FVCC culinary students serve menu featuring Montana flavors

Focusing on a concept rooted in local ingredients, culinary students at Flathead Valley Community College are launching an artisan sandwich and soup pop-up restaurant.  

The graduating class of the Culinary Institute of Montana will serve lunch at Root & Rye beginning Wednesday, April 16. The restaurant will be open every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday through May 2.  

The menu highlights Montana’s rich flavors. With a focus on fresh, regional produce, hungry patrons can expect innovative sandwiches, soups, salads, desserts and beverages — all thoughtfully designed to celebrate Montana products and producers.  

“I think the biggest piece about this year’s pop-up concept is the students’ mission to help support local food systems. This is critical in our world today when we’re trying to support our local economy,” said FVCC’s Culinary Institute of Montana Program Director Manda Hudak.  

Sandwiches on the menu include an innovative Montana take on a traditional sloppy joe called the “Messy Conrad,” composed of sloppy ground elk from Lower Valley Meats, mushrooms and bell peppers on a potato bun freshly baked by the Root & Rye team. 

Another option is “The Forager” which has grilled lion’s mane mushroom, fiddlehead ferns and spruce tip mayo all on Root & Rye’s house-made marble rye bread. Order this sandwich as a whole or half portion, or without bread and chopped up as a salad.  

As for soups, choose from flavors like creamy potato leek or carrot ginger. Other options include quinoa salad, smoked potato salad, or a spring salad that includes ingredients from the FVCC Campus Farm.  

For the complete dining experience, finish off lunch with a scratch-made dessert like a lemonade float or huckleberry bread pudding.  

In addition, all house-made sandwich breads used in the menu will be available for purchase by the loaf including marble rye, ancient grain baguette and gluten-free focaccia. Hudak sees the pop-up restaurant project as one of the reasons FVCC’s culinary program is unique. 

“We’re doing something nobody else does. Instead of talking about theory, we’re putting it to work. We have a lot of students interested in opening their own restaurants or bakeries, and this gives them a real opportunity to experience what that would be like in real time.” 

Second-year culinary students complete their studies with a capstone class, culminating in a pop-up restaurant as their final project. This experience allows them to blend culinary skills with every aspect of operating a food business, making it a key milestone in their education. 

From choosing the cuisine and restaurant name to developing a business plan and marketing materials, the project showcases the knowledge they’ve gained throughout their FVCC culinary studies.  

Root & Rye is open 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. for lunch Wednesday-Friday, April 16-May 2 at FVCC’s Arts & Technology building. Guests can visit the instructional kitchen downstairs to order and eat on-site or pick up for takeout.  

For any questions, call 406-250-0893. Visit fvcc.edu/culinary to learn more about FVCC’s Culinary Institute of Montana. 

    Carrot ginger soup is one of the items on the menu at Flathead Valley Community College’s pop-up restaurant Root & Rye.
  

    Quinoa salad, smoked potato salad and a spring salad are on the menu at Flathead Valley Community College’s pop-up restaurant Root & Rye.
  

    Flathead Valley Community College’s pop-up restaurant Root & Rye features food with a focus on Motana flavors.