Leaders in the hospitality industry are teaming together to provide study abroad opportunities for students enrolled in Penn State's School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management through what promises to be a delicious event on May 2.
Several restaurant services are helping to underwrite the cost of a six-course benefit dinner, which will raise funds to assist students interested in participating in the school's study abroad programs. The companies involved are: Marriott International, Eat'n Park Restaurants/Parkhurst Dining Service, The Compass Group, Sodexho Marriott Services, and Houston's Restaurants.
International experience in the hospitality industry benefits students planning to pursue careers in the industry, but not all students have the resources available to take advantage of the opportunity to study abroad. It's for that reason that the school, part of the College of Health and Human Development, and the Penn State Department of Housing & Food Services are hosting this special dinner at 6 p.m. on May 2 in Café Laura in the Mateer Building on the University Park campus.
The five-star dinner is being directed by Georges Perrier, owner and chef of the prestigious Le Bec Fin Restaurant in Philadelphia; and Eric Sarnow, owner and chef of The Hummingbird Room in Spring Mills. These award-winning chefs will work side-by-side with faculty and students from the School's Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management (HR&IM) program.
In addition to working with Perrier during the six-course dinner's preparation, students and faculty will have the opportunity to learn from him in the classroom. Perrier, the Penn State Walter J. Conti professor in the School of Hotel, Restaurant and Recreation Management, plans to teach students in the HR&IM program on April 25. The Conti professorship was endowed by alumni and friends of the school in honor of Walter Conti, a 1952 graduate and owner of Conti Cross Keys Inn in Doylestown.
The HR&IM program is ranked as one of the top five programs of its kind in the nation, and helps prepare students for management careers in hotels, restaurants, resorts, convention centers, health care and corporate dining facilities, educational institutions and other settings. The nearly 500 undergraduate students enrolled in the program also earn 1,000 hours of work experience. The employment rate for Penn State's HR&IM graduates is nearly 100 percent.
For more information on tickets and the event, call (814) 865-1851. Sponsorship information can be obtained by contacting Fred DeMicco at (814) 863-4847.