The Culinary Institute’s Cafe Reopens For The First Time After The Pandemic

After a job interview two years ago in downtown Miami, Sendy Reimers came across Tuyo, the Miami Culinary Institute’s rooftop restaurant. 

Her meal—chicken and mashed potatoes—prompted her to apply for the Chef Apprentice Program. 

“I fell in love with the atmosphere,” said Reimers, who is pursuing an associate’s degree in culinary arts management. 

Now, the Canadian-born aspiring chef is practicing her craft at the Miami Culinary Institute’s Cafe, located on the first floor of building 9 at Wolfson Campus. 

Reimers is one of several students who get daily experience at the facility. She starts her shift at 7 a.m., setting up the kitchen and preparing pastries. 

It’s an opportunity that’s been missing from the MCI curriculum for the past two years after the  Cafe was closed due to the pandemic.

The facility marked its return on Aug. 29 with a soft opening. An official grand reopening will be held on Oct. 12.  

“I’m very excited,” Reimers. 

Guests who enter the Cafe are greeted by the aroma of freshly baked goods that include butter and chocolate croissants, empanadas and chocolate chip cookies. Items sell for less than $4 each.

From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., guests can enjoy lunch for $8 or less. The revamped menu features lentil, creamy tomato and Italian wedding soups, primavera and Bolognese pasta, burgers, Cuban, BLT and Italian sandwiches.

“The most popular item is the pasta of the day,” said Dominique Ravenberg, a first-year hospitality student from Suriname who also works at the Cafe. “I love the cheese Danish.”

Burgers, salads and sandwich options are always available, but soup and pasta selections vary daily.

“The tuna is really good,” said Esther “Shelly” Smith Fano, who serves as the Miami Culinary Institute Chairperson and the executive director of MDC’s Hospitality Institute.

All earnings from the eatery go toward the Culinary Institute’s food stock supply that’s used to run the Cafe. Tips fund Miami Dade College scholarship programs such as Rising Black Scholars, Presidential Scholars and the American Dream Scholars.

Renovations include a new kitchen on the first floor outfitted with a fryer, oven and grill. The old kitchen on the seventh floor will continue to be used for baking.

The seating area now includes a connection to the ballroom in Room 6100. The space, which was previously used for meetings and events, now has several big-screen TVs, height chairs and couches.

Aileen Valdivia, an animation major at the College, was intrigued by the “classy” ambiance the space now has.  

“I got the shrimp pasta,” Valdivia said. “It was really good.”

For students interested in learning how to run a restaurant on an administrative level, the Cafe will host a new Culinary Management Internship course—FSS2381. The four-credit class will be offered during the fall and spring semesters. 

Vicky Ardaya, the course’s culinary instructor, and guest chefs Paolo Osorio and Kannon Swaris will train students on how to work as baristas, order the menu and serve as a cashier.

Swaris and Osorio, who earned a culinary arts degree from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, have more than seven years experience at local businesses and hotels. 

The Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. 

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