By John Riedel
If you’re a foodie, you’ll already know that there’s a new emerging theme at some of the trendy restaurants. A new section on the menu called “The Bowl.” It’s quite a trend around the country, and it’s made its way to National Life
New England Culinary Institute Chefs Emma Cutler and Brandon Arms were looking to offer something new in National Life’s Vermont cafeteria, and became inspired by the trend. Bowl recipes are focused on offering healthy fresh ingredients in a simple and delicious recipe.
“The inspiration came from my idea to try to eat healthy this year,” Chef Emma said. “So I wanted to offer something with local, fresh ingredients and was made fresh in front of people.”
In the time Chef Emma has been at NECI’s National Life cafeteria, she’s noticed people enjoy the food more when they see it prepared fresh in front of them.
“Bowls are trendy at the moment and are compliant with a lot of different diets,” she said. “We have to keep a certain price point, but with the bowl you get more bang for your buck because of the ingredients.”
Not only does the bowl change things up for the customers, but the chefs as well.
“It gives us an opportunity to be creative, which energizes us,” Emma said, “But on the flip side it gives our customers something that is creative and different yet local.”
Making the bowl happen is a team effort among the chefs each week. Emma creates the menu and seeks out locally sourced ingredients, while Brandon works his magic in the kitchen.
“One of my favorite bowls that we’ve done in the past is the ramen bowl,” Brandon said. “It’s usually any dish that takes a lot of preparation.”
To make the ramen bowls, Brandon started three days before they were scheduled to be served. That time was required for him to create his very own stock and hand-made noodles.
“There’s a lot of love and nurturing that goes into those bowls,” Brandon said.
All of the ingredients put into the bowls are prepared carefully and thoughtfully, giving the customers the best experience possible and allowing the chefs to use all of their skills and creativity.
The bowl is served Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays and varies between a vegan option, or chicken, beef or fish.
Emma and Brandon hope to be able to serve the bowl five days a week, but for now it will stay on the current schedule.