Hospitality Students to Staff Kitchen, Serve Guests at Kentucky Derby
Published 04.17.2009
More than 30 Pennsylvania College of Technology students have been selected to prepare high-end food at the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby on May 2.
The annual tradition attracts more than 150,000 to Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., to watch the esteemed horse-racing event and take part in the surrounding festivities.
Penn College students, accompanied by Chefs Paul Mach, assistant professor of hospitality management/culinary arts, and Charles R. Niedermyer, instructor of baking and pastry arts/culinary arts, will arrive in Louisville April 27, where they will help set up and then staff a satellite kitchen to feed guests in Marquee Village. The "village" is an area where corporations rent climate-controlled tents complete with buffet, bar, closed-circuit TV monitors and private patios. In recent years, the Penn College students have been responsible for feeding more than 25,000 guests in the village.
Representatives of Levy Restaurants, which offers food services at Churchill Downs and many of the nation's other major sports and entertainment venues, visited the college to interview students for the Derby Week internship positions. In a learning opportunity that can't be replicated in class, during past Kentucky Derbies, the students have worked with executive chefs from NFL arenas in Seattle, Detroit, Green Bay and Philadelphia.
Students from all four majors offered by the School of Hospitality (a bachelor's degree in culinary arts and systems and associate degrees in culinary arts technology, baking and pastry arts, and hospitality management) have been selected by Levy Restaurants for the 2009 Run for the Roses.
Culinary arts and systems: Kristen M. Bastian, Watsontown; Erin E. Brown, Lock Haven; Skylar K. Burke, Warriors Mark; Jeffrey S. Byron, Milford, Conn.; Elisabeth J. Callahan, McSherrystown; Brittany E. Davis, Williamsport; Stephanie M. Davis, Ford City; Rachel M. Emmons, Washington, N.J.; Ashley K. Foreman, Wellsboro; Lisa Greenberg, New City, N.Y.; Russell J. Hackenburg, Pittsburgh; Aaron D. Hileman, Altoona; David C. Houseman, State College; Kayla M. Keever, Mechanicsburg; Annie M. Kinney, Milton; Kevin W. Pysher, East Stroudsburg; Adam R. Rudisill, New Oxford; Jason A. Sereno, Johnsonburg; Joseph R. Steckel, Boyertown; Chris W. Stokoe, Hatfield; Aimee M. Stout, Middletown, N.Y.; Michael R. Yaw, Trout Run.
Culinary arts technology: Ashley N. King, Williamsport; Amy E. Lizee, Lititz; Marco G. Romano, Danville.
Baking and pastry arts: Gabrielle E. Bricker, Etters; Callie L. Chalmers, Galeton; Brittany M. Ellis, Muncy; Chelsea A. Igo, State College; Samantha L. Liedtka, Lock Haven; Elizabeth Mclenigan, Lock Haven; Emily M. Mead, Lanesboro; Trent S. Musheno, Montoursville; Shannon N. Stalfort, Williamsport.
Hospitality management: Hannah E. Fisher, Red Hook, N.Y.; WhitneyL. Miknich, Williamsport; Meagan S. Morris, Herndon, Va.
For more information about the academic programs offered by the School of Hospitality at Penn College, visit online or call 570-327-4505. To learn more about Penn College, visit on the Web , e-mail or call toll-free 800-367-9222.