by Alex Feit

By the end of November, the Tiger’s Loft Bistro will launch a new online ordering system and a table-side cooking bar to provide stir-fry dishes to customers, according to culinary arts teacher Lisa McKinney.

Powered by Google Docs, the online system will allow Tiger’s Loft patrons to place orders in advance and to pick them up and pay at a later time during lunch blocks, McKinney said.

“This is a way for us to expand to more people,” she said. “Before, many teachers had complained that they could not get food because the Tiger’s Loft was closed during first lunch.”

According to McKinney, customers will be able to pick up ordered meals before first lunch and pay in a “grab-and-go” style for both hot and cold plates.

For now, however, the service will only be available for teachers who have an Active Directory account, McKinney said.

Table-side cooking, which was developed last year to create a new task for culinary majors, is a service that the Tiger’s Loft will offer Thursdays to broaden its food options, McKinney said. The table-side cooking station will function essentially like a stir-fry bar, complete with portable induction burners used to cook “made-to-order” meat and vegetable plates, she  said.