Flashback Friday: La Chanterelle

Since we missed you on Mashup Monday, we thought we'd bring you a Flashback Friday! As you may know, I studied Hospitality Management with an Event Management concentration at Endicott College in Beverly, MA. Part of the program is to have students take courses in service management and culinary arts operations at the on-campus European fine-dining restaurant, La Chanterelle. It is one of the craziest but greatest experiences I've ever had at the school. Those courses taught me so much about restaurant management and how to overcome challenges on the fly. I truly loved every minute of it.

So anyways, we are here today to give you a taste of La Chanterelle--the non-traditional classroom. Throughout history, food and beverage has brought people together. Today it still forms one of the key components in hospitality. From running your own event company to managing restaurants at a hotel or dealing with catering organizations, you need to have a firm knowledge of how to manage and train employees, understand cost controls and need to be able to communicate with kitchen and service staff. At La Chanterelle students acquire these key skills that are fundamental to the hospitality industry.

The overall goal is to educate students in developing a managerial "eye for detail", combined with interpersonal, teambuilding, time management and critical thinking skills; all of which are crucial in today's competitive world. Small class sizes (5 to 1 student-teacher ratio), together with the international hospitality background of professors and assistant teachers, provide a unique learning experience by combining both theoretical and practical knowledge, allowing students to gain a competitive edge when starting to work in the hospitality industry. For guests who wish to dine at La Chanterelle, we ask for your understanding and patience as the students' progress while you discover the educational experience at La Chanterelle.

Trust us, patients is key. For someone like me, who had never considered being a server or chef, it was eye-opening. From crumbing after guests finished their entrees and opening bottles of wine without making the cork pop, to deveining shrimp and running the pass, I was totally nervous but also totally thrilled at the same time. Mind you, these courses are typically for your freshmen and sophomore year. So picture being new to college, never having restaurant experience, and being thrown into all of this. It's crazy but it works. And I hope this is something they continue to grow and develop for years to come.

So if you're interested, La Chanterelle welcomes you to join the students as they prepare and present your meal this upcoming spring semester.

Service on the following nights will begin promptly at 6:30 pm:

• February 25th
• March 3rd
• March 10th
• March 24th
• March 31st

Upon your arrival, begin your dining experience in the student-run tasting bar which features a selection of international wines. Then, students from the School of Hospitality Management will escort you to your table where your classroom experience begins with a chef’s surprise. When attending dinners they kindly ask you to be at Misselwood at 6:30pm. Attire is smart-casual.

Reservations can be made with the Stagiaires, La Chanterelle’s team of instructors, by calling 978-232-3040 or visit their website for additional information.

 

Hope you enjoyed this Flashback Friday (and the great photos of me). Now devour the details of your next dinner date with the help of the awesome students at La Chanterelle!