CONESTOGA COLLEGE
Bloom restaurant begins fall service with new Canadian-themed menu

Conestoga's student-run Bloom restaurant will launch its fall term service to the community beginning September 23. An interactive live classroom, Bloom is located within Conestoga's School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts at the college's Waterloo campus and welcomes paying guests for lunch and dinner service.

This new menu has a Canadian theme, inspired by executive chef Dan McCowan's trip to Institut Lyfe in Lyon, France this past summer.

"It was inspiring to see in our time in France how much focus there was on the history and specifics Lyonnaise cuisine. We feel taking a similar approach here with a focus on Canadian, and even more specifically Ontario ingredients and dishes would be a great approach to how we do things in Bloom with both our food and drink menus," said McCowan.   

McCowan was joined on the trip by Bloom Maître D Darryl Haus, and met by two students studying there. The visit was part of the ongoing knowledge, study and culture-sharing activities that form the Institut Lyfe Alliance, which connects institutions that share educational values and the common goal of promoting and developing the professions of culinary arts and hotel and restaurant management. Conestoga is the only Canadian partner school.

McCowan has two of his entrées featured in The Alliance Cookbook that features sustainable recipes from around the world: a wildflower honey-roasted beets dish that is part of Bloom's fall menu, and a maple-glazed British Columbia halibut, also offered on the fall menu with the halibut being substituted with Lake Erie pickerel.  

Bloom's Grab n Go lunch counter will also continue to feature soups, sandwiches and baked goods for purchase daily, and will expand the variety of its offerings, which are prepared by second-year students in the Modern Café class, part of the Baking and Pastry Arts Management program.

"It's really important to feature our students' work in our restaurant. Each day in class, when students realize they are preparing food for sale and consumption by the general public, it imitates a real-world restaurant setting," added McCowan.

"We also ensure that students handle the front-of-house and point-of-sale activities to build interpersonal and business skills while helping them connect with the community."

Bloom will also introduce frozen offerings for purchase this fall. Known as Bloom Gourmet, the line-up will include various cuts of meat that students prepare in classes, including peameal bacon.

McCowan added that featuring student creations for sale daily, in both the café and restaurant, also aligns with the school's focus on sustainability and food waste reduction. Bloom is the first restaurant in Canada to display greenhouse gas emissions icons on its menu, and also recently won the Kostuch Media Green Leadership Award.

Reservations for Bloom can be made using the online booking system. The dining room will open for lunch Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with dinner services on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Named one of Canada's top four culinary schools in 2024 by University Magazine, Conestoga's School of Hospitality & Culinary Arts is a leader in culinary and hospitality programming that prepares students for successful careers in Canada's tourism industry. Students learn from faculty members with extensive industry experience as they develop practical knowledge and theoretical skills. The Waterloo campus is home to its state-of-the-art culinary skills labs and student-run Bloom restaurant.