Cafe Burrier Full-Service Restaurant Enters Second Season

Eastern Kentucky University’s Café Burrier, a four-course, white-tablecloth restaurant operated by EKU dietetics students, will enter its second season Tuesday, Sept. 18.

Open Tuesdays and Thursdays through Nov. 15, from noon to 1 p.m., Café Burrier is located in room 302 in the Burrier Building and seats 40 guests. Reservations are required to attend a meal and should be made at least one week prior to the meal wished to attend.

“The first year was a resounding success,” said Dr. Jim Haynes, EKU nutrition professor teaching the food service courses. “We had many positive comments about the meals and many requests for copies of recipes. Attendance was full for most of the meals.”

Each meal at Café Burrier includes a salad or appetizer, entrée, vegetable and dessert, served with water, tea or coffee.

The student-operated restaurant provides opportunities for EKU baccalaureate dietetic majors to serve as managers, chefs and other positions, allowing experience in every facet of the food service profession.

“Last year, the class learned the importance of communication with the customers and the importance of being trained to provide service with an outgoing and positive personality,” Haynes said. “Evaluation of the course by last year’s students showed that it was an eye opener for them as to the high level of effort required to pull off a successful meal. One of the students from last year’s class wrote that ‘we talk about it all the time, how this class is our favorite.’”

New this year, Café Burrier will be posting information of calorie content and fat grams of many food items, along with some other new additions.

Using a number of Kentucky Proud recipes created by the Cooperative Extension Service of Kentucky, the restaurant will serve many new, unique combinations such as strawberry salsa; cucumber, corn and bean salsa; apple, kale and sweet potato hash; buttermilk squash bread; baked apples and sweet potatoes; new potato and asparagus soup; prawn pilau; and roasted root vegetables.

“This class is an opportunity for the students to be totally responsible for operating a food service on their own,” Haynes said. “In the past, host food services were kind enough to allow our students to shadow their workers and do limited tasks under their supervision, but our students were not in charge or totally responsible for the outcome. In this instance, our students have to step up and take total responsibility for the preparation and service of entire meals to the public.”

The cost of any meal is $11, payable at the door by debit or credit card only. To make reservations and see menus and more information, visit www.fcs.eku.edu/cafe-burrier.

Contact Information

Jim Haynes
jim.haynes@eku.edu

Published on August 14, 2012