College of Agriculture and Human Sciences’ Instructor Andrea McDonald’s Food Principles and Meal Management class ended the semester with their culminating project: an annual Holiday Party in May Hall on November 30, 2016. Applying principles learned during the semester such as recipe yielding, meal prepping and serving, the class planned the meal for 50 individuals. The menu consisted of a five-course meal including house salad and fruit trays, a choice of barbecue or Dijon chicken with side selections of yams, baked macaroni and cheese, snap green beans, and dinner rolls. Cupcakes were served for dessert, and drinks were also served.
Project requirements were to feed 50 guests, work together with the entire class, make the food from scratch, and handle and prepare the food properly. Their final grade depended on an evaluation by those they served at the banquet-style dinner.
Students put skills and knowledge into action through the project as noted by senior Nutrition major Brittany Williams-White: “I learned how to properly cook chicken, snap peas, and cut fruit and chicken.” But, there were other important by-products of the class’ teamwork. Nutrition major Taeylor Stevenson-Murphy shared that “The biggest thing I learned was to start tipping my own waiters or waitresses better because it is a lot harder than it looks.”
Submitted by India Foster
Student Staff Writer, Department of Marketing, Communication and Information Technology