KNOXVILLE — Are your taste buds ready for an international adventure?
They’ll find it at the Ready for the World Café, which opens its 10-week spring semester run on Feb. 1.
The Ready for the World Café will be open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. each Monday through Thursday in the Hermitage Room on the third floor of the University Center.
Students enrolled in Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism (HRT) 445, the advanced food production and service management class, plan and operate the café. ARAMARK, UT’s provider of dining services, prepares the food.
Diners pay $11 for the all-you-can-eat buffet or $9 for a plate of food to carry out.
Faculty and staff can use ARAMARK’s new UT Reward Card to receive a 15 percent discount at the café.
The HRT students worked together to select recipes and design the first week’s menu, which includes baked chicken croquettes with peperonata (sweet peppers, tomatoes, onions and garlic cooked in olive oil); Parmesan-encrusted tilapia with clementine gremolata; pork loin with pineapple relish; ratatouille Francé, pomme de terre les epinards (yukon potatoes with spinach), corn soufflé and artichoke, arugula, pepper and mushroom salad.
Donetta Poisson, instructor for the class that manages the café, said the café provides students with hands-on experience in running a restaurant while offering the campus community and public a unique lunch experience.
“We have six very enthusiastic, young, aspiring restaurateurs who will be running the café this semester,” Poisson said. “You’ll enjoy the delicious menus and interesting themes they come up with; and they will gain valuable experience that will allow them to prepare for future careers in the food industry or related fields.
“We hope you’ll visit the café this semester and see what a delicious experience it is.”
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Here’s a look at the students who will be managing the café this semester:
- Brittany Bivins, of Manchester, is a junior majoring in nutrition with a minor in hotel, restaurant and tourism management. She has worked as a server at Calhoun’s on the River and has volunteered with several child nutrition organizations. She plans to get her master’s degree in nutrition from UT. She wants to be a pediatric nutritionist.
- Chris Hegseth, of Knoxville, is a junior in hotel, restaurant and tourism management. He grew up in Sevierville, and has worked at Dollywood’s Grandstand Café for five years. He also has worked at special events, including the Cystic Fibrosis Wine on the Water fundraiser. His goal is to own his own restaurant.
- Kerri Kimzey, of Germantown, is a senior in nutrition. She is minoring in Spanish and hotel, restaurant and tourism management. She works for Rex Bradford Jones Catering Co. as a catering server. She plans to attend culinary school soon. “I lived in Granada, Spain, for a semester, which is where I realized my passion for food and foodservice, which is why I became a nutrition major,” she said.
- Holly Phillippi, of Gallatin, is a junior in nutrition with a minor hotel, restaurant and tourism management with a concentration in pre-med. She plans to go to medical school and become a doctor.
- Kate Rogers, of Alcoa, is a senior in hotel, restaurant, and tourism management. She has worked and bartended at Stinker’s Barbecue in Maryville. Her goal is to be an event planner.
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C O N T A C T :
Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu)