Culinary Arts Students Gain Real-World Restaurant Experience
CULINARY ARTS STUDENTS GAIN REAL-WORLD RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE
Public invited to enjoy delicious international meals at Patio Café Cuisine Nights
KILLEEN, TX – Culinary arts students from Central Texas College will host a Patio Café Cuisine Night on Oct. 13. The dinner, served from 5:30-7 p.m. in the Roy J. Smith Student Center, is part of a series of dinners that provide students real-world experience.
“We have 10 students taking our International Cuisine course this semester,” said Guadalupe Bluhm de Saldivar, or Chef Lupita as she’s more commonly known, the Hospitality Management program coordinator. “It’s a very hands-on introduction to what it would be like to work in or manage a restaurant.”
Bluhm de Saldivar said the students learn the whole gamut of the restaurant industry – from recipe selection, menu planning and budgeting to designing tablescapes in the dining room, food presentation, what dishware to select and task management in the kitchen.
“It is a full-on experience,” she said. “Through our program and Patio Café meals, our students leave with the knowledge of how to work in a food truck, small-scale dining, and restaurants that might belong to a chain. It’s a complete introduction of knowledge into the industry.”
The public is invited to enjoy the students’ delicious work at the Patio Café Cuisine Night, featuring Columbian cuisine, on Oct. 13. Reservations can be made at (254) 501-2075 and are required by 1 p.m. the Thursday before the dinner.
“I think what the students enjoy the most is seeing their vision come alive, the final results, the menu and how it turns out,” Bluhm de Saldivar said. “And the feedback of our guests and fellow students.”
Additional Patio Café Cuisine Nights are planned for Oct. 27 (Italian) and Nov. 17 (Mediterranean). For more information about the Hospitality Management program, visit www.ctcd.edu/hospitality.
