Culinary students at MCC will run new restaurant
When executive chef Thomas Kaltenecker was hired to lead McHenry County College's culinary management certificate program, he knew his long-term goal was to create a student-run restaurant.
“I was planning in five to 10 years to start this, but it all happened a little faster than anticipated,” said Kaltenecker, who started at the college about 1½ years ago.
Instead, Sláinte, the college's new student-run restaurant, will open to the public on Tuesday, offering a menu of eclectic cuisine with an eye toward local ingredients.
The word, “sláinte,” is a Scottish toast that means “to good health.”
Kaltenecker, a native of Austria who ran the culinary program for Robert Morris University and worked as a part-time hospitality instructor for Elgin Community College, said McHenry County College officials were very supportive of efforts to create a top-notch culinary program.
The college's new associate degree in culinary management is expected to be accredited in a couple of months, in order to officially kick off this fall, he said.
The restaurant will be open Monday and Tuesday evenings in the college's employee dining room. It will feature a menu of 16 items, including entrees like prosciutto-stuffed tenderloin with a pork-lime reduction, margarita salmon marinated in tequila, and chicken baked in tomatillo sauce, Kaltenecker said.
All the meat will come from Jones Locker Service in Woodstock, while the vegetables will come from greenhouses throughout the Midwest, Kaltenecker said. Starting this summer, culinary students will plant fruits and vegetables on 1½ acres at Woodstock North High School, he added.
The menu will change every three weeks, and the average price of a meal will be $20, including an appetizer, a soup or salad, an entree, a dessert and a nonalcoholic drink.
“We want to attract the community,” he said. “It will be a learning experience for the students, but it will be like a real restaurant, where you go, you sit down, you look at the menu. We are trying to make it feel special.”
Culinary students will take turns working at eight different kitchen stations by grilling, sauteing, frying, and more. Other students will work in the dining area as servers and busboys.
Student Jamie Goddeyne, of Crystal Lake, said the preparation for Sláinte's opening was intense.
“We worked really hard,” he said. “I think maybe the first week will be a little chaotic because everyone is trying to find their groove, but it will be fine.”
Goddeyne, who works as a lead saute cook for McGonigal's Pub and Park Avenue Wine Bar & Merchant in Barrington, called the restaurant “an awesome platform” for the students to showcase their skills.