Kendall College Cooking School

Living in Chicago, we have so many options for fantastic meals, from the small great Chinese carryout to the high-end gourmet restaurant. Another experience I've heard of is eating at cooking schools, where they make you a 3-course meal at a fixed/reduced price for the type of gourmet food they are providing, since they are in essence "practicing" on you. There are a few places around Chicago to eat at a cooking school- CHIC, the Culinary & Hospitality Institute of Chicago, which is affiliated with Le Cordon Blue, is a well known one. Another one I've heard of is Kendall College. I took a few gourmet cooking classes at COD taught by Dave Lombardi, who worked at Kendall College. His classes taught me a lot about cooking and appreciating gourmet meals and I still use many of the recipes and techniques I learned from him. Finally, after several years have passed, I got a chance to visit the Kendall College "Dining Room" restaurant with some friends. And what a wonderful meal we had!

Below are some pictures of the artwork- er, I mean, dishes, we were served. :) The service was terrific and the menu enticed us to try such cuisine as crispy pig ear (yes, you read that right) and beet ice cream. Hats off to the Kendall College Dining Room for a splendid and unique meal!

Place setting


Chefs at work in the kitchen


The restaurant


Liz, Karen, Lynn and I


Chestnut rissoto, mascarpone cheese, savory, chestnut chips


Duck confit, poached apples, parsnip puree, baby arugula


Crispy pig ear, mustard greens, apple-mustard vinaigrette (back)
Roasted market beets, wild arugula, feta cheese, lady finger popcorn, argon oil (front)


Braised lamb shank, creamy polenta, roasted root vegetables, pumpernickel crumbles


Grilled bison strip loin, roasted root vegetables, black currant gastrique, bone marrow hollandaise (back)
Chicken and savory sausage, grilled chicken breast, red rice pilaf, apple chutney (front)


I think this was the Grilled skirt steak of grass-fed beef, winter green gratin, poached farmhouse egg, pickled ramps


Dark chocolate beet cake, dark chocolate blood orange mousse, red beet sorbet, hazelnut crunch, roasted beets, blood orange


Apple terrine, apple tarte-tatin, fennel confit, apple crème fraiche sherbet, mulled apple cider frappe, apple fritter, candy apple


Pumpkin souffle, maple ice cream, pumpkin seed brittle, gingersnap soil, winter squash, orange & cranberry relish


Cocoa chestnut crepe, milk chocolate cremeaux, turnip & pear salsa, milk chocolate streusel