Grand Canyon University's culinary arts students have been busy measuring, mixing, blending, whipping, baking and prepping this semester, feeding the campus's need for more dining options.
At the university's 27th Avenue and Camelback Road complex alone, students have been dishing out breakfast burritos, pastries, wraps, sandwiches and salads for the program's yet-to-be-named grab-and-go market in Building 71.
Gabe Gardner, culinary arts director, said the market – particularly the burritos and baked goods – have been well-received.
“We picked up a couple of birthday parties, so we're making cupcakes and brownies as people do celebrations in their offices, and I see that continuing to grow,” said Gardner, adding that he hopes to add pizza by the slice for the lunch hours.
The culinary arts program, offered to students as a minor under the Colangelo College of Business this fall, already supplies pastries to the university's multiple GCBC locations.
“A lot of this, particularly for the internal clients, is aimed at getting the word out about the culinary arts program, so people know we’re here, and we can begin to grow it and solidify it and give people an option when they’re looking for (places to eat) on campus,” Gardner said.
The college's dean, John Kaites, said GCU President Brian Mueller has shown a strong commitment to the program.
“We're trying to walk away from things that are prepackaged and walk toward things that are made from scratch,” Kaites said. “We ultimately want to build a farm-to-table experience that has outstanding food and can cater at the highest level and provide food to our faculty, staff and student body.
"It is unique.”
Gardner estimates about 700 employees work in Building 71 four days a week. That doesn’t include the 300 students from the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions and the 150 students from the College of Theology's Grand Canyon Theological Seminary.
“There are about 1,200 to 1,300 folks there on any given day,” Gardner said. “So, as we see the population in that building grow, our business is growing here.”
Cañón 49, where Gardner and his students operate, has altered its menu to fit the preferences of staff and faculty. The restaurant now offers sandwiches, pasta, salads and lighter fare dishes.
“As we move forward, I would like to continue to shrink the menu and concentrate more on scratch cooking, everything made by hand by us, but that's a long-term process.”
As planned last summer, the culinary arts program will operate a ramen pop-on Oct. 21 and a smashburger pop-up on Oct. 26 on the Cañón 49 patio. Dining Dollars will be accepted at each pop-up, and Gardner said virtually every item at each event will be made from scratch and prepared by students.
The ramen broth, for instance, will include roasting bones.
“We’re going to do an elevated version of what an In-N-Out burger would be,” Gardner said of the smashburger event. “We're going to grind our own hamburger, make our own buns, make our own mayonnaise. We're going to do everything but grow the lettuce and cure the cheese.
“I think these will be fun events.”
The program also will prepare Thanksgiving dessert options for students, faculty and staff. Emails will be sent around mid-October for an opportunity to order pumpkin, apple and pecan pies, as well as pumpkin rolls with cream cheese icing, dinner rolls and sourdough bread.
Customers can pick up their orders on Nov. 25 – Thanksgiving Eve – from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Cañón 49, Gardner said.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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