What’s cooking?

From baba ganoush to Veinnese chocolate fingers, every Thursday afternoon means something new and different for Meghan Johnson, Becky Stubbs, Molly Hale, Ashley Cluff and Dana Strauss.

These are just five of the 15 students enrolled in Catering 2030 who spend their Thursday afternoons catering three-course meals to groups across campus.

This “baby business” is in its first year of experimentation and is already seeing success, said Natasha Austin, a junior in the program.

Previously, this class was used in the Carousel Square or other catering facilities on campus, but this year they are trying something different.

Although the class is non-profit, there is a small fee for guests at each meal. “We are not making any money by doing this. We are doing this to get experience and better understanding for what catering is really like in the real world,” said Dana Strauss, a junior in culinary arts.

The students begin at 7:30 a.m. every Tuesday and Thursday in lecture preparing for their Thursday meal.

“[This class] puts our other classroom knowledge to use,” said Meghan Johnson, a junior in the program. “When you think about it, it’s kind of scary, but if you break it down, it’s a lot easier.”

Johnson said this class requires the students to practice food budgeting, marketing, costs, teamwork and application of skills both inside the kitchen and on the dining floor.

Although about 50 percent of the classes in the culinary arts department are hands-on application, each student also earns a business minor, which completes their degree in culinary arts management.

According to Jeremiah Sentz, who graduated from USU two years ago and now teaches the culinary class, there are about 60 kids in the major.

Sentz said the USU culinary arts program started roughly 10 years ago. For students who are interested in the program but haven’t declared it yet, he said they have missed their deadline.

“Since then, they’ve let it go and now they are phasing it out despite the fact that we graduate more and more students each year,” he said.

Sentz said he’s not sure why they are choosing to phase out the popular program in the next four years, “That’s the answer no one can give,” he said. “They are phasing it out, and yet we graduate more students than other areas of the department, so it’s kind of sketchy.”

The major lesson in this class, according to Sentz, is teamwork. Each member of the class is assigned a different responsibility each week.

“Without the team and without good dynamics, it’s not going to be a success,” Sentz said, “It doesn’t matter how much you know, how well you cook, or if you can do this or that, if you don’t do it together and work as a team, it’s not going to work.”

Sentz said as a teacher he tries to expand the students imagination and get them to not just follow a basic recipe, but go above and beyond to try new things.

“I might be the teacher, but I learn new things every day,” Sentz said, “They might be my students, but I don’t look at them as students. I learn as much from them as they learn from me. It goes both ways.”

This class is graded on both in-class lecture and tests as well as performance during the Thursday afternoon meals. Sentz said the most important concept of teamwork is emphasized in the grading scale as well.

“If one person fails, everybody fails,” Sentz said.

Dana Strauss, a junior in the program, said although the class does require a lot of work, everyone is there to help everyone else.

“I think my culinary basics class is worse than this class,” Strauss said. “I feel lost in that class, but in here, everyone helps you out. In that class you kind of have to figure everything out on your own, I’m never lost in this class.”

The class is available to serve any group or individuals on campus Thursday afternoons.

For reservations, please contact Natasha Austin 801-643-2999.

“The main thing we are trying to do is serve and let people enjoy themselves,” Strauss said. “We cook everything ourselves, but don’t let that fool you. We do everything restaurant style and it is very good.”

-etippetts@cc.usu.edu