Students in the School of Hospitality Business were able to showcase their talents Saturday evening with the 50th anniversary of Les Gourmets.
Les Gourmets, an annual student-run event, offers guests a fine dining experience put on by students and graduates. Attendees included parents, alumni, chefs and community members.
“I love to have my parents here,” hospitality business sophomore Amanda Halvorson said. “This is really the only chance to see what I do here at Michigan State.”
Halvorson’s parents and grandparents came to the dinner from Boycerville, Wis.
“We enjoyed it very much,” said Amanda’s mother, Brenda Halvorson. “It’s just a nice event.”
And past participants in Les Gourmets returned to see how the event has progressed.
Ernie Renaud, the first student director of Les Gourmets, came back for the event. Renaud was involved with Les Gourmets from 1955-57, when he graduated.
Renaud said he was impressed with the performance of the students.
“It’s far more elegant than we were able to do in the ’50s,” he said. “It gives them a chance to learn from the chefs who have come here to teach them.”
The students - all volunteers - served their guests quickly, ending the evening with a four-layer cake ablaze with sparklers that was rolled into the dining room, followed by an army of waiters bearing dessert.
“It’s interesting to see how a fine dining experience works,” said Garrett Bond, a hospitality business sophomore and a volunteer waiter. “I love it, I love restaurants, I think it’s a lot of fun.”
As part of Les Gourmets, students had the chance to work with high-profile chefs, mostly graduates of MSU.
Jeff Rose, head assistant chef at Tribute Restaurant in Farmington Hills and a 1994 MSU graduate, said he gained experiences at MSU that have helped him in his career. Rose said returning to campus to work with students was well worth his trip.
“They did great,” he said. “Everyone was super-professional.”
Guests came from all around, but Tekin Ertan probably made the longest trip. Ertan, a 1965 MSU graduate, traveled from Ankara, Turkey, where he serves as assistant director of the School of Tourism & Hotel Management at Bilkent University.
“It’s been magnificent,” he said. Ertan was also in town to receive the Joon S. Moon Distinguished International Alumni Award.
Instead of a theme at this year’s dinner, the Les Gourmets Endowed Scholarship was introduced. In the past, profits from the dinner were donated to other organizations, but advising chef Robert said students should be recognized.
He also thanked guests for their contributions.
“Our scholarship is going to happen because of your generosity,” he said.
