By Christina Espinoza / Asst. Inscape Editor
Made with love (Christine Espinoza / Asst. Inscape Editor.)
By Christina Espinoza / Asst. Inscape Editor
Riverside City College’s Culinary Academy serves food with a passion.
It’s hard to find fresh and tasty food at a reasonable price these days but if you’re reading this article, look no further.
Creating delicious new menus daily, the RCC Culinary Academy is sure to offer something affordable and appetizing for everyone.
The student run restaurant is actually a culinary arts school, which offers students the opportunity to prepare for a career in culinary arts by getting an education in a state of the art restaurant facility.
The philosophy or “passion for food” created by the school’s director, Bob Moghaddam, may be the reason each meal served is so special.
“I tell my students, you have to have a passion for what you do” Moghaddam said. “Cooking is a passion and also serving other people.”
Moghaddam explained that when he is instructing his students, the most important lesson or key factor in preparing food is paying attention to detail.
“I tell them, pay attention to detail,” said Moghaddam. “Follow instructions carefully. When you cook you follow a recipe and when you bake, you follow a formula. It’s very important to go step by step and take no short cuts. If you do this then your food will come out properly.”
The menu offers a wide variety of enjoyable food for breakfast, lunch and dessert, while providing a satisfying serving size for most appetites.
Breakfast at the academy is served daily from 8:30-10 a.m. and includes all the usual breakfast items like any style eggs, crispy bacon, sausage, succulent ham or breakfast potatoes with bread options that include toast, pancakes or fresh baked biscuits.
Depending on the changing daily menu, a student chef may create breakfast specialty items such as eggs benedict with warm hollandaise sauce, French inspired crepes or a flavorful breakfast casserole.
Lunch at the academy is served daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and offers mouth watering soups, crisp fresh salads, juicy hamburgers, golden fried potatoes, perfectly spiced zucchini and scrumptious ruben or chicken sandwiches.
Student chefs may also create daily specialty items such as tender lamb chops, unique pizzas with hand made crust and delicious hot or cold vegetarian options.
As you enter the academy, you are greeted by a delicate display of baked cookies and cakes that no doubt taste as good as they look.
The dessert menu also changes daily but a favorite item is the moist chocolate cake sprinkled with fresh strawberry slices and a plate decorated with caramel hearts.
The restaurant’s décor is simple but clean and definitely creates an atmosphere of a five star restaurant, but Moghaddam warns customers to remember it is a place of learning.
“People come in and they think they’re coming to a five star restaurant. This is really a lab and you are m
y guinea pig,” Moghaddam said.
Who ever knew being a guinea pig could have such sweet rewards.
Still, the only thing that may spoil your meal is the threat of a student chef’s unique creation, so stick to the flavors you know and your tongue and tummy will thank you.
You got served (Feliciano Gonzalez / Staff Photographer)
