Christmas Special Meal at Jia-Yuan Laboratory Restaurant
By Shona Song
The Jia-Yuan Laboratory Restaurant at FuJen Catholic University started selling advance tickets for Christmas special meals in front of the Fu Yuan student canteen, starting from November 23. These meals were designed by four groups of students from the Department of Restaurant, Hotel, and Institution Management (RHIM), and were sold on December 18th, 22nd, 23rd, and 24th respectively.
About Jia-Yuan Restaurant The Jia-Yuan restaurant was opened in July 1983 and can seat up to 126 people. The Jia-Yuan Christmas special meal has been implemented for the last 15 years, but the meal contents are slightly adjusted according to each year’s coordinating students and conditions. |
Waldorf with Crispy Chicken Fillet, photograph by Shona Song
|
The Jia-Yuan restaurant mainly provides course training for students from the RHIM department and the Department of Nutrition Science, who are studying for the group meal preparation internship. During this internship, students simulate a large number of catering practices and service skills to increase practical experiences in group meal preparation. The restaurant menu design is different from the everyday menu, and the chefs of the four groups making special Christmas meals choose a different theme each year, but all menu designs consist of an appetizer, soup, main course, dessert, and beverage.
The chef of December 23rd Christmas meal Chen Hueisen said, one of the themes of the Christmas meal is ‘Game’ (野味), which originates from a European mountain town hunting. The idea of ‘Game’ is to add more Sugina and mushrooms to a dish. The plate is also a reference to nature: by adding a smoky flavor, the dishes bring out a sensorial experience, providing a sensation as if the patron is tasting the dish in the hunting lodge themselves.
One of the chefs of the Christmas meal on December 24th, Du Yu Yu, said that their main design concept is the combination of luxurious western cuisines and traditional Taiwanese food. Instructed by a professor who is an expert in French cuisines, they intend to provide customers with a unique taste of abundant layers of scent. One of their innovations is the use of different sauces. In the chestnut pumpkin cream soup served with focaccia and red yeast tofu dipping, they added red quinoa that only grows in Taiwan. This indicates the innovation of the chef to combine western cuisine with local Taiwanese flavor.
Their main course is Waldorf with crispy chicken fillet. Layering different ingredients like tomatoes, apples, nuts, and French fried eggs, and combined with Basque sauce. Another dish is prime chuck flap steak with red wine truffle sauce. In the past, due to the difficulty in controlling the doneness of the steak, they avoided using beef. So it is a challenge for the chef this year to bring this upscale ingredient back to the stage. Mr. Du said during the interview that they choose to cook the steak using sous vide, which is a molecular cooking method with lower temperature and longer time.
The chef of December 23rd Christmas meal Chen Hueisen said, one of the themes of the Christmas meal is ‘Game’ (野味), which originates from a European mountain town hunting. The idea of ‘Game’ is to add more Sugina and mushrooms to a dish. The plate is also a reference to nature: by adding a smoky flavor, the dishes bring out a sensorial experience, providing a sensation as if the patron is tasting the dish in the hunting lodge themselves.
One of the chefs of the Christmas meal on December 24th, Du Yu Yu, said that their main design concept is the combination of luxurious western cuisines and traditional Taiwanese food. Instructed by a professor who is an expert in French cuisines, they intend to provide customers with a unique taste of abundant layers of scent. One of their innovations is the use of different sauces. In the chestnut pumpkin cream soup served with focaccia and red yeast tofu dipping, they added red quinoa that only grows in Taiwan. This indicates the innovation of the chef to combine western cuisine with local Taiwanese flavor.
Their main course is Waldorf with crispy chicken fillet. Layering different ingredients like tomatoes, apples, nuts, and French fried eggs, and combined with Basque sauce. Another dish is prime chuck flap steak with red wine truffle sauce. In the past, due to the difficulty in controlling the doneness of the steak, they avoided using beef. So it is a challenge for the chef this year to bring this upscale ingredient back to the stage. Mr. Du said during the interview that they choose to cook the steak using sous vide, which is a molecular cooking method with lower temperature and longer time.
Special meal in Jia-Yuan student restaurant, photograph by Shona Song
Each year, the chefs of the Christmas meal promote a new menu. According to the teaching assistant, Xu Shimin, the purpose of developing new products is to let students understand the importance of teamwork. From product development , the actual production, to the later marketing process, each step is completed through group cooperation. While designing the menu, it is important to know how to control the cost of ingredients. "For the most part, we let the students do it themselves, with teachers and teaching assistants guiding them.”
Xu mentioned the whole learning process includes menu design, material procurement, storage management, cleaning and cutting ingredients, cooking, and the accuracy and smoothness of the final meal provision. Daily review meetings are held to improve quality. Students also have to take turns as managers, storeroom keepers, chefs, procurement agents, ticketing agents, servers, and front desk representatives. Through this process, students experience the importance of teamwork and understand the difficulties of implementing an ideal menu and how to solve them.
The professor of the course Restaurant Management and Practice Lu Huiwen said, "FJU is a Catholic university that has a strong attachment to Christmas. Therefore, RHIM holds this annual event of making Christmas meals at this time, making the students practice through internships to learn about restaurant management, menu design, and procurement.”
Lu also said that this is a big event in the RHIM department, which is designed by students from the beginning to the end. It also allows students to show and even be recognized for what they have learned this semester. For customers who come to the event, they can enjoy these meals prepared by students, which is of excellent quality and reasonable price. This year, the innovative selection of the ingredients and the elegant menu design will definitely provide customers a unique eating experience.
Xu mentioned the whole learning process includes menu design, material procurement, storage management, cleaning and cutting ingredients, cooking, and the accuracy and smoothness of the final meal provision. Daily review meetings are held to improve quality. Students also have to take turns as managers, storeroom keepers, chefs, procurement agents, ticketing agents, servers, and front desk representatives. Through this process, students experience the importance of teamwork and understand the difficulties of implementing an ideal menu and how to solve them.
The professor of the course Restaurant Management and Practice Lu Huiwen said, "FJU is a Catholic university that has a strong attachment to Christmas. Therefore, RHIM holds this annual event of making Christmas meals at this time, making the students practice through internships to learn about restaurant management, menu design, and procurement.”
Lu also said that this is a big event in the RHIM department, which is designed by students from the beginning to the end. It also allows students to show and even be recognized for what they have learned this semester. For customers who come to the event, they can enjoy these meals prepared by students, which is of excellent quality and reasonable price. This year, the innovative selection of the ingredients and the elegant menu design will definitely provide customers a unique eating experience.