We are always looking for a great value, and thanks to my younger brother, we found it at Le Cordon Bleu’s Technique restaurant. Located in Mendota Heights, MN, Technique is open to the public and offers lunch and dinner menus prepared by chefs in training every Tuesday through Friday. For just $10, you can enjoy a three course lunch menu, and for $15 you can sample a five course dinner menu. And Le Cordon Bleu offers the same experience at their schools throughout the country if you aren’t in Minnesota.
Current students learning their craft make up the wait staff and kitchen staff. Today, we were lucky enough to have my brother wait on us (my mom, my ten year old niece, and myself). My lunch began with one of my favorites…..diet coke in a glass bottle with lemon. However, they also offer a nice wine selection at a very good price point.
We were also promptly served bread, and we had 3 starter options (one soup and two salads), two main course options (one meat and one fish) and three dessert options to muse over. They were nice enough to accommodate special requests such as my vegetarianism. I ordered the green salad with beets, apples and pecans sans the pork belly and pancetta dressing, instead substituting a simple balsamic vinaigrette. Then, they prepared a cheese ravioli for me that was not on the menu.
My mother ordered the miso salmon with asian vegetable wraps off of the menu. And she said the salmon was perfectly cooked.
And my niece was also offered a special selection of fettuccine alfredo, which she thoroughly enjoyed.
We finished our meal with one upside down apple tart and two orders of the profiteroles, both served with vanilla bean ice cream.
And we also got to watch a flambéed coffee and liquor dessert drink being prepared for another table that had specially requested it. We were offered some, but I declined since I’m not that into coffee. After our meal, we were asked to fill out a comment card in order to provide the students with helpful feedback on the food, atmosphere, and service. And all in all, it was a really fun experience at an awesome price point. So if you are looking for an affordable way to enjoy a nice meal consider Technique or look into whether your area has any culinary schools that offer meals prepared by students.
(P.S. And now that my brother has amassed amazing culinary skills, we are hoping that he swings by our house and cooks for us one of these days. He’s been promising it for awhile…….)
Thank you for the great review. We have reservations for Thursday and I was looking for others reactions.
Cathy