Cory Phare

May 09, 2019

Food and Hospitality

VIDEO: Turning up the HEaT

Hospitality industry luminaries serve up real-world challenges to students in applied learning exercise at Degree Restaurant.

Cory Phare

May 09, 2019

Missing silverware. Food allergies. An empty restroom soap dispenser.

These are just some of the issues students from Metropolitan State University of Denver’s School of Hospitality, Tourism and Events faced as front-of-the-house staff during a recent applied exercise at Degree Restaurant.

“Leadership is cultivated and inspired – that’s what we’re doing in this class,” said Bob Farmer, affiliate faculty of the Restaurant Leadership class taking part.

Patrons for the event at the on-campus SpringHill Suites by Marriott included industry luminaries Frank Day of Concept Restaurants, Rita Dimond of Stonebridge Properties and Walter Isenberg of Sage Hospitality. Students from Lecturer Jeff Koch’s Food Preparation and Science class joined the effort as the back-of-the-house staff.

Students from MSU Denver’s school of Hospitality, Tourism and Events stand ready to serve a dining room of Denver restaurant and hospitality luminaries.
Students from MSU Denver’s school of Hospitality, Tourism and Events stand ready to serve a dining room of Denver restaurant and hospitality luminaries. Photo by Alyson McClaran. Video by Lindsay Pierce-Martin.

It’s a rare opportunity for students to serve hospitality- and restaurant-industry professionals with years of experience, Farmer said.

“Man, we’re having fun learning from one another and demonstrating what we’ve all learned,” he said. “It’s truly a groundswell of folks working together with a goal of shared leadership.”

Our Experts

;