Clearlake >> Fine dining anyone?
Yesterday Aromas Café opened to the public for the semester. The restaurant, located on the Lake County Campus of Woodland Community College and staffed by culinary students will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. However, weekly dining will only be the beginning for these young chefs in training.
Throughout the semester, culinary students will take part in a variety of events on and off campus. At Lake County Campus, the food served at Aromas Café is an integral part of campus events and activities. For example, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, the campus will host their annual Black History Month event. Local leaders will speak on topics relating to Black History, complemented by an exquisite traditional soul food buffet lunch. On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, students will cook an Irish menu with lunch items to celebrate the holiday. And finally for Earth Day on April 21, Aromas Café will feature a sushi lunch and select vegetarian entrees.
Off campus, culinary arts students will be able to mingle with local community leaders and business owners while showing off their skills. On Feb. 6, students took part in their first community event of the semester hosted by Lake Family Resource Center. The Wine and Chocolate festival has been a huge success in the past and allows for students to mingle with the high life of Lake County building new connections and making tummies happy. On March 19, the students will be helping to provide food at the Park Study event held at the Clearlake Highlands Senior Center. Finally, Lake County Campus will have the privilege this year to host the Wine Alliance culinary competition. This will consist of an essay, menu development, and cooking competition where students will contend for monetary awards.
With Chef Robert Cabreros at the helm teaching his classes the importance of quality food, minimizing wasted food products, and enhancing the standard of customer service, it’s no wonder the school has a wall of success filled with names of alumni and the restaurants that now benefit from their expertise.
“I have never seen such dedication to one certain goal by any team I’ve ever worked with,” Cabreros said. “Our goal is simple, it’s student success.”
Cabreros, along with Instructional Assistant Terra Seifert and the Baking Instructor Ann-Marie Pleskaczewski, built a strong foundation in the community for providing the area with skilled, creative, and experienced chefs, line cooks, and bakers. From The Saw Shop Bistro to Park Place Restaurant, to catering businesses such as Chic Le Chef, local establishments are hiring graduates of the Lake County Campus Culinary Arts Program year after year.
