Durham College has truly planted the seeds for culinary, tourism, local food, and hospitality growth in the Golden Horseshoe (specifically the Durham Region) with their state-of-the-art Centre for Food (CFF) that opened this past fall in October. The Golden Horseshoe Food and Farming Alliance was lucky enough to witness the facilities first-hand at an Alliance meeting that was held there shortly after the opening.
The 4+ years of planning, fundraising and building were most definitely justified at the impressive grand opening, where more than 300 people got to tour the $18-million, 36,000-square-foot learning facility in Whitby, while sampling student-prepared dishes and watching student-led cooking demonstrations. Don Lovsia, the College President, led the toast as guests raised their glasses to the CFF while unveiling an elegant harvest table.
Well-known chefs Jamie Kennedy and Christian Pritchard were also in attendance to celebrate the culinary and hospitality-focused programs the CFF will bring to the region. The CFF includes a full-service, green-certified teaching and learning restaurant, state-of-the-art kitchens and labs (including a food and beverage pairing lab and a hotel living lab), and classrooms and meeting spaces designed for roughly 900 new students pursuing careers in the culinary, agriculture, tourism and hospitality sectors. Yes, this centre will bring an impressive 900 students to the campus! Not surprisingly, the Centre will also allow for special event hosting as well.
If that wasn’t enough, the extensive landscaping also includes an on-campus orchard, pollinator garden, greenhouse, demonstrator gardens, a green roof, an agricultural planting zone and an arboretum.
Truly taking field-to-fork in their own hands, these plots will supply food to the programs and the restaurant (Bistro ’67). We are excited about the obvious value and benefits that will come from such a program – a restaurant run by culinary students that will feature the produce grown on site! The local food and menu will change as the cuisine in the classroom does. From utilizing local products to the grass-covered roof, clearly sustainability is a key focus here.
“Since Day 1 we have been committed to the creation of a centre that provides the curriculum, faculty expertise, and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment required to meet the growing need for new men and women able to fill both existing and emerging roles within the spectrum of a field-to-fork concept,” shared Don Lovisa.
One can see the plethora of benefits that will come from such an innovative centre, including the valuable partnerships; they have already received offers from local farmers who are willing to provide plots for agriculture students. These are the exact sort of partnerships, work, and efforts that are so very important and needed in our province.