Culinary Pop-Ups Vie for Menu Spots at TD Garden

Student-run culinary pop-ups are well-established at JWU Providence's College of Culinary Arts, but JWU’s partnership with TD Garden has added an additional incentive. Select menu items from the junior-level Chef-Driven Contemporary Casual Lab (CUL 3131) have been submitted to Legends, the members-only restaurant on the stadium’s 3rd floor, for possible rotation onto the live menu. Since the program began last year, 6 recipes have been submitted to the Legends team. It’s safe to say that all of the current teams are hopeful that one of their dishes will be chosen.

Concepts are peer-evaluated on the following criteria:

• Flavor and presentation
• Cost
• Ability to be executed at Legends

The pop-ups offer real-time experience of what it’s like to work on a line during a lunch rush. At Ohana, a recent Hawaiian-themed pop-up, the line of students waiting eagerly for lunch snaked around the back of the Cintas Dining Room. (In addition, students were calling in to-go orders at a good clip.) Chef Matthew Britt kept an eagle-eyed eye on the line and made sure that the team chefs were keeping up their pace to get orders out promptly. “C’mon guys, get it on the plate!” The stakes were high, but the Ohana team came through with delicious food.

Once everyone sat down to eat, Assistant Dean TJ Delle Donne weighed in on the Ohana team’s efforts: “This meal had connectivity to it. You could feel the theme strongly. There were great dishes in the other groups but this is probably the most cohesive menu.”

The Next Hopefuls
November’s pop-ups celebrate the flavors of the Philippines, Jamaica and Italy. All pop-ups take place in the Cintas Dining Room in the Harborside Academic Center (HAC) and start at 11am. Lunch is free on a first come, first served basis.

1. 1. Lignum Vitae [Fri, 11/15]: Our mission is to share Jamaica’s rich culture by serving authentic meals using traditional preparations. We honor the Jamaican values of sustainability by taking the initiative to limit the amount of food waste our restaurant produces. We contribute to the needs of our community by partnering with local companies that specialize in donating leftover restaurant product to nearby food pantries and shelters. “Wi likkle but wi tallawah”: “Our country is small, but our culture is strong.”

1. 1. KuyAte [Mon, 11/18]: KuyAte is a Filipino-style fast casual restaurant. Our goal is to provide traditional flavors that are unique to our customer base. We are bringing Filipino food to the forefront of the casual American dining market.

1. Passero [Wed, 11/20]: Our mission is to deliver fresh and delicious food to every single table, and provide our customers with carefully handmade Italian food. In order to stay authentic, we have designed a menu where we make our own cheese and pasta — reinforcing Nonna’s philosophy.