The Bevier Caf‚ and the Spice Box are getting a taste of something different from new teacher and chef Jean-Louis Ledent. Ledent brings the experience of owning two French restaurants as well as working as a caterer for the University to his classes.

“We needed someone with a culinary background in the kitchen,” said Beth Reutter, the professor who teaches the Food Science Human Nutrition (FSHN) 340 classes that run the Bevier Caf‚. “We are mainly a hospitality and management program, but he can work with the students and give them some extra advice on how to work in the kitchen.”

Students in FSHN 340 are in lab two days a week from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., managing and preparing all of the food served in the caf‚. Every day, Ledent makes a chef special to serve at lunch and help show students how to work with what food they have.

“I really like to cook with fish, but sometimes my resources are limited because of price,” Ledent said. “I have learned a lot of new things about vegetarian cooking.”

Next semester, the food science department is looking to begin making some changes to the caf‚. They will begin with improving the menu, which will include a grab and go option for students who don’t have time to sit down and eat an entire lunch, as well as some new vegetarian entrees and foods Ledent says are more up-to-date with peoples’ tastes.

“Now, a lot of the vegetarian items are not too attractive,” Ledent said. “We want to go with some more modern options, like now people will eat things like goat cheese and focaccia bread.”

Joe Moore, senior in LAS and teaching assistant for the FSHN 340 classes, said he enjoys working with Ledent in the kitchen.

“He brings a great deal of experience and is really helping us with the presentation of foods,” Moore said. “Also, having been in actual business, he puts a lot of pressure on us to make sure that the quality of the food and the taste is up to some very high standards.”

In addition to the menu changes, the caf‚ is hoping to change its look. The new Post-Genomic Institute is being built next door to Bevier, and the two buildings will be connected. Reutter said she thinks the caf‚ will gain additional business from the new building and will need new tables and chairs, as well as some slight alterations in the d‚cor, the ceiling, the floor and the doors.

The Food Science department is soliciting its alumni for donations, which can be as small as a table or chair with an engraved nameplate for the donor or as large as the naming rights for the Bevier Caf‚ or the Spice Box, which will cost up to $300,000.

“The new building is supposed to house about 600 people, and we will be the main food service for this area of campus,” Reutter said. “We wanted to add some new aesthetics, and the new building will give us a chance to do that.”

Reutter is also hoping the donations will help buy some new kitchen equipment so the students can make more food and experiment with new recipes.

Breakfast is served at the Bevier Caf‚ from 8:30-11 a.m. and lunch is served from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. This week’s menu is available at http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~food-lab/bevier/menu2.htm.