Lt. Gov. hosts final Tourism Town Hall meeting, Oct. 28 in Monroe

Louisiana Restaurant Association members in the Northwest Chapter area of the state are invited to the third in a series of Tourism Town Hall Meetings hosted by Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014 from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Chennault Aviation Museum in Monroe.

Restaurateurs will have the opportunity to provide input about the area’s tourism industry and its growth potential, opportunities for economic development and infrastructure improvement. Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and vision for the area’s tourism industry.

Information gathered at the meeting will be used to compile a report to guide Louisiana’s tourism industry in continuing its recent record-breaking impact on the state and to identify how the Louisiana Office of Tourism can provide a partnership for success.

Lt. Gov. Dardenne previously hosted Tourism Town Hall meetings in Shreveport and Lafayette.  

Lt. Gov. Tourism Town Hall series continues with Oct. 15 meeting in Lafayette

Louisiana Restaurant Association members in the Acadiana Chapter area of the state are invited to the second in a series of Tourism Town Hall Meetings hosted by Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014 from 9-11 a.m. at Vermilionville Historic Village in Lafayette, 300 Fisher Road.

Restaurateurs will have the opportunity to provide input about the area’s tourism industry and its growth potential, opportunities for economic development and infrastructure improvement. Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and vision for the area’s tourism industry.

Information gathered at the meeting will be used to compile a report to guide Louisiana’s tourism industry in continuing its recent record-breaking impact on the state and to identify how the Louisiana Office of Tourism can provide a partnership for success.

Lt. Gov. Dardenne will host the third in the series on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at the Chennault Aviation Museum in Monroe from 1:30-3:30 p.m. 

Lt. Gov. Dardenne kicks-off Tourism Town Hall series with meeting in Shreveport

Louisiana Restaurant Association members in the Northwest Chapter area of the state are invited to the first in a series of Tourism Town Hall Meetings hosted by Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014 at the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport.

Restaurateurs will have the opportunity to provide input about the area’s tourism industry and its growth potential, opportunities for economic development and infrastructure improvement. Please feel free to share your thoughts, ideas and vision for the area’s tourism industry.

Information gathered at the meeting will be used to compile a report to guide Louisiana’s tourism industry in continuing its recent record-breaking impact on the state and to identify how the Louisiana Office of Tourism can provide a partnership for success.

Lt. Gov. Dardenne will host the second in the series on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Vermilionville in Lafayette from 9-11 a.m. and the third on Tuesday, Oct. 28 at the Chennault Aviation Museum in Monroe from 1:30-3:30 p.m. 

ProStart gives students head start in culinary professions

Each year, the Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) hosts teams across the state in its annual ProStart Student Invitational. This year, 27 teams took part in either the Culinary Competition or the Management Competition.  For some schools, this was the first time they made the trip to New Orleans for the two-day events. This was the second of a multi-year relationship with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, the competition’s title sponsor, and was represented by Lt. Governor Jay Dardenne, who addressed the students, teachers and parents during the awards ceremony. Teams in both competitions had to incorporate Louisiana seafood into their menus.

For Fontainebleau’s ProStart instructor Stacy Russell, this is the first time she prepared students for competition. She came to Fontainebleau after 15 years in the restaurant industry, having worked for the Taste Buds restaurant group, whose concepts include Zea Rotisserie & Grill, Semolina Restaurant and Mizado Cocina.

“Teaching the ProStart students in the classroom takes the same management techniques as those I used every day in a restaurant,” Russell said. “The great thing about coming into this position is I can give them a real world account of restaurant operations.”

Preparing for the culinary competition takes mentoring and practice. Matt Jones, a graduate from American Institute, and currently with the Besh Restaurant Group, consulted with the Fontainebleau team on their menu. Some items didn’t make the cut with the students.

“Early on the students were considering seared redfish and smoked tuna,” Russell added. “The team finally settled on pepper seared tuna steak, a pan seared duck breast and panna cotta for their three courses.”

“We practiced twice a week for three hours over the course of six weeks to perfect our organization, communications and time management,” said Brianna Alongi, Fontainebleau ProStart II student. “This process really forces us to work as a team and that is such a valuable experience.”

During the Culinary competition, judges monitor and score the team’s organization and teamwork, time management and safety and sanitation. Barry Blue, a retired registered sanitarian with 30 years of experience, carefully reviews all aspects of the team’s dishes and has participated as a judge for several years.

“Personal hygiene, cross contamination and sanitation are the three main areas I’m looking at when judging,” Blue said. “These teams are highly trained in these areas as ServSafe methods and techniques are used in their coursework and preparation.”