SAN ANTONIO — You don’t have to break the bank to enjoy international cuisine because an east-side college is offering the fine dining experience at an affordable rate, served by its students.
Artemisia's at St. Philip's College is located on the top floor of the Culinary Arts building, which is between Montana and Wyoming Street.
"It's pretty phenomenal when you see people in for the first time because we are a hidden gem," said Program Director for Restaurant Management Patrick Costello. "We have a full service restaurant that we offer lunches and dinners out of. And it's the best kept secret because most people don't know that you're going to get a four-course meal, plus your beverage, and it's going to be under $20. We charge $18.98, which just happens to be the year we were founded."
Costello told us that the class we visited with studies a region or specific country. They spend the first part of the week studying ingredients, cooking techniques, climate, religion -- things that affect the food. Then, they come together to produce a menu from that region.
It was an Asian menu when we went, featuring a blend of Chinese, Korean and Thai.
"We're going to start off with chicken sauté with two different Thai sauces," said Costello.
The second course was a spicy daikon radish salad.
For the entree, we had the bulgogi, or Korean barbecue beef.
"It's a wonderful marinated skirt steak. We're going to grill it up, we're going to slice it. It's going to get served with some lettuce. We're going to have some marinated vegetables to garnish it with," said Costello.
And then they finished with a farina pudding.
The talent is dripping from these culinary art majors, all from different backgrounds and walks of life.
"I went to Paris and I didn't even think that I would even have an opportunity to go there, you know, being from the west side of San Antonio and being able to come to this program, I learned so much for two weeks from French chefs," said Culinary Arts Major Kimberly Cisneros. "It's an opportunity that I will never forget."
We spoke to another student, Caleb Koval, about his future plans. "I graduate in May and then I'm going to go do a culinary opportunity over in Japan for six months. Eventually, I want to start a food truck, and so integrating other cultures into my menu for my truck is something I'd love to do."
A lot of these students aren’t just out of high school either.
"You can enter into this program at any juncture in life. We don't send out rejection letters," said President of St. Philip's College Adena Williams Loston. "If they have career goals for this program, or any program, we will provide them with the financial resources to make sure that they can be successful."
Costello also said that the program is giving careers to students, and "watching these kids have that opportunity is so fulfilling."
The 2023 semester is coming to a close. But, you can click on this link when you want to make a reservation for the 2024 dining experience when it becomes available.
Do you have a restaurant or food truck you want Lexi to visit? Send an email to eats@kens5.com with all the details. You can also contact her through social media:
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