Culinary Market sells student creations in new Culinary & Hospitality Center
The Culinary Market is now operating out of its new location in the Culinary & Hospitality Center at College of DuPage.
The market sells items made by culinary students and is currently open from noon to 2:30 p.m. on Wednesdays to Fridays. Previously located in the Student Resource Center, the new space features two large display cases and is located adjacent to the student-run Wheat Café.
“The market provides an outlet for student-made product,” said Laura Lerdal, Culinary Market manager. “It's a great way for the community to sample what our students are producing.”
The menu changes every day, as it's tied to the curriculum of several classes, Lerdal said. For example, students in Culinary 1101 prepare soups, so soup is one of the staple items offered by the market. Culinary 1102 students prepare classic dishes, such as lasagna, while the baking classes create a variety of goods, from coffee cakes to croissants. A new specialty baking class will offer vegan and gluten-free items on select weeks.
The market first opened eight years ago, and items initially were sold from a wooden cart that was wheeled outside of the former Escoffier Dining Room, said Catherine Leveille, Academic Lab supervisor for the Culinary & Hospitality Management program. Its current location provides more space, as the new building features more kitchens for expanded class offerings.
“The product is the same high quality as before, but there's more of it,” she said. “There is a matrix of cooperation between all of our classes and the various outlets in the new center – the market, Wheat Café and the student dinners in Waterleaf.”
The market will close for the term during the week of Thanksgiving and will reopen the second week of the spring term, which begins on Thursday, Jan. 12.
The new location is drawing crowds, from students to employees to the community. Lerdal said one couple from Morris drives up every week to purchase soup.
“Although we're now on the far east side of the campus, the new location has surpassed all of our expectations, and we're doing just as well if not better than we did in the SRC,” she said. “What's most important is that we provide students with an opportunity for their work to be savored and enjoyed by college and community members.”
To receive email notifications from the Culinary Market or for more information, call (630) 942-2359 or email lerdal@cod.edu.