Hospitality Gala
This fall I will join my Catering and Event Management classmates in planning the annual Hospitality Gala. The Gala is a wine-based event that raises money for the Hotel and Restaurant Management program. Attendees will have the opportunity to mingle with amazing wine makers and chefs while browsing through a silent auction. A Chef-guided dinner follows and the night is concluded with an exciting silent auction. My class is currently in the planning stages. We can't wait to show you what we've come up with!
EXTRACURRICULAR
COMING SOON!
Epicurean Wine Tour
After an intense interview process, 15 of my fellow students and I were chosen to take the trip of a lifetime. Along with faculty and donors, our trip started with an amazing night's stay at Carmel Valley Ranch. The rest of the week was an amazing whirlwind of some of the best wineries in the California Wine Region and some of the biggest names in wine. It was the most hands-on learning experience I have ever had and an experience I will never be able to replicate.
Hospitality Practicum
During the Hospitality Practicum class, students are given the opportunity to work side-by-side with managers from The Hotel at Auburn University. During the course of a semester, students rotate between all the different departments of the hotel including Front Desk, Banquest, Engineering, Housekeeping and Laundry, and Restaurants. Students also receive lectures from the depertment managers of Audio Visual, Finance, and Sales and Marketing. The semester concludes with a round-table lecture from the hotel's General Manager, Hans van der Reiden.
Food Production
The Food Production in Hospitality class is probably one of the most anticipated classes Hotel and Restaurant Management students take. Under the direction of Chef Fernando Cruz, our class learned everything from basic knife technique to putting together a three-course meal. At the end of the semester, our actually prepared and served a three-course meal for twenty people at Enoteca, the private dining room in Arricia at The Hotel at Auburn University.
Internship
This summer I spent 400 hours interning with LongHorn Steakhouse in Opelika, AL learning kitchen and management operations. Having no kitchen experience at all, it certainly was an adventure! I worked with kitchen team members to learn everything from prep to grill operations. The latter half of the summer was spent learning management operations and developing a bar inventory and ordering system for this particular restaurant. LongHorn Steakhouse has systems in place for everything! It was amazing to get to see "behind the scenes"!