VGCC Culinary program announces upcoming dates for The Vanguard Café

The Vanguard Cafe in Oxford, where students in Vance-Granville Community College’s Culinary Arts program prepare and serve lunch for the public, is inviting the public to participate in developing culinary students’ kitchen and hospitality skills by dining there on scheduled Thursdays during the upcoming fall 2012 semester. “This gives students an opportunity for realistic training, while offering unique cuisine to local diners,” said VGCC Dean of Business and Applied Technologies Bobby Van Brunt. “Vance-Granville can achieve its educational goals with a minimal cost to patrons.”

 

The menu for each lunch this fall will have a theme. Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on the following Thursdays: Sept. 6 (when the theme will be the cuisine of Italy), Sept. 20 (France), Oct. 4 (New England), Oct. 18 (Germany), Nov. 1 (International Day), Nov. 15 (Thanksgiving) and Dec. 6 (Christmas).

 

The two-year Culinary Arts degree program , based at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, prepares students for entry-level professional positions in restaurants, hotels, catering operations, health-care facilities, schools and other institutions.

 

“The Vanguard Cafe is an opportunity for the students to show off the skills they have been learning in a real public service setting,” said Chef Ross Ragonese, head of the VGCC Culinary program. “That’s the best way to prepare them for their careers.”

 

Reservations in advance are required.

 

For more information and to make reservations, call Chef Ross Ragonese at (919) 690-0312.