Portage College’s Culinary Arts students and instructors will cook 300 servings of spaghetti to boost the spirits of those working through a surging fourth pandemic wave in Northeastern Alberta.

Meals of spaghetti bolognaise including a Caesar salad and a garlic bun will be ready for pick-up from the Portage Market free of charge to all Alberta Health Services (AHS) workers in St. Paul on October 22 from 10 am to 5:30 pm. A 20% discount is also being provided to AHS staff who would like to purchase additional meals from the take-out selection available inside the Portage Market at the College’s St. Paul campus.

“As a program we look for ways to connect and give back to the community we serve, with the strain on our health care system we saw this as an opportunity to say thank you to those that have given so much and continue to do so,” says Jason Sachko, Red Seal Chef and Hospitality Coordinator at Portage College. “Food connects us and we want to use that to demonstrate our appreciation to our local AHS employees.”

Each meal being prepared in the culinary kitchens on campus will not only show support for AHS employees but allow students to share the skills they are learning. Curriculum techniques for sauce making, pasta cooking and production, and for cooking large volumes of food will be applied.

Prior to the pandemic the Culinary program would host a spaghetti supper for the community. This year changes needed to be made. The meals will be packaged cold in microwavable containers, ready to heat and eat thanks to partnerships from Sysco, Enterprise Paper and Co-op. The change will benefit those AHS workers who have shifts that start and end at all hours.

AHS employees who wish to receive a free spaghetti meal will need to call Edna Gervais at 780-614-6340 before 4:30 pm on October 20. The meals are limited to one per staff member and an employee ID will need to be shown at the time of pick-up.

About the Portage Market

The Portage Market is located inside the St. Paul campus of Portage College. All meals are created from scratch without bases or preservatives by the Culinary Arts program and Red Seal Portage Market Chef. Frozen meals are available for purchase as take-out ready to thaw, heat and eat. The Portage Market meals are nutritious, delicious and time saving. Choose from pasta dishes, stir fries, soups, pot-roast, roast chicken, stews, chicken pot pie, tandoori chicken and Swedish meatballs just to name a few. The selection changes throughout the year, so it’s always worth checking back to see what’s new!

Call Portage Market for more info at 780-614-6344 or email.

For more information about the Hospitality program:

Lindsay Toth, Marketing Specialist
Email
780-404-5525