Culinary Institute staff cook early Christmas dinner for 300 Holland College students

Students at Holland College who are staying in Charlottetown over the holidays were treated to an early Christmas dinner on Friday, prepared by staff at the Culinary Institute of Canada.

Some students are not able to travel home because of COVID-19 restrictions, and others are in isolation in preparation for classes in the new year.

So staff prepared and delivered 300 free dinners.

Michael Dimitroff, manager of recruitment and first-year advising at Holland College, said the students who received the meals were happy to get them.

"Some of those that did send us a message felt like, you know, someone's looking out for them and thinking of them duringthis time where you're normally with more of your family and friends," said Dimitroff.

The students are either staying in residence if they have been here a whileor passing their quarantine time in designated houses and isolation hotels.

In a normal year, said Dimitroff, the college usually has a sit-down dinner for students before Christmas.

"At first we were thinking, that's not possible. But luckily, Chef Austin [Clement] at the Culinary Institute was able to figure out a plan to provide some students with meals," he said.

Other activities planned for students

Most of the meals, consisting of a classic turkey dinner, were delivered in a physically distanced manner. In other cases, students came to pick them up.

Most of the students who are staying over the holidays are in residence, and Dimitroff said the student union and residence staff have plans to keep them occupied over the break.

"Residence [staff] is planning another kind of meallittle things to keep them aware that people are thinking about them during that time," said Dimitroff.

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