‘The Gourmet Garden’ – pop-up restaurant in Laois proves a five-star success

A pop-up restaurant known as “The Gourmet Garden” recently wowed visitors in Heywood Community School, Ballinakill.

The restaurant was the result of a new Transition Year module culminating in cooking for and serving 80 guests in a specially constructed intimate setting.

The students devised the menu cooked the food, provided front of house staff, and designed the theme of the restaurant themselves.

“We guided, but they did it all themselves,” said Ms Georgia Dowling, who, with her husband Conor Wafer, operate the Food School cookery school based in Newbridge.

“We had 24 students working front of house with me, and 20 in the kitchen with Conor.

“What they learned in the kitchen included knife skills, what food goes with what, how to cook and how to present food so it looks nice.

“What I found fantastic was how they were willing to learn new things.

“The front of house staff decided on the name of the restaurant, designed a logo, did sketches of how they wanted the room to look.

“There were other things to learn, like the proper setting of tables and how to carry three plates at a time.

“In the kitchen, new dishes were introduced which wouldn’t be the usual fare at home.

“But all were embraced, built on, and produced. Costings and menu pricing were another element which wouldn’t have been in the students’ previous experience.

“We originally thought 50 guests, then it went to 60, and we finally closed it at 80. It shows an incredible support from the parents.”

Looking back at the experience, Ms Olivia O’ Connor, the transition year coordinator, was highly pleased at how the restaurant turned out.

“The whole school community was blown away by the high standards and students’ motivation for the module,” Ms O’Connor said.

“It brought the skills learned in both home economics and business to life.”

The students themselves all say they enjoyed it too. In some cases, they joined because they had an idea that they might go on to work in the hospitality industry.

Others say they’ll find the new skills useful if they take on part-time jobs in cafes and restaurants while doing further studies.

“Some have also told me that they are now cooking dinners at home,” Ms Georgia Dowling said.

“What has really been great is to see them go through the course and come out the other end with an appreciation of food.

“I think they will look back on the whole thing as a time of great camaraderie, and great achievement,” Georgia says. “One of the biggest things that I learned was to step back and let them do it.

“That was hard. I had a vision, and their vision turned out to be very different to mine. But it’s their restaurant, it’s their creation, it’s what they wanted.”

The managers both had important roles. Sarah Vesey made the welcoming speech, in which she briefly said what the both the front of house staff did and what the kitchen staff did.

Jessica O’Shaughnessy did the thank yous at the end of the night.

Flowers were presented to Georgia and a bottle of wine to Conor to thank them for coming in.

Flowers were also presented to Ms Caoimhe Delaney (Home Ec Teacher), Ms Fiona Barry (Home Ec Teacher), Ms Olivia O’Connor (TY Coordinator) and Lisa, (Canteen).

A photo frame with the 2 sides of the menu was presented to Mr Eamon Jackman (Heywood CS Principal) by Sarah Vesey.

Front of House

• Restaurant Mangers: Sarah Vesey and Jessica O’ Shaughnessy
• Station Leaders: Penny Wilkinson, Tom Fingleton, Claire Cass and Tim Drennan
• Servers: Georgina Charlton, Olivia McWey, Ellie Palmer, Lauren Mulhall, Isabelle Brennan, Sandra Carroll, Ava Coleman, Emily Kennedy, Maeve Dowling, Isabel McDonald, Louise McCann, Sinéad Brennan, Aoibheann Phelan, Jamie Carroll, Jack Gilnagh, Shaun Brennan, Cormac Dineen, Seán Swords and Jay Brophy.

Chefs

• Starters: Kyle Knowles, Louis Claffey, John Knowles, Billy Muldowney an David Galway.
• Soups: Bobby, Rowan, Ed Slevin, Colm Dundon, Oscar Farrell and Jack Burke
• Mains: Laura Harding, Sasha O’Keeffe, Luise Wullich, Jim Holland and Cathal Dundon.
• Desserts: Sive Lalor, Ava Kelly, Ella Kelly and Katie Ryan.

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