food is "all made from scratch" by the Students receive instruction on global food students, White said. choices, the effects of drought and the latest "The kids learn how to do it, they learn about information about nutrition. "They learn about carbohydrates and basic nutrients, how to develop great eating habits and how to create those things so that we can move forward, eat healthy and not have this obesity problem that we have," said White. While the school renovations took a few years, the restaurant only came to fruition last year. The café can seat up to 30 people, but the teacher said he's hoping to accommodate as many as 60, noting additional tables can be placed in the hallway if needed. "We've got a beautiful restaurant area and a beautiful kitchen area. It's the same set-up you would see at most hotels and restaurants in the world," said White. The restaurant features a number of menu items including a homemade potato dill soup with fresh potato chips on top, Asian salad and a the foods. They go, `Oh, I can actually make a spinach salad and it tastes fantastic.' Before they take this course, they're probably thinking, `I don't really want spinach.' Now they want it," said White, the former owner and founder of Philthy McNasty's Sports Pub. White noted local businesses and entrepreneurs, such as Doug Greco, are working with him as community partners, resulting in a handful of students working in part-time positions. Greco heads up Catch Hospitality, which operates four local restaurants -- Cucci, Plank, The Firehall and Tavolo. "We've got three or four kids right now who have part-time jobs helping them through school and saving up for university. It's really paying off for them right now," said White. Loyola was awarded a culinary Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) program in September 2014, which generated funding of $250 per participant, White said, noting there are currently 17 Grade 11 and 12 students registered. "We got a chef (White), we got the local business partners and we got the facility. It's a nobrainer, we can make this happen. We can help get kids to the next level. They're getting all this incredible exposure," said White. "There are a lot of jobs out there -- from dishwasher to executive chef. 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