Think you have to travel to the Caribbean to enjoy tender Mahi Mahi or a refreshing mojito? Think again.

Look no further than the University of Houston Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel Management’s Barron’s Restaurant. Each Tuesday and Thursday beginning June 8, the 2004 Summer International Dinner Series will feature a different menu from such places as Latin America, Asia, Europe and South America.

During the six-week program, students immerse themselves in the everyday operations of restaurant management. From menu pricing to food preparations to cleanup, the students get a taste of what it’s like to run a restaurant.

“We have 13 students working for 13 nights, and they each get an opportunity to serve one night as the kitchen manager and one night as the service manager,” said Kathy Patnaude, a lecturer in the college who oversees the students. “They also serve as hosts, servers and dishwashers.”

As kitchen manager, a student prepares and prices the menu and orders the food. Services managers handle everything from designing the printed menu and decorating the restaurant to advertising the dinner and managing the waiters.

The menus are compiled in the classroom, and students consider everything from nutrition to freshness to ensure they produce a good meal.

“We try to keep the menus simple but delicious,” Patnaude said. “I have a culinary degree, so I make sure that we serve wholesome products.”

Appetizers on the menu featuring American dishes include chilled shrimp cocktail or spinach mushroom salad. For the main course, the students offer your choice of steak au poivre, filet of sole almandine or chicken breast with grilled tomato sauce. For dessert, a pecan ice cream roll completes the evening deliciously.

Diners may pay the prix-fixe entrée price, which includes your choice of appetizer or salad, entrée and dessert, or pay for each individual item ordered.

“The students are currently working on the menu for France. The menu for Japan will probably bring out a lot of people,” Patnaude said. “We’ve been very successful, so we’re hoping people will come out and see what the students are doing.”

For more information on future dinners or to make a reservation, please call (713) 743-2555 or visit http://www.hrm.uh.edu/?PageID=150.

Leticia Vasquez
lvaque5@central.uh.edu