An omelet bar, sandwich station, grilled salmon and spinach and sausage lasagna. Those are just a few of the dishes Emily Griffith Technical College students are cooking up at Emily's Cafe.
The Cafe, located on the first floor at 1860 Lincoln Street, is a student-run eatery where students in the culinary arts program get to showcase their cooking and restaurant managerial skills. The building also houses the DPS Board of Education, Downtown Denver Expeditionary School and Emily Griffith High School.
After a pandemic hiatus, the Cafe reopened in May and in November, the school announced they'd start serving dinner on Tuesdays.
Program Chef Tim Inzano has worked with Griffith students for the past 24 years and he said the school's student first mentality is what has kept him overseeing the kitchen. He pointed out that extending the Cafe's hours even for one day benefits the evening culinary students and students looking for an affordable meal after their busy day.
"We found out that a lot of the students in the evening are coming straight from work to school and they don't have a chance to grab a healthy fresh nutritional dinner," said chef Tim Inzano. "So, we thought we would open up Tuesday evening...and so far so good. They love it. We do have a nighttime program, so these are different culinary students. This has given them a chance for hands-on [practice] and running a cafe."
Inzano said the culinary program costs about $7,100 and runs for about seven to 11 months, depending if a student is full time or part time. The program starts off with basic techniques, learning knife skills and safety measures, then it transitions to the technical school's hands-on model.
Inzano said a typical day starts with breakfast prep, "cutting, dicing, steaming and cooking" whatever is on the menu for the day. That usually includes pancakes, french toast and the beloved omelet station, which is considered an "action station."
"I designed the kitchen so there'd be quite a few action stations out front so they can interact with the customer," Inzano said. "The big one is the omelet bar. They learn to flip omelets in front of people and that's not an easy thing to do."
After breakfast, students flip the front and back of the house in preparation for lunch. Students rotate on the lunch stations, which includes a soup section, grill, deli and healthy choice.
Inzano said the program also requires students to apply and complete an internship. Inzano said the internship is key because it provides real world experience and it usually turns into students' first job.
"They get a lot of hands-on practice from the Cafe plus the internship itself, which 99.9% of the time that internship turns into their first cooking job," Inzano said. "You know that's part of my responsibility too is to make sure that the students become employed. So, I found out a long time ago that if I concentrate on the internship and make sure it's a good fit for our students, I usually never have to worry about job placement because that is their job placement."
Which is the goal for all the programs at the technical school.
The college was founded by adult education pioneer Emily Griffith in 1916 and it was called The Opportunity School, according to Isaac Solano, the Associate Dean of the College of Creative Arts and Design.
Solano said the school's original motto was "For all those who wish to learn," and Griffith's goal was to provide education to whomever was interested. That idea continues today. The culinary program lies within the College of Creative Arts and Design, along with other programs such as cosmetology and massage therapy. The school also has a trade college and a health sciences college, with programs like welding, automotive repair, dental and medical assistance programs.
The school also offers continued education programs such as GED classes and English classes.
Inzano said the culinary program sees people in all stages of life, whether they've always known they wanted to be a chef or if they're looking for a change in careers.
"There's a lot of entrepreneurs out there, you know a lot of people who like working for themselves and in the food business, that's a pretty easy transition," Inzano said. "Here, you go from learning the basics and then you can actually start your own place, whether that be a food truck or a pop-up."
The next start date for the culinary program is Feb. 13th for both full- and part-time students.
Inzano said if folks are interested in learning about the program or experiencing the food, they can stop by the Cafe. The prices are right after all.
"Our prices run from about $2.50 to $7 and we haven't raised prices since we moved here. A cookie is still a dollar," Inzano laughed.
