To open Penn College’s Hospitality Visit Day, graduating culinary arts students share their collegiate experiences in the Klump Academic Center Auditorium. The event was attended by nine high schools and career and technical education centers.
Nearly 200 students from nine high schools and career and technical education centers explored Penn College’s baking and culinary majors during Friday’s Hospitality Visit Day.
Their Penn College preview included presentations by graduating culinary arts students, who shared their perspective on the wealth of opportunities available to students in the college’s hospitality majors – from classroom experiences to internships, Visiting Chef events, the PA Preferred Culinary Connection Stage at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, the Kentucky Derby and more.
Those presentations were followed by an overview of student life from the Office of Student Engagement; tours of campus, residence life and hospitality labs; lunch in Le Jeune Chef Restaurant, where students apply their skills; and a visit to baking & pastry arts students’ trade show.
The trade show is a final project for the Customer Service & Retail Baking Operations class, a capstone course for the baking & pastry arts major. Each student develops a retail bakery concept, including a business plan, menu and marketing materials, and presents their concept – along with samples of a few of their offerings – in a trade show environment.
The visiting groups traveled from Hazleton Area Career Center, Lancaster County Career & Technology Center, Lycoming Career and Technology Center, Montgomery Area High School, State College Area High School, Upper Bucks County Technical School, Wellsboro Area High School, West Side Career and Technology Center (in Luzerne County) and Wilkes-Barre Area Career & Technical Center.
To learn more about the college's baking & culinary majors, visit www.pct.edu/culinary.
Baking and culinary students stand ready to guide visiting high school students.
The trade show table for Emily A. Pitts’ “Yellow Bowl Bakery” shows off her special occasion cakes and cookies. Pitts is from Coopersburg.
Katie R. Steinheiser, of Butler, sets up her trade show table for “Bug’s Bakery,” featuring Pennsylvania favorites like a triple berry pie.