The Culinary Management Program at Chippewa Valley Technical College will spend the next two semesters preparing students for the ultimate test of knowledge and skill. In the spring of 2020, program instructors Kevin Brown, Jonathan Fike, and new arrival Bob Chaffee plan to open the program’s learning restaurant to the public for regular lunch services under student management. The facility will open once weekly for what the trio describes as “upscale fast casual” dining by reservation. As the semester progresses, fourth-semester students will take more control over the menus and service, providing a new dining experience each week. Guests will be able to watch their food being prepared both in the front-of-house instruction kitchen and via large monitors in the dining area as they livestream back-of-house efforts. “It’s almost a capstone project,” Fike said. “They’ve been working on this since second semester – even first semester with bar and beverage management – from developing a small menu to a larger menu and incorporating all these intricacies that go into developing a restaurant.” Brown added: “Once we have four cohorts of students in here at one time, I think for Jon and Bob and I, it’s finally up and running.” In the meantime, the program hosts regular pop-up restaurant events and even the occasional public buffet. For more information about the program and opportunities to grab some grub, search for the CVTC Culinary Management Program on Facebook.