Those of us who have had the good fortune to have worked at, attended or visited Lethbridge College
know one of the many benefits of being on campus is the ability to go to a cafeteria with delicious offerings every day. From freshly-prepared sandwiches and salads stuffed with local produce to delicate desserts created that morning by students in the pastry class, the college’s food court offers anything but stale, canned fare. Exceptional care about cuisine extends into the Garden Court Restaurant, too, where culinary students put their sautéing, searing, sifting and simmering skills to the test with creative offerings throughout the year.
But the college’s connection to food ranges far beyond the offerings of the Culinary program, and this issue of Wider Horizons highlights just a few of these savory stories. Dive in to an in-depth profile about Charlie Shultz, one of the world’s experts on aquaponics training and research, who joined Lethbridge College as an aquaponics researcher last year and is researching ways to improve sustainable food technologies. Soak up the story about a local homebrew club whose members include many current and recently-retired instructors who gather together to concoct and distill memorable beverages – and lasting friendships as well. Follow along with the adventures of two students from the Blood Reserve who travelled to Peru last summer as part of a class that was working to build greenhouses to provide fresh produce to school children in a small mountain village.
You can also read about some of the successes of our Culinary grads, including a Claresholm chef who was selected to appear on the Food Network’s hit show, Chopped Canada, as well as a Victoria chef who is gaining a following for his “pop-up” restaurant that features a new menu at a different location each night.
We’ve also included some personal essays from college students and staff about food and eating, including words from an instructor who loves to bake, from an international student who writes about comfort foods from home, and from two Environmental Science instructors whose hunting trips fill up a freezer each year. You’ll quickly see that this issue is loaded with recipes, too, including favourites of the students, staff and industry partners we have featured in these pages. People feel passionately about food, and creating this issue has fueled the culinary fire in all of us in the Marketing and Communications office at the college. If you are so inspired, please email us ([email protected]) with your own favourite recipes and we’ll post them on our website.
We hope you enjoy our creation – and that you find this special issue to be as satisfying as a delicious meal shared at a table with great friends.
Bon appetit!
