VGCC Culinary program announces spring dates for The Vanguard Café


VGCC Culinary Arts students prepare desserts to be served for a Vanguard Café lunch. (VGCC Photo)

VGCC Culinary Arts students prepare desserts to be served for a Vanguard Café lunch. (VGCC Photo)

The Vanguard Café in Oxford, where Vance-Granville Community College Culinary Arts students prepare and serve lunch for the public, is inviting the public to participate in developing culinary students’ kitchen and hospitality skills by dining there on scheduled Thursdays during the upcoming spring 2015 semester.

Members of the public can enjoy à la carte lunch service from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on the following Thursdays: January 29, February 5, February 12, February 19, February 26, March 5, March 12, March 19, April 9, April 16, and April 23.

“The Vanguard Café provides students with opportunities for realistic training, while offering unique, high-quality cuisine to our community,” said VGCC Dean of Business and Applied Technologies Angela Gardner-Ragland. “Vance-Granville can achieve its educational goals with a minimal cost to patrons.”

The two-year Culinary Arts degree program, based at the Masonic Home for Children in Oxford, prepares students for entry-level professional positions in restaurants, hotels, catering operations, health-care facilities, schools and other institutions.

“The Vanguard Café is an opportunity for the students to show off the skills they have been learning in a real public service setting,” said Chef Ross Ragonese, head of the VGCC Culinary program. “That’s the best way to prepare them for their careers.”

Reservations in advance are required.

For more information and to make reservations, contact Chef Ross Ragonese at ragoneser@vgcc.edu or (919) 690-0312.