What's Cooking?

V.I.U. culinary arts student, Braeden Mitchell has enjoyed cooking since he first took a course at Brooks School when he was in Grade 9. He enjoys working with his hands, so taking more cooking courses followed when he was in grades 10-12.
Braeden graduated from Brooks School in June 2020 and with encouragement from his father, he enrolled in the V.I.U. Culinary Arts Program in September 2020.
So far the program has been a lot of fun for Braeden, who describes his current experience as being completely different than being a student at Brooks. "Tuesdays to Fridays we usually start at 8:15am and finish between 2:30pm-3:00pm. We have a zoom class on Mondays where we do our theory and quizzes."
Braeden feels that being part of a small class of eight students provides him with more learning opportunities and responsibilities. "I have learned a lot about vegetable and meat preparation and baking in my group that rotates through different tasks every two weeks."
Students along with V.I.U. Chef Instructor Avi Sternberg and Instructional Assistant, Linda Shaben operate the Birch Tree Cafe and Bistro. The Birch Tree Cafe  is where the cooking students get their hands-on training in running a restaurant with responsibilities from food prep, cooking and customer service. According to Sternberg, the cafe's name was chosen as it has symbolic meaning of hope and new beginnings in many countries, which he feels is so appropriate for the students participating in the culinary program. Stenberg describes his culinary class as a very tight knit group who have jelled well and work effectively as a team. The restaurant operates on Tuesday-Fridays from 11:30 -1:30 in the Eco Essentials Building on Alberni Street.
Braeden enjoys serving the public a varied menu. He explained that they usually offer 2-3 entries, salads, appies, desserts and specials of the week.
After completing his culinary training program which will include a two month co-op in the summer, Braeden plans to try cooking as career, possibly somewhere in the interior of the province. As Braeden  is a good student in math and physics,  he may decide to study architecture at some point in his future. Braeden realizes that his culinary training may also help him pay for his university education, if he decides to go down that path.
When asked about what advice he could give to future culinary students he replied, "Taking this course is definitely worthwhile as you learn how to cook for yourself and how to prepare proper meals even if you don't want to pursue cooking as a career."
Whether cooking up culinary delights or designing buildings, this introspective young man has a bright future!