Mac Manor Bistro celebrates grand opening

Posted on Friday, June 8th, 2018

 

Ottawa Community Housing pilot project offers Algonquin College students hands-on experience and affordable meals to tenants

– Ottawa Community Housing pilot project offers Algonquin College students

hands-on experience and affordable meals to tenants –

OTTAWA (June 8) – Mac Manor Bistro serves up valuable work experience to students and quality, affordable food to community housing tenants.

The pilot project is a collaboration between Ottawa Community Housing, Lowertown Community Resource Centre, Algonquin College, Options Bytown, and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board. Algonquin culinary students gain valuable experience providing affordable, nutritious meals to residents from two Lowertown community-housing buildings. The food is prepped and served at 123 Augusta St. in the top-floor Mac Manor Bistro, which was officially launched on Friday.

The grand opening event coincided with the graduation of the Bistro’s first class of 15 students. Students cooked lunch Monday, Wednesday and Fridays for 15 weeks to earn their Kitchen Steward Level 2 from Algonquin, while completing their theory work at the College. Two more student cohorts are already scheduled to come through the commercial kitchen space through 2018-19.

“Applied learning and community engagement are at the heart of our educational experience,” said Algonquin College President Cheryl Jensen. “Mac Manor Bistro is a testament to what creative partnerships can do to make a difference in our city – and to make a difference in people’s lives.”

The Algonquin students are all from the OCDSB, which has partnered with Algonquin College’s School of Hospitality and Tourism on a Kitchen Steward program since 2014. Mac Manor Bistro is an extension of that program – giving culinary students a unique applied training environment, and putting their kitchen, cleaning, sanitation, and food preparation skills to the test. Students also receive front-of-house training, which entails customer service, serving, setting a dining room, cash transactions, and communication skills.

“The Mac Manor Bistro provides valuable real-world instructional value to Algonquin students,” said Stephane Giguère, the Chief Executive Officer for Ottawa Community Housing Corporation. “It also helps our tenants by encouraging them to socialize and giving them an affordable and nutritional meal three times a week. We are happy to provide the space for the Bistro.”

Due to the success of the Mac Manor Bistro initiative, its collaborative team plan to expand the program to include catering for board meetings and supply food and snacks for various social programs within the Lowertown area. In addition, students will help process food donated to the local food bank, which gets a surplus of foods – like lentils and legumes – that are difficult to dispense due to challenging preparation. Students will deliver these foods to the food bank as a finished product.

Quotes

Matthew Beutel, Executive Director of Lowertown Community Resource Centre:

“Our mandate is… improving the quality of life of the residents of Lowertown and this clearly does that. We are bringing together students with barriers to employment, giving them hands-on training, and serving healthy, low-cost meals to tenants.”

Candace Carson, Program Coordinator, Co-op/OYAP/Dual Credits/Pathways/Guidance, Curriculum Services, Ottawa-Carleton District School Board:

“The Kitchen Steward Readiness Program (KSRP) provides OCDSB students with a unique opportunity to gain comfort and confidence in a kitchen setting, earn recognized certifications and develop a sense of social purpose. KSRP is making a positive difference in the lives of our students.”

Catharine Vandelinde, Executive Director of Options Bytown:

“Options Bytown is thrilled to be part of the collaboration that brought the Bistro to life and continues to support its work. The Bistro provides much-needed access to nutritious and low-cost meals to the tenants of this building, and an opportunity for people to come together with their neighbours to build friendships and make social connections.”

Mathieu Fleury, Ottawa Community Housing Chair and Rideau-Vanier Councillor:

“When great organizations such as the Lowertown Community Resource Centre, Algonquin College, Ottawa Community Housing, Options Bytown and the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board come together, amazing things can happen. The Mac Manor Bistro is a wonderful way to deal with some of the food security issues in Lowertown, not to mention, an excellent way to reduce isolation and build a sense of community.”

Wes Wilkinson, Academic Manager, Continuing Education Hospitality Studies, Algonquin College:

“This program has gone beyond my expectations. The energy of learning and engagement is huge for the students and all involved.”


Comments

Comments are closed.