February 14, 2017 marked the first time that Concordia University Dinning Services hosted a Valentine’s Day dinner. They used the Sodexo Culinary Center for the dinner and had the area decorated to match the love holiday. The tables had white table clothes, with pink napkins and drinks of water and lemonade.
The dinner was a combined idea from General Manager Joe Burdi, Executive Chef Olivera Amour, and Retail Catering Manager Sofia Quirk. The three had help setting up, serving, and preparing the food by Concordia Dining Services Chef Diana Ringo and Veronica Garcia.
The three course dinner started with a Seven Vegetable Tuscan Soup with a Parmesan crisp shaped as a heart. There was also a roasted Garlic, Walnut, and Paprika cheese spread to mix in the soup.
Next was the entrée which consisted of a six hour slow roasted Short Rib, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Maple Glazed Carrots, and a Carrot rose.
Last was desert with a simple Cheesecake with a Raspberry sauce drizzled across, a White Chocolate heart placed on top, and a Chocolate dipped Strawberry with White Chocolate drizzled on top.
When asked about the idea for the menu and why those choices Burdi explained, “Seasoning. It’s all about seasoning.” Burdi also said, “we want to have more dinners like this. It is something unique to not only this school, but for colleges to do this on their own. We also wanted to give the students a chance to celebrate the day in a restaurant environment.”
