When students return to campus in the fall of 2017, they will find a new space at the Oaks Dining Hall – the Culinary Studio.
The studio, according to its recent advertising, will serve as a test kitchen and host pop-up events, classes and demos.
“The inspiration was borne of our Executive Chef Marissa Riffle,” Director of Dining Services Michael Paulus said. “As BGSU Dining has continued its commitment to culinary excellence, we really needed to create a space that allowed for continued development and education of our culinary staff.”
Currently, there is no designated space for dining staff to be trained. Training occurs after hours and while students are on break. Once the studio opens next fall, dining staff will have a more convenient space in which to be trained.
The studio will offer “classes for students and the community,” Riffle said.
Fees attributed to these classes will be nominal and will reflect the true cost of the class, Paulus said. Demos will be of no cost.
Classes will include a basic cooking class that will help prepare students to cook for themselves once they no longer have a meal plan. That way students won’t have to have a diet of solely Ramen noodles, Riffle said.
The studio will be fitted with audio and video technology, which will provide a cooking show atmosphere, allow spectators to more closely watch the chefs and allow chefs to record their demos for future playback.
“We will also now have a dedicated home for our Mommy & Me class, Beer Tasting classes, Wine 101 and our Chef’s Club educational series,” Paulus said.
The studio will host pop-up restaurants, too. The space will be capable of testing the University market with various ideas. Paulus compares this with an example of a New York City McDonalds that popped up in Manhattan for a day to test a new product.
“It will be a great way to test a concept,” Riffle said. Using the space will provide an “opportunity to work out some of the kinks (of an idea).”
The studio will also host dining events including the historic gingerbread house workshop, which occurs around the winter holidays.
The new studio is being created in the space that formerly housed Pinkberry at the Oaks Dining Hall. Pinkberry’s five-year contract ran out at the end of last school year, and a decision was made to keep the space for programming.
Pinkberry was moved to the Oaks in the middle of its contract in hopes of bringing in more community customers like Dunkin’ Donuts – 38 percent of the Ridge Street Dunkin’ Donuts’ business is from community members.
Riffle is also experimenting with an urban cultivator – an indoor gardening appliance used to grow herbs for cooking. Currently the Oaks has a small cultivator being utilized by the Shoots section, but Riffle hopes to have a full-sized cultivator in the studio, too.
Renovations to the space have yet to begin as the estimates are finalized. In addition to the audio and video technologies and vents, an exhaust system and gas hook-ups are among a few of the renovations that have to occur before the studio can open.
