Rosen College Catering and Culinary Staff: Down on the Farm and at the Winery
Over the summer, Rosen College of Hospitality Management’s Culinary and Catering Staff “beefed up” their skills and “drank” from the fountain of knowledge during several continuing education sessions that took them off campus and out of the classroom.
The four days of culinary excursions was designed to expose the culinary and catering staff to new products and ideas, and to enhance their overall knowledge of the industry.
On Monday, August 7, 2017, the Rosen team visited Cheney Brothers, our new broad line supplier, met their team, and sampled some new products that can be used in catered functions. Among the non-classroom experiences was a tour of the Cheney Brothers meat processing facility, Bari Beef International, where the culinary and catering team witnessed a demonstration of a particular meat cutting procedure that is relevant to our curriculum in the labs.
Tuesday, August 8, 2017, saw the culinary and catering team taking a trip to the Larson Farm in Okeechobee, Florida. Seeing the dairy operations familiarized the team more closely with the Farm-to-Table concept.
The Larson Farm has over 5000 head of milking cows, making it the largest in Florida.
Mid-week on Wednesday, August 9, 2017, the team took a trip to the vines with a visit to the Lakeridge Winery in Clermont for another farm-to-table day, as well as focusing on Florida agriculture.
“Many people do not realize that Florida has wineries and Lakeridge is the largest,” said Seltzer. “They grow predominantly Muscadine grapes, as they are the only grapes that survive Florida heat.”
The winery excursion also included a trip to Yalaha, Florida, and a visit to the Yalaha Bakery, a well-known German bakery in Lake County. Rosen College Dean Abraham Pizam was on board for the bakery and wine visits. He is a fan of German bread and pastry.
The final excursion in continuing education took the culinary and catering team to downtown Orlando to United Against Poverty. This was a volunteer day for the team, an opportunity to give by working in United Against Poverty’s community pantry. UPOrlando, as they are commonly known, is a charitable organization that work to not only solve hunger, but to help people work their way out of poverty.
Continuing education outside the classroom can be an amazing, enlightening journey.
— (August 23, 2017)