Culinary events offer experience, aid charities

I have been at the Culinary Institute of America for almost eight years and I have been lucky to teach a wide range of classes. I have been an instructor in the restaurants, taught beverage classes and I have taken students on educational trips to Europe. This fall semester, I am teaching a new class for me, Foodservice Management. The students take the class their second semester, senior year. The capstone course is designed to use skills and knowledge the students have learned while at the CIA.

In the Foodservice Management class, the students plan, prepare and execute an event that sells tickets to the general public. The event is often a themed dinner that includes a reception and silent auction. The students also select a charity to receive half of the proceeds. The other half goes to an on-campus scholarship fund. In the past, there have been a wide range of themes. Last spring, the students did events called “The Seven Deadly Sins” and “Viva Rio!”

The students vote on what type of event they would like to create. They also select their general manager, service manager and chef for the event. The marketing team creates a marketing plan on how to sell tickets. The finance team makes sure everyone is following the budget set forth by the class. At the end of the event, the finance team does a full profit-and-loss statement, so the students can see if they turned a profit, and how much they can donate to their selected charity.

There are usually about 10 of these events each year. Students work with a wide range of departments on campus, including purchasing, accounting, public relations, web marketing and facilities. Without the assistance of the different departments, the event could not happen.

As professor for the class, my role is to coach the students. Part of the learning experience for them is figuring out how to run the event. Instead of always giving the students the answer, I try to allow them to work through the process of event planning. This creates skills the students will need in their future careers. Pat Bottiglieri is also teaching Foodservice Management and has taught this class for many years.

At the end of the semester, in addition to creating a profit-and-loss statement, each student must also write a reflection paper. This allows them to look at what went well and what could have been improved. Students also discuss the managerial disciplines they have learned and how they can use them in their careers.

The students are hard at work with four events: the first will be Oct. 17. “Harvest on the Hudson” is a dinner saluting the farmers in the Hudson Valley and the class has chosen the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie as its charity. On Halloween night, “The Phantom’s Ball” will take place. The event is inspired by the Broadway production of “Phantom of the Opera.” . The class has selected the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation to support.

On Nov. 14, the students will create a dinner called “The Art of Beer.” The event will feature beers from the East Coast as well as beer that some of their classmates made in the new microbrewery on campus. The students selected Arts Mid-Hudson as their charity for this dinner.

The last event, on Dec. 5, is called “The End of Prohibition.” The dinner and dance celebrates the anniversary of the repeal of the 18th Amendment. The menu and decor will reflect the 1920s era. This group will select its charity in the next couple of weeks.

All of the events are $95, including tax, and there is no service charge, as the events are part of a class. Each event starts with a reception at 6p.m. and dinner to follow in Farquharson Hall, in the main building on campus.

The events are prepaid and the public will be able to make reservations through the CIA website (www.ciarestaurantgroup.com/charityevents) starting in the next few days.

Public attendance is what makes this such a superb learning experience for the students. They get to put together an event they planned and you get to experience their hard work. You, the public, are part of the education of America’s future hospitality leaders.

Chef’s Corner appears Wednesday. Douglass Miller is a professor in hospitality and service management at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. Contact him at life@poughkeepsiejournal.com