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Issue date: 10/17/06 Section: Entertainment

Media Credit: Ryan Bouchard Roman Style Chicken served with bread and three truffles from our very own Mesa cafeteria.

If you are looking for an alterative to the food that you see everyday in the Mesa cafeteria, now you've got one.

Just behind the doors marked "Staff Dining and Conference Room" there is a staff of chefs-in-training waiting to serve you.  But don't let the staff sign throw you; the kitchen is open to students as well.

"This kitchen is open to anyone interested," said Chef Pete Robson.

Robson has been working the food industry for almost 30 years and he now teaches the class that prepares the food.  The staff is made up mostly of students except those like Robson who are there to teach and help keep it running.    

"The food here is prepared fresh daily and doesn't wait under a heat lamp till you order," said Tyson Blake.  Blake, like most of the working staff, is a student in the Culinary Arts/Culinary Management 131 class.  He has been preparing food for 12 years.   

"The food is healthy yet indulgent," said Blake. "We have confident cooks who blend herbs and spices together brilliantly."

"The cooks use and learn different cooking techniques that help make the food taste as well as it does," said Mesa student cook Chantel Stone.

You're probably thinking food that's healthy and tastes good has to be expensive. But no, you can actually get a three-course meal for $6.  If you're not ready for all that food then they will gladly bring you some to-go boxes. Or you can just order the entrée a la carte for $3 or a bowl of soup for only a $1.50.

Senior Secretary Denise Costa has been eating there for years and for good reason.

"I love the food here and the students are so eager to work," said Costa.  "They have fair prices and great service."

Robson said that the menu changes daily so you don't get stuck in the routine of getting the same thing everyday. 

He believes his students have a passion for what they are doing and he believes it translates into the food they prepare.  They have just added baked desserts onto the menu that are made from scratch three times a week.

To find this little slice of heaven all you do is go into the main cafeteria, walk past all the seating and turn right just before you reach the check out lines, through the doors marked "Staff Dining and Conference Room" and there you have it - a fresh, healthy and cheap way to dine at Mesa.    

"Students get more for their money plus it's healthy," said Stone. "I don't know why anyone wouldn't want that."

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