Culinary Students Express Creativity Through Internships
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
On-campus internships in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, operated by the School of Hospitality at Pennsylvania College of Technology, give culinary arts students the chance to exercise their inventiveness as they work with the kitchen's professional staff.
"The emphasis in this lab is on creativity," said Fred W. Becker, dean of hospitality. "It's really on taking available food products and creating unique, seasonal, multicourse dinners."
Interns for the Spring 2007 semester are Michael R. Everd, Baltimore; Joshua J. Fidler, Schuylkill Haven; Ronnie E. Lindsay, Bowie, Md.; and Sarah J. Turbitt, Milton.
The students are given a week to 10 days to develop a seven-course menu based on products readily available at the time, and they are credited in the printed menu the day it is served. They come up with recipes, organize the kitchen in order to serve their chosen items, and design creative plating schemes for their offerings.
The Le Jeune Chef internship is required of all students pursuing a bachelor's degree in culinary arts and systems. Each intern must complete at least 120 hours in the restaurant.
Chef Robert A. Armstrong, sous chef at Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, mentors the students.
During the fall and spring semesters, the interns typically join the professional staff in the kitchen on Saturday evenings, when regular classes are not preparing food for the restaurant. The interns also help staff the kitchen during the summer and other evenings when classes are not in session but the restaurant is open.
For more information about Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, call (570) 320-CHEF or visit on the Web .
To learn more about the academic programs offered by the School of Hospitality at Penn College, call (570) 327-4505, send e-mail or visit online .