On February 12, Conestoga’s student-run restaurant Bloom was featured on CTV’s In Your Backyard which showcases landmarks, activities and people unique to our region. During the segment, reporter Stu Gooden spent time with executive chef Brad Lomanto to learn more about the Valentine’s Day menu students will serve on February 14.
“Everything that we do here and design for the curriculum, or the menu at Bloom restaurant, is designed with the students in mind so they can take care of everything themselves with the help of faculty chefs and the chefs that are going to be working in the restaurant with them,” explained Lomanto.
Bloom, located at the John W. Tibbits campus in Waterloo, serves as a learning lab for students -- every meal service is a live lab where students are graded on their performance and ability to understand and carry out customer service techniques. The 50-seat full-service licensed restaurant is part of an expanded Culinary & Hospitality Institute that opened in fall 2018.
The prix fixe Valentine’s Day menu will include parmesan broth with dumplings and squash, braised bison short ribs and a chocolate brownie. Visit CTV Kitchener to view the three In Your Backyard segments with Chef Lomanto where he demonstrates techniques for each dish.
Conestoga’s School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts provides a broad range of programs to serve the workforce needs of the growing hospitality industry. Conestoga is Ontario’s only college included in the Institut Paul Bocuse Worldwide Alliance, the leading global network of education excell.ence for culinary arts and the hospitality trades.