Craving pasta after the Brodhead Center closes? Il Forno may soon be delivering to dorms after 8 p.m.
At its Tuesday meeting, Duke University Student Dining Advisory Committee heard from Kyle Rosch, director of operations for Il Forno, and Caroline Bretherton, who organizes the Chef's Kitchen cooking course.
Rosch said Il Forno is open to extending its hours, offering delivery or both.
"We're willing to either stay open a little bit later if there's a need for it," he said. "There's also a potential that we may want to deliver pasta [or pizza] after 8 p.m. on-campus, from here."
Members of DUSDAC said that since many students have labs or classes that end around the time the Brodhead Center eateries close., students would take advantage of the extended hours and delivery option.
"I've had multiple times in the last few weeks of people saying 'Oh my God, it's 7:50,' and sprinting to [the Brodhead Center]," said senior Julia Leuchtenburg, a committee member in favor of Rosch's potential changes.
DUSDAC members also sampled a potential new Il Forno menu item—an open-faced focaccia sandwich. One open-faced sandwich was inspired by margarita pizza with sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella, although the other sandwich was a play on Il Forno's prosciutto pizza with a pesto-ricotta base, prosciutto, tomatoes, arugula, shaved parmesan and balsamic glaze.
"It's a quick snack, somewhat light but a lot of bread," Rosch explained.
Rosch also noted that Il Forno received its first shipment of whole wheat pastas this week, which it is currently testing in its kitchen. He said he hoped the whole wheat option would be made available by next week.
Cooking Courses
Students who took the free, six-week long Chef's Kitchen cooking course last semester will be happy to hear that an advanced cooking class will be added in addition to the beginner cooking class that already exists.
Bretherton, the chef who organizes and teaches the class, said she thought that last year's pilot course was a success, with the exception of timing.
"By the end of the six weeks, the [students] were cooking three course meals," she said. "It was really nice to see the difference from week one to week six."
This year, the classes will go from 6 to 8 p.m.—an extra half an hour from last year—and last five weeks, Bretherton explained. She added one class will run on Mondays and the other on Wednesdays.
Bretherton decided that she wants to teach an advanced class in addition to the beginner class because many beginner class students mentioned that they wanted to learn more. Lessons in the advanced course might include a sushi week, an advanced baking week and a "Chopped" competition week.
"We’re going to try to do a block from October the 16th to November the 13th," Bretherton said.
She also hopes to do another course from January to mid-February.
Bretherton also shared some ideas for future pop-ups, including a great holiday cooking bake-off. She added that she might even be able to get a friend of hers—who is a judge on The Great British Baking Show—to award the prizes.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.