Students, faculty and staff taking advantage of this fall’s Culinary Arts lunches on campus may or may not have realized they were getting a taste of the Olympics.

Grossmont’s Culinary Arts Program students, under “coach” Joe Orate, were to compete in the International Culinary Arts Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, Oct. 14-24.

There, students practicing this semester on Hawaiian, French bistro, Pacific Rim and Mediterranean cuisine, will pit their skillets against students from educational kitchens around the world, hoping to bring home the bacon.

Eight Culinary Arts students, under the direction of program coordinator Orate and instructors Mial Parker and Kay Carreon, went to the Olympics prepared to compete in their fall specialty, preparing menus in quantity for large-scale catering. The key ingredient to success, Orate said, is passion.

“The passion to put out something different,” Orate said. “Something that becomes a trend.”

One recent luncheon served to a seating of 40 in the 600 area near the Student Center, began with a Baja Caesar Salad, Chicken Monterey, and for dessert a strawberry margarita soufflé. After Oct. 24, when the class returns from the Olympics, Culinary Arts lunches will be served every Thursday. The tab is $8. Not bad for a meal from Olympics veterans.