UCD plans dedicated Chinese restaurant

THE country’s largest university has announced plans to build its own “authentic” Chinese restaurant on its campus.

University College Dublin confirmed that as part of its purpose built Confucius Centre, which has been co-financed between the Irish and Chinese governments, the centre will include a dedicated restaurant.

As part of its plans for the restaurant, UCD states that the operator may directly employ “a celebrity chef from China” to appear at cookery demonstrations and etiquette classes.

The student population at UCD totals almost 27,000, which includes a growing number of Chinese students, currently at around 800.

Affordable

According to UCD, the restaurant will be a key element of the new institute named after the celebrated Chinese teacher, politician and philosopher who lived around 2,500 years ago.

According to the tender, the operator is required to provide authentic and high quality Chinese cuisine at affordable prices which suits the needs of the University population.

The restaurant is to focus on healthy options – and to ensure that food and drink is at the heart of creating a vibrant university community.

The tender states: “Food matters to the UCD community and it is an integral part of the overall experience at UCD.

“Our food, beverage and hospitality ambition are to be the premier Irish university when it comes to retail and hospitality catering.”

The Confucius Institute was established in 2006 and is currently housed in the Roebuck area of the main campus, awaiting transfer to the new facility.