From the Fall 2018 Penn College Magazine: Penn College writer/video editor Tom Speicher embedded with hospitality students as they traveled to the 2018 Kentucky Derby. For a quarter century, Penn College students have joined the Derby’s culinary team. Read “Journey to the Winners’ Circle.”
Alumnus Manuel S. Baez Jr., executive chef at Big Water Grille in Incline Village, Nevada, is profiled in the Aug. 23 edition of the Tahoe Daily Tribune. The article traces his involvement with cooking from childhood through his 2011 degree in culinary arts technology to the multicultural influences he brings to the restaurant’s patrons. The article also references alumna Kristi (Ritchey) Genova – featured in Penn College’s magazine and in a YouTube video (and as a returning Visiting Chef) – who has encouraged and enhanced his career.
In a recent issue of Bake Magazine, Chef Charles R. Niedermyer II, an instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, shares valuable ideas for cake decorators wishing to elevate their creations with gourmet chocolate. “Selecting chocolate is critical to success,” says Niedermyer, who holds Penn College degrees in baking and pastry arts and technology management. “In terms of purchasing chocolate, there are important factors to consider.”
Pennsylvania College of Technology’s Le Jeune Chef Restaurant was named an “Award of Excellence” winner by Wine Spectator magazine.
Wine Spectator is the largest paid wine-focused/wine-lifestyle magazine, reaching more than 3 million readers with each issue. The magazine’s annual Restaurant Awards program recognizes the most exciting wine lists around the world. Honorees are published in its August issue.
A member of the hospitality faculty at Pennsylvania College of Technology was a panelist at the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education’s recent 2018 Leadership Conference in Wisconsin.
Chef Mary G. Trometter, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, spoke during a session titled “Beyond Cooking Skills,” focusing on soft skills, life skills and professionalism. She provided rubrics developed by the college’s hospitality faculty to assess students’ non-technical skills. The June 16 panel discussion was part of the conference’s “Who Needs Culinary School, Anyway?” series of sessions.
Follow Penn College culinary students as they experience the 2018 Kentucky Derby as key members of the Levy Restaurants team. Twenty-eight students and 10 alumni spent five long, fulfilling days cooking for thousands of patrons at the prestigious clubs and suites overlooking iconic Churchill Downs. The one-of-a-kind experience at the renowned event is a valuable component of the students’ culinary education. “I don’t think anyone can understand how much food – and how high of a quality the food is – without actually seeing it and being here in the dining room looking at it,” culinary arts and systems student Bridget M. Callahan says in a 16-minute documentary added to the college’s YouTube channel. “It’s a lot of work during the week, but once you walk out there, it’s pretty awesome.”
Penn College welcomed nearly 100 potential students and their guests Friday for the season’s second Summer Preview Day. The visitors explored instructional labs; enjoyed campus and housing tours; and connected with Admissions, Student Activities, Athletics, Financial Aid and other resources. The final Summer Preview Day will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, July 28.
A member of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s hospitality faculty recently presented a session at the Pennsylvania Association of Family & Consumer Sciences annual conference in Scranton.
Chef Paul Mach, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, offered two sessions to the association’s members, providing tips for teaching about – and cooking with – a large variety of grains and dried legumes. The well-attended sessions included samples, recipes and other handouts, and a demonstration. Among grains featured in the recipes are quinoa, kamut and black forbidden rice.
Pennsylvania College of Technology hospitality students were the big winners at the 2018 Kentucky Derby. A contingent of 28 students and 10 alumni worked for Levy Restaurants at Churchill Downs throughout Derby Week, a commitment captured in a video added to the college’s YouTube channel. The Penn College representatives played a key role in food production for the exclusive clubs and suites overlooking the iconic track. The long days and mass quantities of food provided a unique, invaluable experience for the students at one of the world’s most prestigious sporting events. “The Derby would not be successful without the Penn College kids’ contribution to this event,” says Chef Robin Rosenberg, chef de cuisine for Levy Restaurants. “They are amazing. They are enthusiastic. Their passion, their work ethic, second to none.”
From the Spring 2018 Penn College Magazine: Kimberly Asbury, a 2005 baking and pastry arts graduate and the 2017 International Grand Champion of Biscuits, shares her secrets. Read “Expert Tips.”
Horse-racing aficionados know the Kentucky Derby as “the most exciting two minutes in sports,” but students from Penn College’s School of Business & Hospitality – who have been making the pilgrimage to Churchill Downs for a quarter-century – know firsthand the rigorous and rewarding schedule leading up to those 120 seconds. Go behind-the-scenes with the college’s enterprising entourage as they travel, mince, stand, peel, stay awake and prep for hours … and savor every moment of the exhausting experience. (A YouTube video captures more of the week’s action.)
Students in hospitality majors presented a variety of eye-catching senior projects across campus on the final day of the Spring 2018 semester. The annual Grand Pastry Buffet, a capstone project that requires baking and pastry arts students to combine the skills they’ve learned throughout their associate-degree careers, was held in the Thompson Professional Development Center for high school students who are interested in hospitality careers. The high schoolers’ day started with a visit to the Klump Academic Center Auditorium, where they received an overview of the program and listened to research presentations by senior students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in culinary arts and systems. They also toured campus and hospitality labs and ate lunch in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant. Also culminating the semester was a display of final projects by students in the Cakes and Decorations course in the Madigan Library.
Leaders in their field, Chefs Robin Rosenberg and John G. Scourlas shared their time, talent and words of wisdom with Pennsylvania College of Technology hospitality students during the Spring 2018 edition of the college’s Visiting Chef Series. The chefs spent three days on campus visiting students in classrooms, working alongside them in the School of Business & Hospitality’s kitchens, and serving the elegant Visiting Chef Dinner. Proceeds from the dinner are used to fund scholarships for students in the college’s four culinary arts, baking and pastry arts and hospitality management majors. In comments to the dinner’s guests, Rosenberg, vice president and chef de cuisine of Levy Restaurants, said he was inspired by the passion he encountered in Penn College students. Rosenberg leads teams to create high-end dining experiences for thousands of guests at sports and entertainment venues and events across the nation, including the Super Bowl and the Grammy Awards. Scourlas, the award-winning senior pastry chef for Levy Restaurants, is part of that team, based at the Georgia World Congress Center, one of the five largest convention centers in the U.S.
Nearly all 27 members of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s SkillsUSA team – 21 of them advancing to the 54th annual National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, Kentucky – earned medals during recent state competition.
The competitors represent majors across four of Penn College’s academic schools, and the theme for the April 18-20 Pennsylvania Leadership and Skills Conference in Hershey couldn’t have been more fitting for students gaining career-making skills in hands-on fashion: “Champions at Work: Job-Ready, Day One.”
Two Pennsylvania College of Technology students finished in the Top Three in their category during the 2018 Cake Extravaganza at the Atlantic Bakery Expo in Atlantic City.
Jacqueline R. Dull, a baking and pastry arts student from Mohnton, received first place in the student tiered wedding cake category, and Taylor M. Bickhart, a baking and pastry arts student from Middleburg, placed third in the same category.