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The Chinese Café
February 2009
Happy Chinese New Year of the Ox
Any excuse to cook and eat delicious Chinese food is smiled upon at Lambeth College. On this occasion our reasons were both genuine and sincere. The Chinese New Year of the Ox was the inspiration for students working at the Adare Centre’s ‘Healthy Gourmet Café’ to create a feast fit for an Emperor!
Tutor and Café Manager Frank Innes and his team of talented students produced a mouth-watering selection of Chinese dishes earlier this month – some of which were highly ambitious – for students and staff to sample during their lunch breaks.
Amongst the selection were shrimp and sweet corn patties, vegetable and cashew nut chop suey, Chicken Chow Mien, Chinese fishcakes in sweet and sour sauce and lime mousse with mango.
Students in the Café were joined by another class from the Cookery and Home Management course and their tutor Penny Owens who shared a number of different tasks from preparation and cooking to serving and working the till.
Frank said: “The Chinese Café is part of a challenge for the students to explore the foods and cooking methods of different countries and cultures. When they are set tasks such as this the group will respond in their usual industrious manner and set about turning the idea into a reality. This time around I am particularly impressed with how the team coped under the pressure of a real working environment with real customers."
Two of the students Faye and Rachid were given particularly responsible tasks. Faye cooked the Squid in Ginger and Chilli. She said: “I’m relieved it cooked well and very quickly. It also looked good and I think the customers loved it!”
Rachid served the food to the waiting customers and did so in his usual service-with-a smile style and customer care. He said: “I was the lucky one who got to hear all the praise and excellent feedback from our customers. I was quick, however, to pass on the good reports to the rest of the team.”
The Healthy Gourmet Café is building an excellent reputation for its great food and prides itself on the friendly atmosphere and great value for money customers can always expect.
