School House Turned Culinary Academy and Restaurant Opens Doors

Monday, 24 February 2020 09:02

The 1909 Culinary Academy opened its doors with a grand opening last Friday offering a variety of food to taste including chocolate truffles.

AYR - The 1909 Culinary Academy held a grand opening for the community on Friday.

Executive Chef and Owner Murray Zehr says he saw the opportunity to open this establishment after being brought out on a tour in the region for a separate business endeavour.

"It was really the (Oxford County) Cheese Trail that hooked me. And then I was brought to this building to take a look at it and I knew immediately I had to have it. That epiphany moment where I knew I had to retire from teaching high school, which I loved. I sold off all my restaurants and I've been focusing on building this culinary academy for the last 20 months."

He adds the 1909 Culinary Academy is essentially where chefs learn to grow.

Zehr recently retired from the Head of Culinary Arts and Chef Training department at Robert Bateman High School in Burlington. Throughout his career, he has successfully owned and operated eight restaurants. He has also worked with the Food Network for the television show Chopped Canada and he has cooked for Prince Charles and Gordon Ramsay.

The classes will teach techniques and all styles of cooking, including classic French and Italian while using local ingredients.

Zehr says one of the things that separates this establishment from others is the agricultural component.

"We are the only school in Canada that has such a focus on agriculture, as a matter of fact I've been told that we're only one of two schools worldwide that has such a high impact on the agricultural side of things. As well, our class size is small and it's always small. Being the owner and operator and the Executive Chef, and the instructor myself, we will not take more than 15 students at a time."

The culinary school and restaurant officially opened last Friday on 5183 Trussler Road, inviting the public to attend and try a variety of food including chocolate truffles.

The building was a former schoolhouse that was built in 1909 before it closed in 1964.

The property was then owned by the Township of Blandford-Blenheim who used the building as a community centre, until the repair and maintenance costs outweighed the usefulness of the facility and they listed the property for sale in 2017.

In April of 2018, the Township accepted the 1909 Culinary Academy's offer to buy the property.

Zehr adds their restaurant is open four nights a week from Thursday through Sunday and reservations are required.

He says the restaurant caters to all different types of people.

"Our menu changes every month. It's a four-course menu with three separate menus every night. I really do like to test the students but we break it down into what we call protocols and protocol one is local meats and cheeses and fruits and vegetables, and there's a full set menu for that. If you're a vegetarian, we also have a full four-course meal for you and if you're vegan and/or gluten free we have a four-course meal for you as well."

To enroll in the 1909 Culinary Academy or book a tour, you can go to their website and either email or phone in your request.

We’re live here at the grand opening of the 1909 Culinary Academy on Trussler Road in Ayr. There is a variety of food to taste and it’s going on until 4:00pm.
Posted by 104.7 Heart FM on Friday, February 21, 2020