By Carrington Davis
The Scene staff
On a recent Wednesday, a dining room in the Jack E. Miller Hospitality Studies Building was filled with paying customers sitting at tables set with china and glassware. Waiters in blue uniforms served three-course meals as soft music played in the background.
“It feels unreal to be in charge,” said Taylor Woods, a culinary arts major who was completing her capstone course by creating and executing the meal, which was entirely prepared by students.
Woods expects to graduate at the end of fall semester. She wants to operate her own restaurant someday.
Culinary Arts Capstone Lunches are offered on Wednesdays each semester. Students, faculty, staff or members of the public can pay $15 for meals, including
an entrée, soup or Lunch is served Students run their own fancy restaurant salad, dessert, bread and a beverage.
One student is put in charge each week and given the freedom to tailor the meal to his or her background or culture.
“It encompasses everything they’ve done and gives them, hopefully, a taste at least of what it takes to run an event and (a restaurant),” said Ronald Spaziani, an instructor in culinary arts.
“I’ve had students who loved it and wanted to do it again, but now it’s time for them to go to work.”
Lunches are served in the Forest Park Anheuser-Busch Dining Room. This semester, they run Oct. 9 to Nov. 20, but tickets are already sold out. Taylor Woods was the student in charge on Oct. 9. Her colorful fall-themed menu was titled “TaylorMade Cuisine.”
The meal started with beverages (iced tea, fresh-squeezed lemonade, regular or decaf coffee). Waiters placed fresh warm rolls and butter on tables. Then came the first course, creamy wild-rice soup or mixed green salad.
The two entrées were sauteed lemon-garlic chicken breast with white wine herb sauce and kalbi-marinated roast pork loin with soy barbecue sauce. That was followed by dessert, either pineapple upside-down cake with vanilla ice cream or dulce de leche, a confectionary, and candied pecans.
Money that is paid for lunches goes to the college, according to Spaziani. The goal each week is getting customers in and out in an hour.
“So many of our folks, they need to get back to work,” Spaziani said.
After the meal, customers were encouraged to fill out sheets grading the meal and experience if they had time. The lunch program will be back next semester. The dining room seats up to 40 customers, but this year’s reservations were limited to 26 due to a smaller-than-usual number of students in the capstone course
