COVER STORY
Fare with flair
Reading, writing, and rack of lamb
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MORE INFORMATION
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The Mitton House at Newbury College 129 Fisher Ave., Brookline. 617-730-7037. Advance reservations required. Individuals, couples, and groups seated. Serving Monday through Thursday. Lunch, $12.50: September through November and January through April at 12 noon. No T- shirts, sneakers, or jeans. Dinner, $25: October through December and February through May at 6 p.m. Jacket and tie or business wear. Price includes nonalcoholic beverages and tax. Optional tips go to a scholarship fund. Guests may bring their own wine. (Get directions).
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Reading, writing, and rack of lamb
Enter the hallowed halls of higher learning and you just don't expect the sweet scent of poulet a l'estragon to drift past the lectern. But at Newbury College, the culinary arts classrooms are kitchens, the "laboratory" an elegant Victorian dining room, and the day's assignment is to prepare and serve a four-star meal.
You can aid in the education of the school's aspiring chefs by paying a moderate price to dine at Newbury's Mitton House.
This is about as cushy as it gets when doing good deeds. The three- to four-course lunches feature a different international cuisine each day, from spicy Caribbean to traditional Eastern European.
Dinners are four courses of classical French. The tasteful and formal setting, including a marble fireplace, is the restored home of Edward Mitton, the owner of the original Jordan Marsh.
The students are held to exacting standards. Utterly refined service, from the black-tie uniforms to the use of a crumber between courses, is matched by gracious presentation. The butter is molded into patterned disks, the entrees artfully arranged, the dessert tray strewn with fresh flowers.
The same meticulous approach is expected of the student chefs in the kitchen. On a recent visit for an Iberian Peninsula lunch, a bowl of seemingly simple but exquisite olives arrived with our entrees.
When I marveled about them to chef instructor Madonna Berry, she explained that students slow-roasted the mix of Nicoise, Calamata, and Manzanilla olives for three hours with fresh rosemary, thyme, and lemon and lime zests. "We use a rasp for the lemon and lime now instead of a zester because the rasp brings out more flavor," Berry added.
The Portuguese fried potatoes that accompanied a light frittata, she explained, were so flavorful because they were finished in a Spanish olive oil made from just one type of olive for superior taste. Berry likes to add a dash of history to her class menus. She said the fried orange slices with powdered sugar that we enjoyed had been included to reflect the Arab influence on Iberian cuisine.
Despite the fine-dining atmosphere, try to remember that this is a school and the students are still learning. Just as professionals occasionally serve up an average dish, so do the students, but not often. If the proof is in the pudding, most Mitton House students will saute and filet their way to an A.
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