At Truffles, students are at your service

Culinary students learning napkin-folding techniques

Taylor's University’s signature restaurant is serving up real-life experiences along with authentic French cuisine in its own charming elegance.

After a period of closure due to the pandemic, the Culinary Institute's premier training restaurant, Truffles, reopened in early March and restricted its clientele exclusively to Taylor's university students and employees.

Truffles is one of the two training restaurants that are presently accepting reservations for their predetermined three-course luncheon.

The restaurant is tucked away in Block C next to the university square, offering diners a spectacular view of a shaded garden and the northern region of campus.

Upon entering, one would be greeted by intricate wine bottle wall art that leads to a dimly lit dining room with white-tablecloth and dapperly dressed servers.

As the restaurant's proud host, Dr Anshul Garg, a senior lecturer at the School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events, strides through the dining room with a broad smile as he relays orders to the servers and checks on the diners.

Dr Anshul briefing students about table setting

"Truffles is the first restaurant to be built at Taylor's University, as you can see from the elaborate ambience that distinguishes this restaurant from the other three,” said Dr Anshul.

“Therefore, from time to time, we do get VIP guests such as actuaries or deans, and if they have any entertaining guests, they will bring them here to dine as well, so we are always on our toes.”

Truffles' menu accentuates French cuisine, with dishes such as spiced pumpkin soup and roasted rack of lamb that will be carved right in front of diners at their table as part of an interactive dining experience.

“We have a number of chefs of French origin to give our cuisines a more authentic French essence and to help students in perfecting the recipes,” Dr Anshul remarked.

Prospective diners are advised to peruse the prix fixe menu on the restaurant's website before making their reservation since the RM20 lunch menu varies daily.

“Since this restaurant is mainly managed by students, they do get an opportunity to create their own menu here,” said Dr Anshul.

“This module is split into two parts: kitchen and restaurant. For the first seven weeks, students will be in the kitchen producing menus and dishes, and for the second seven weeks, they will be brought into the restaurant and be expected to serve the diners.”

Dr Anshul noted that the module is structured in this manner so that culinary students could gain experience and skills in both kitchen and restaurant management.

Du Jiayi, who is currently pursuing a Bachelor's in International Hospitality Management, said,

“I have learnt a lot through this module, and I can see this experience helping me in my future."

"My dream is to manage a restaurant one day, and working at Truffles has given me a glimpse of what that might look like," she added.

However, without the support of students and staff, this student-run restaurant would not be able to reach its full potential.

“It’s important for Taylorians to dine here with us so we can learn how real guests behave as well the challenges that we might face in this industry, and this will teach us how to serve them better,” said Zhang Shuo, a student who presently trains as a waiter at Truffles.

Students watch diners attentively as they dine

During the pandemic, culinary students had to play the role of diners and serve one another as safety procedures prevented external guests from dining at the restaurant.

“Now that we are reopened, we are expecting to see students and staff from all departments and faculties to support us and dine here because if we do not get any guests, our students cannot learn,” Dr Anshul explained.

“There are a number of tasks for which the presence of guests is crucial and necessary,” he added.

“Today, for instance, the students have to carve the roasted lamb in front of the guests, and last week they performed the Guéridon service, in which they portion the meal in front of the guests using a trolley.”

Dr Anshul stated that the attendance of diners is essential for students to perform these culinary tasks that require a higher degree of competence.

“The guests will provide the students with real-life exposure, which will benefit them when they join the workforce after completing their studies as they won't be afraid or nervous to execute these techniques in front of actual guests then.”