The Bakersfield College Food and Nutrition program hosted its second annual charity wine dinner on March 16 to refurbish the Renegade Room.
According to Chef Pat Coyle, “This [was] the biggest, fanciest thing we have done all year.”
Students in the BC culinary arts program prepared every course on the menu. Chefs Coyle, Alex Gomez and Suzanne Davis supervised the culinary students who worked diligently in the kitchen the entire evening.
Very rarely does a BC-sponsored event serve alcohol, but since this wasn’t a student event, the culinary program was able to serve wine, although they had to satisfy all the requirements necessary to obtain a license for serving alcohol.
After some assorted hors d’oeuvres served with champagne, Coyle talked briefly and when everyone was seated, the first course was served, which was roasted pecan soup with apple-zucchini relish.
The second course, barbecue shrimp with Maytag blue cheese, grits, mustard greens and crispy onions, was served with white wine.
A blood orange and passion fruit sorbet was served before the main entrÇe, maple-grilled and balsamic-glazed petite veal chops with sweet potato hash and a Kern County green bean medley. It was served with red wine.
After a salad with roasted baby beets, asparagus and wheat berries, a trio of chocolate desserts was served with three decorous dipping sauces.
The sorbet and the entrÇe were prepared by the advanced culinary students, while the bread and dessert was prepared by the students in Davis’ baking class.
After dinner, a raffle was held using tickets that were sold for $1 a piece or 7 for $5.
Some of the items given away at the raffle included bread, turnovers, Merlot, Chardonnay, BC Food and Nutrition department cookbooks and golf shirts, cookies, a cookie jar, and gift baskets from the BC bookstore.
Coyle, a culinary professor at BC since 1979, said that he enjoys watching his students grow and become more confident in their culinary abilities.
“Some of these people [at the event] are regular customers. They see the new guy with shaky hands serve them their plate at the beginning of the semester and get to watch him build confidence as the semester goes on,” said Coyle.
Last year’s charity event paid for a new paint job and ceiling fans for the Renegade Room, which is BC’s restaurant and culinary arts classroom. With the proceeds from this year’s event, the BC Food and Nutrition program wants to put carpeting in the Renegade Room.
The proceeds from the wine tasting event are also used to pay for state competitions that the culinary program attends every year.
The Renegade Room operates during the semester on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Thursday dinner is typically a buffet showcasing ethnic foods.