Eight students zipped around a kitchen. Some yelled out orders, some dealt with stressed waiters.
Once in a while, they got to talk to each other -- it was a rare moment -- commiserating about "pushing the lamb" or cash register glitches.
They'd been planning for these very conversations all semester.
Hors d'oeuvres
While they sat in Melissa Richter's (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) apartment for a last-minute meeting, the eight students looked more like a group of old pals than Café Laura's newest management team.
As part of their HRIM 430 (Advanced Food Production and Service Management ) class, these students worked together to prepare two dinner events for Penn State's student-run restaurant.
This group, one of four within the class, shared a pack of Oreo cookies while talking about crafting table centerpieces and revising the seating chart to accommodate ever-changing reservations. These changes may have had to do with the date of the group's dinner: St. Patrick's Day.
Upon picking their groups early in the semester, the groups played a trivia game to pick their date -- or fate.
"We did not do very well," Richter said in reference to their first meal date landing on St. Patrick's Day. On one of the most popular holidays of the year -- and a Wednesday -- would anyone show up?
But they were determined not to let a little holiday ruin all their fun.
The group said they were excited for their meal theme, "Neighborhoods of Manhattan." Each neighborhood was represented by a centerpiece on each of the tables.
Amanda Pittella (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said the theme's ability to relate to attendees worked in the group's favor at their restaurant, which was called Manhattan's Finest.
"It would be cool to have a whole Moroccan theme, but would people want to eat that food their whole meal?" Pittella said. "We picked ours because there are a lot of options of foods that people will like."
The group added that their goal was to reach 100 reservations, by Tuesday night, they had 99.
While the members prepared a presentation for their classmates who worked at the restaurant Wednesday, for a moment it seemed like only one topic was of true importance -- what to put on the set-up CD mix.
Sam Warren (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) insisted that the group listen to Young Money's "Bedrock" while they got ready.
"Sam is definitely our comedic relief," Jacqui Van Wert (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) said.
While it seems as if each of the members fill some sort of niche within the group, they all displayed the same strong personality -- something they say comes along with the major.
"We're kind of all equal; we all cry to each other too," Pittella said. "We meet every day, every week. We're like a big family."
The conversation ventured back to their preparations, but the group didn't hesitate to talk about the common nightmare that the next day's meal would go terribly wrong.
"I couldn't talk about it with my friends," Pittella said. "They're sick of hearing about it."
Morrison agreed.
"They just don't get it," she said.
A Hot Meal
During the set-up, the group stood back while classmates hung posters of the Manhattan skyline and polished silverware.
"We shouldn't be doing things that we can delegate people doing," Pittella said.
They had other things to worry about.
They had seating charts to finalize, menus -- which included a Little Italy Bruschetta Chicken, an Upper East Side New York Strip and a South Street Seaport Tilapia -- to review and some pre-cooking to oversee.
"I already had to put my hair up," Richter said. "I'm, like, sweating."
The group members often stopped to ask each other questions, to review the day's agenda or to comment on the current stresses.
"I like to be in charge. Jacqui wanted to yell at people," Pittella, general manager, said about Van Wert, the group's expediter. "It all just worked out."
The group continued to work all afternoon until 4:45 p.m. -- when the dining room had to be set up for the dinner's final reservation count of 103. That's when the class's instructor would walk through and grade the final product.
Until the dinner began 45 minutes later, tensions rose with the temperatures of the ovens.
The group's comedian, Warren, anxiously set up the foyer of the Mateer Building, perfecting details as small as the height from which their restaurant's sign was hung.
"You just put so much work into it, so you want it to run smoothly," he said. "It's like a bar mitzvah or a wedding."
Christina Tontodonati (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) piped in her agreement.
"It's our baby," she said.
Something Sweet
The restaurant's host, Warren, was the first face that dinner guests saw that night. His warm smile and suave pinstripe suit complimented the stylish martini glass decorations that lined the entrance.
The service area, managed by Kristen L. Kattas (senior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management), was filled with rich aromas and clanging dishes.
Tontodonati said once the dinner began, it all paid off.
"Everything just melts away, and..." she said, pausing with a smile. "It's happening."
Both Tontodonati, manager of one half of the dining room, and Pittella remained available in the service-area, ready to answer questions, solve problems and even take a few precious moments to sit down.
Even while they sat, they had important things to discuss.
"We should start to push the lamb," Morrison, the other dining room manager, said to Tontodonati about one of the less popular dishes.
Minutes later, another culinary issue arose.
"We seem to be running out of shrimp," Pittella said to whoever was listening.
The kitchen remained warm from the ovens and aromatic from the sizzling fish and steak, but the feet within those walls never stopped moving.
"It's an eye-full and an ear-full," Paul Howard, the class' instructor, said about the hustle-and-bustle of the cooking area.
This remained true for anyone walking through the restaurant, especially the eight student-managers.
But their full smiles seemed to say it had all been worth it.
