Arizona Culinary Institute - Scottsdale

We went to AZ Culinary Institue's Du Jour restaurant Wednesday March 1. First off, let me explain that this is a working Culinary school with their own little restaurant for the students to practice. They make all or most of their own ingredients. Some ingredients are bought, but the make their own bread, pastries, sauces, deserts, etc. Even they even make their own lemon curd, passion fruit filings,cannoli shells, etc. Are all made there. The students work the kitchen (and you can watch while you eat) and the wait tables all under the supervision of a head chef. The meal started with a French Onion Crostini amuse (yeah i didn't know what an Amuse was until last year) of caramelized onions, cheese melted on a perfectly toasted bread with flavors that just exploded in your mouth. For the appetizer, I had the Minestrone Soup with a little Salsa Verde on top which was very tasty, but could have been hotter. My wife had Italian Shrimp and Grits (the grits being a bed of perfect polenta and the shrimp was scampi style). Of The two, the shrimp was to die for. This was followed by a strawberry sorbet to cleanse the palate. For the entrée I had Filet Mignon perfectly cooked to medium rare, garlic mashed potatoes and brocolini. My wife had the seared scallops on a bed of carrot puree with snap peas. Both entrees were awesome, but I'm still not a fan of brocolini. I topped mine off with a glass of Argentinian Malbec ? For Dessert I had a chocolate cake with a caramel mousse in the middle. My wife had a trio sampler with a mini chocolate cannoli, lemon tart and some kind of apple square (remember they make all of this). And since the head chef was also the pastry chef, she brought out these chocolate covered cookies with a passion fruit filling that had these layers of taste that snuck up on you and just exploded with flavor! Our server was Issac and the supervisor was Chef Maggiore and they all did a great job. This is the second year we go here and if you ever get out to Scottsdale, you have to go here... just make sure to make reservations at least 2 months ahead! Oh... and all of this cost $65 for the both of us with with a glass of wine! Pictures below

Totally an amazing experience as I watch my granddaughter getting ready to graduate in 2 weeks !

As a former student of the school and now alumni, I can attest to the high quality education that I received and that you will get If you're thinking of attending Arizona culinary institute. All instructors are formerly culinary professionals of some level and very dedicated and passionate about instructing the next league of culinary professionals for the food and beverage industry. I had lunch at their restaurant there today and I was blown away by the quality of both the service, professionalism and presentation of the plates as well at how delicious everything was. Congratulations on a job super well done !

Our group had a knockout lunch today with top-notch service and food that made our taste buds delighted campers! Best meal I've had in a long time.

Fillet was outstanding, soup mediocre, dessert great, service w students over the top but very pleasant interaction. A very terrific experience and reasonable pricing