The Dublin College of Catering at Cathal Brugha Street (DIT) apart from training tomorrows Chefs, Waiters, Bar Persons & Food Technologists also serves lunch to the general public at reasonable prices. During college term the lunches are served as often as twice a week, usually Tuesdays and Thursdays. These lunches are among a number of ways the college allows us a peek behind the scenes, one of the other other ways we’ve already covered here. For the princely sum of €8.50 two courses or €10.00 three courses you can enjoy a fine lunch prepared and served, under supervision, by the students themselves.

So what do the students of the Dublin College of Catering serve up for €8.50-€10.00? We’ll get to the menu in a moment but here’s a gallery of the finished products:

Here’s the menu:

Starters

Thai Fish Cakes

Cream of Swede Soup

Main Courses

Butternut Squash Risotto

Steak Diane with Braised Red Cabbage and Mashed Potatoes

Scallops with Celeriac Puree and Bordelaise Potatoes

Dessert

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Calvados Ice Cream and Cinnamon Cream

Paris Brest with Chocolate Orange Sauce

The TOPCHEFS Team were at one of the opening lunches last term, when the students of the Dublin College of Catering were only three weeks into term, and already the influence of Chef Tony Cambell in the kitchen and Maitre D Sean Hogan in the diningroom were evident. Several weeks later and the students are already exhibiting increased levels of confidence both in terms of culinary finesse and service flair.

DIT Cathal Brugha Street Lunch Service Schedule

Knowing when to book at Cathal Brugha Street isn’t as straightforward as a commercial restaurant, naturally enough, as the schedule is there for the benefit of students as opposed to customers. So if you want a table then be prepared to follow their academic calendar. February to April is the next opening period and there’ll be lunch services most Tuesdays and Thursdays during that window. If you want to book a table then ring Cathal Brugha Street’s main number 01 402 3000 and ask to be put through to either the Green Room or the Blue Room. To be safe it might be a good idea to ask at the main number which of the two restaurants are open on the day you’re planning to make your booking on. Enjoy yourselves!