Hidden Gems: Fine Dining at Diner Prices

Divine Inspirations
Alexandria
744-2557

I DO Bridal & Tuxedo
Alton
875-4848

Wooden Soldier Ltd
Bartlett
356-5643

Modern Bride & Formal Shop
Rte. 101
Bedford
472-4933

Betty Dee Fashions
Berlin
752-5141

Sherry's Veils
Bow
493-2775

Heidi's Bridal Boutique
Claremont
542-3345

Linda's Country Lane Bridal
Claremont
543-0882

A Day to Remember Bridal
Boutique
1 North Main St.
Concord
228.8031

Cassie’s Bridal
41 North Main Street
Concord
227-0561

The Perfect Dress For You
Concord
856-8829

Two Hearts Bridal Boutique
Dover
743-1433

Custom Bridal Veils
Exeter
778-6440

Townsend's Bridal & Formal
Center
Exeter
778-0280

William Fitz Bridal
Fitzwilliam
585-9555

Bridals by Giuseppe
Freedom
236-4543

Maria Antonieta Couture
Bridal
Gorham
839-5440

Country Bridals and Formal
Wear
17 Main Street
Jaffrey
532-7641

Hidden Gems - Fine Dining at Diner Prices
by Oonagh Williams

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Behind those boring school doors, down the long, often draughty, corridors, just follow the delicious scents wafting
through the air to an unexpected pleasure.

At my Culinary Arts School in London, England we (the students) had to be responsible for planning the menu,
ordering, cooking, and serving the meal to the faculty in the staff dining room as well as to the public in the public
restaurant. We were always told that we would only find similar standards in hotels like the Ritz or Waldorf. Half the
class was in the kitchen, prepping and cooking the food to order while the other half would set up the restaurant
and serve the meal. The menus had to be written entirely in either English or French, no half measures, so our
restaurant French had to be good as well, and French was one of the languages we were able to study. Some of
the translations that were made of traditional British dishes were downright strange. How would you translate
‘spotted dick, spotted dog’ which is a light fluffy steamed cake-like dessert with raisins dotted throughout, or ‘toad in
the hole’, sausages cooked in Yorkshire pudding (popover) batter, ‘cock a leekie’, a Scottish leek and chicken
soup, or a dessert called ‘a fool’, a chilled custard with pureed fruit. And I kid you not, these are the actual names of
these dishes.

With the popularity of the Food Network and Celebrity Chefs, more and more people are taking culinary training and
some high schools are now offering a culinary arts program to give a more than basic grounding for those who want
to enter culinary arts. This is not the same as Home Ec/Food and Consumer Sciences, known as domestic science
in the UK. Some students do culinary arts in high school just to be able to eat the finished product — it’s certainly
better food than the ordinary high school cafeteria and free. What more could they ask?

We are lucky in New Hampshire to have quite a number of schools whose culinary arts students run public
restaurants that offer excellent food at unbelievable prices. I will take you on a quick tour. (And, as they say in the
interests of full disclosure, I am program chair for the Culinary Arts program at Milford High School and I’m on the
committee for the new culinary arts department to be built as part of the new building, commencing Spring 2010 at
Pinkerton Academy.)

I have eaten at Milford High School’s Windows on West Street many times Wednesday-Friday, 11:15 am to 12.15
pm. www.MilfordSchools.net (go to Milford High School, click on MHS and Applied Technology Center and link to
Windows on West Street for menu). The restaurant is literally on West Street, straight off the side walk. You can
even buy pastries and breads to go, of far better quality than found in supermarkets, comparable to the best area
bakeries, and at very reasonable prices.

Recent offerings at Windows on West Street (all include salad, rolls, starch, and a vegetable):
NY Sirloin Steak $8.25 - An 8oz center-cut New York sirloin steak, tender and juicy, grilled to your liking and served
with a delicious Bordelaise Sauce.
Haddock Mornay $6.50 - Fresh North Atlantic Haddock filet, baked, served on a bed of freshly sautéed spinach, &
topped with a delicious cheese sauce.
Chicken Cordon Bleu $6.25 - Boneless chicken wrapped around sliced Virginia Ham & Imported Swiss Cheese,
breaded and sautéed in butter till golden brown. Served over a mushroom cream sauce. .

And don’t forget to leave room for dessert, all luscious and made from scratch, full of butter and cream. In 6th grade
my son had done a project on Nicaragua and my hairdresser put me in touch with a friend for some information,
including the dessert known as Très Leches Cake, meaning 3 milks Cake. The original version was too sweet for
me, but I got the recipe from Windows on West Street when I tasted their version, and then added more alcohol to
my variation of their recipe. I have also adapted this cake to be gluten free and just as good as my regular flour
recipe.

Another high school restaurant: Alvirne High School in Hudson, www.Alvirnehs.org, click on Checker’s Restaurant
in main menu, open during the school year. Offering soup, sandwiches, salad and entrées, beverages and dessert
of course. I ate there with friends, it is a bit of an adventure to find your way to the restaurant, once you arrive at
Alvirne.

Southern New Hampshire University, in Manchester 5 miles down from WMUR and Commercial Street. Go to SNHU.
edu, click on About SNHU, then ‘SNHU facilities’ to get to the page about Culinary Arts. They have a public
restaurant open for lunch on Tuesday and Thursday, seatings are at 11:15 am, 11:30 am and 11:50 am and dinner
on Thursday. Lunch is $10 for a three-course meal, $14 for four-course meal. My husband and I ate a 5 Course
dinner there with an Iberian theme (Spanish islands off the east coast of Spain). The price was $25 with gratuities
going to a student fund. Lovely, leisurely dinner, generous portions, allow time to digest the food in the European
way with no rush. They encourage guests to order different dishes so that the students can get an accurate feel of
a commercial kitchen. Lunch and Dinner Menus are posted on the web site, ‘Quills’ is open until April. Reservations
are required, 603.629.4608.

There are technical schools attached to quite a few high schools where students wishing more of a technical career
can get a good grounding in that specialty, at the same time as pursuing their high school diploma in their regular
high school. This is quite a common idea in England and Europe where it is accepted that not everyone is academic
but still wants a career. Where would we be without chefs?

The Seacoast School of Technology in Exeter serves as a regional school for Epping, Exeter, Newmarket,
Raymond, Sanborn and Winnacunnet. www.SeaCoastTech.com, click on Culinary arts Icon at top of page and click
on ‘Julia’s ‘ restaurant, Julia’s opens at 12:15 pm for lunches. Service begins at 12:25. ‘For our NITE meals we will
open the doors at 5:45 pm. Reservations can be made by sending an email to julias@sau16.org or by calling 775-
8473. They can’t accept walk-in guests. The restaurant is open most Thursdays for lunch and for several evening
meals during the school year. Recent Offerings:
Soups: Pasta in Brodo, La Ribollita, Minestrone Alla Genovese,
Breads: Grissini, Crostini with Tapenade, Country-Style Bread
Salads: Char-Grilled Vegetables, Insalata, Caprese Panzanella
Entrees: Pollo Alla Diavola, Stuffed Mussels, Roast Florentine Pork
Sides: Grilled Asparagus, Suppli (fried Rissoto balls), Spaghettini Aglo E Olio
Desserts: Hazelnut and Chocolate Cake, Coffee Gelato, Tiramisu

The regional school district covered by the Governor Wentworth School District in the Lakes Region covers
Brookfield, Effingham, New Durham, Ossipee, Tuftonboro and Wolfeboro. www.govwentworth.k12.nh.us, click to
schools, then region 9 Vocational, click to culinary. They mention a restaurant but no details are given. The school
office should be able to help.

And lest we forget the mountains – Mount Washington Valley Career and Technical Center covers nine area
schools and has a brand new culinary arts center. www.kennett.k12.nh.us/ctc.htm, then click on Mineral Springs
Café. 603 356.4372
Recent offerings: Baked Macaroni & Cheese w/Buffalo Shrimp: Home-made cheese sauce with buffalo spicy sauté
Shrimp baked with crumb topping and served w/demi salad. $6.50
Veal Piccata: Sautéd breaded veal with lemon butter caper sauce over fettuccini served with garlic toast and a
demi salad. $7.00

Nashua High School also has a culinary arts program. www.nashua.edu/nhn/index.asp and click on North Star Café.
At Nashua you have to check in with the main office and go through the building to inner corridor public restaurant.

I am sure there are other schools out there offering equally excellent programs for the students that result in good
public restaurants for us. I have based my details on my own knowledge of what’s out there and replies from
schools requested through the State Department of Education in Concord. Things are changing all the time and I
encourage you to contact your local schools and Voc-tech’s to ask about culinary arts. Many schools offer Adult
Education classes, which are fun, reasonably priced and a ‘sanity break’ as I used to describe them. I taught Adult
Ed classes in International Cooking Made Easy at Merrimack High School for many years. I co-teach regular flour
and gluten free baking classes at Milford High School’s Culinary Arts Department on Saturdays.