Introduction
Last Thursday, we made an exciting journey to visit the exclusive student-run cafe located within TRU. We have always heard good feedbacks about the culinary but never had a chance to try it ourselves. The scratch cafe is only opened for a few hours each day (11:30pm – 1:00pm), which may be a downside if students are having class within this time period. As you can see on the picture below, the logo of the “Scratch Market” is pretty plain and simple. A lot of students may walk past the cafe not even knowing its existence or lunch serving hours. Therefore, we have decided to do short introduction of our initial experience dining in this wonderful place!
The cafe itself is definitely one of the most underrated eating places on campus. With Starbucks and Tim Hortons being the busiest food outlets, very few students know about the existence of this tiny student run and managed cafe in the Culinary Arts building. Prior to our visits, we were a little skeptical about the food quality because the building always seemed empty and quiet. However, upon our little trip to this brilliant cafe, the place was actually beyond our imagination. We discovered three new things:
- The food is delicious but expensive.
- Most of the customers are older people and not students.
- All of the ingredients they used are sourced locally, and made from scratch
The students serving the dishes were nice, polite and professional throughout our visit and always had their professors standing right next to them in case they made any mistakes. To our surprise the place was pretty busy. Most of the tables were full and we had to share a spot with someone else. There was a lot of variety of food to eat and it was beautifully served. All of the choices available for food on the day were demonstrated by actually preparing them and putting them on display. As the image above depicted, customers could choose from a few different options. The name and the price tags of the dishes were displayed in front of every item.
As we were deciding what food to order, we heard that one of their most popular dishes was called the “Chicken Cacciatore with Rice Pilaf”. Accordingly, we both chose to order the same food. The picture above shows Michelle enjoying her lovely chicken feast with broccoli covered in creamy feta cheese. The taste was spectacular but she thought that the proportion of the food was too little. When she was ordering her meal, she specifically emphasized that she wanted extra rice and vegetables. The cafeteria was so busy that no one really paid attention to her request. As a result, the food was given in minimal amount, which left Michelle a little dissatisfied considering the expensive price ($10.40).
Sadhika, on the other hand, felt that the dish was impeccable. After eating her first breakfast meal, she thought that the proportion of this dish was just about right. She enjoyed the tenderness of the chicken, and thought that the gravy went extremely well with the rice pilaf. She wished that there were less vegetables and more meat, but overall she also had a great initial experience. Even though the prices were a little high, the quality of the food was able to bring a great deal of satisfaction.
Although the quantity of serving was less and the price was high, the first impression of Scratch Cafe on us was of a totally brilliant place to dine in. The food is delicious and the staff is really working hard to keep up with their customer’s expectations. If the prices were a little less, the hours a little extended and the advertising a little more visible, it won’t take long for this little cafe to become the busiest eating place on campus. For us, Scratch Cafe is a great innovation of the culinary department. The fact that the students are working so hard to make sure their dishes are liked and appreciated, should not go unnoticed. We sure would not think twice to eat again at the Scratch Market, and it is definitely a place that every student should visit.
