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Where Fanshawe students learn their chops — and sell them too

A new shop in Fanshawe College's downtown campus sells meat and other goods produced by students in the school's culinary arts program offering hands-on experience in running a retail food store.

New downtown retail space sells meat and other goods produced by culinary arts students

Andrew Lupton · CBC News ·
Troy Spicer teaches butchery techniques at Fanshawe College. He says the retail store operating out of the Chef's Table location on Dundas Street gives students some hands-on experience on preparing meat and selling it in a retail environment.
Troy Spicer, a butchery techniques instructor at Fanshawe College, says the store operating out of the Chef's Table location on Dundas Street gives students hands-on experience preparing and selling meat. (Andrew Lupton/CBC )

A new store in Fanshawe College's downtown campus sells meat and other goods produced by students in the school's culinary arts program, offering a new shopping experience for Londoners and hands-on experience for students in how to run a retail food operation. 

Called the Chef's Table Market, the store is open for three hours on Thursday afternoons. 

Goods for sale include cuts of meat from the school's butchery program, along with pastries, baked goods and preserves made by students learning their craft. 

The store first opened in September and is part of the Chef's Table restaurant and café.

In addition to the retail space, the goods can also be bought online, giving students some experience running a retail food operation.

The retail store is open to the public, who can purchase meat butchered by the students at Fanshawe's learning labs.
The retail store is open to the public, who can purchase meat butchered by the students at Fanshawe's learning labs. (Andrew Lupton/CBC News)

Troy Spicer is the program co-ordinator of the professional butcher techniques program at Fanshawe. He said the retail space helps make use of the meat used in the instructional labs, while letting students sharpen skills away from the cutting board. 

"They have different duties each week," said Spicer of the students, who are technically in class as they serve customers in the store and process online orders. 

"The labour demand for these students when they complete the program is really, really strong. We have industry telling us they need lots more graduates, so when you're supporting the store, you're supporting the industry as a whole," he said.  

The retail experience is crucial to producing well-rounded graduates whose education extends beyond the cutting board, Spicer said. It also makes good use of the meat used in the program. 

"We butcher about 80 chickens a week," he said. 

John James Innes is studying butchery at the culinary program at Fanshawe College. 'It gives you real-world experience in a very simplified form."
John James Innes is studying butchery at the culinary program at Fanshawe College. 'It gives you real-world experience in a very simplified form,' he says. (Andrew Lupton/CBC)

John James Innes is a student in the school's butchery program. 

"It shows you how to do real-world experience, in a very simplified form for school," he said of working in the retail space. "The customers like the atmosphere." 

The store is open Thursday's from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the ground floor of the Chef's Table at 130 Dundas Street.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrew Lupton

Reporter

Andrew Lupton is a reporter with CBC News in London, Ont., where he covers everything from courts to City Hall. He previously was with CBC Toronto. You can read his work online or listen to his stories on London Morning.

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