Working for hours on a painting, glass design or photography project can build up an appetite—so the Minnetonka Center for the Arts is serving up more than fine art classes. Chef Melinda Alves is cooking diverse cuisine for about 3,000 registrants who study at the center each year, as well as fortunate locals who know the secret of the art center café’s fresh, affordable fare. With a menu that changes seasonally as well as weekly, Alves creates each dish based on ingredients that are fresh and in season.
Coming from a family in the business (both of her grandfathers were butchers), Alves grew up around food, although it wasn’t something she saw as a career option. “I never thought it was something I wanted to do,” Alves says, “until my mom suggested culinary school.” Starting her culinary career at Bon Appetit, everything Alves cooked was completely from scratch, helping to prepare her for her solo show at the Art Center Café.
While art students are working away with paint, clay, glass and other media, Alves finds her materials at farmers markets and from local producers and grocers, to create colorful, edible masterpieces. Her inspiration? Seasonal ingredients and whatever ideas come to mind. “There is a photography instructor here who brings me giant shopping bags filled with fresh herbs every week,” Alves explains. “It’s almost like Christmas. Sometimes I don’t even recognize what the ingredients are because they’re so pretty.” After she’s tasted ingredients and envisioned the dishes, Alves designs the week’s menu, checking a notebook to ensure she doesn’t repeat anything recent.
Creating everything from scratch, Alves’ entire menu is “chef’s secret”—meaning no recipes. “Every dish is custom Melinda,” says Minnetonka Center for the Arts communications director Sara Skalle.
Alves says that not all the cooks in her family are so free-form. “It drives my mother nuts, because she is so precise,” Alves says. Her in-the-moment cooking style is appreciated by art students who come through the café for lunch on a daily basis. “Artists appreciate when food looks beautiful, and they just sit here and stare at it sometimes before they walk away with it,” Alves says. “People find beauty in all places.” Alves’ heirloom tomato Caprese salad with fresh mozzarella and basil is as pretty as a painting alongside her light summer pasta with lemon, vegetables, olive oil and balsamic.
When asked what she considers to be her specialty, Alves responds, “I don’t really have one. I have a good grasp of all different kinds of food.” From Asian fusion tacos and a Korean beef bowl to curries and Greek chicken, Alves likes to keep things interesting, especially for those who eat at the café on a regular basis. “For those of us who work here every single day, variety is just heavenly,” Skalle says. “It’s always a surprise and a delight when students get here; they think, what is she going to make today?” Alves also credits her dedicated cashier, Monica Brown, with keeping the atmosphere at the café upbeat and friendly.
With about 20 percent of lunch visitors coming in from the community, the café is open to any guests interested in an afternoon meal. “Where can you get another $9, from-scratch, healthy homemade meal on the west side of the Twin Cities?” Skalle asks. Open year-round, and with many vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options, the café’s menu is likely to please even the pickiest eater—except, maybe, Alves’ 5-year-old son Jacob. “Unfortunately, the chef gets the child who doesn’t eat anything,” Alves says with a laugh.
Next time you’re in the neighborhood, stop by the Minnetonka Center for the Arts to meander through the free art gallery, and have a taste of Alves’ culinary creations.
Café hours: Muffins and coffee at 9 a.m.; lunch starts at 11:30 a.m.
(A fig and melon salad with goat cheese, bacon and toasted walnuts.)
