2014 Hospitality Ambassador Awards

The hospitality and tourism industry is in constant flux, trying to delicately balance the use of new technologies with the good old-fashioned warmth and generosity needed for success.  This past Wednesday, April 23, Buffalo State's Hospitality and Tourism Department honored three local industry professionals that provide strong models for the hospitality students striving to discover that fine balance.

Hospitality Ambassador Award winners Sue McCarthy (of Buffalo State’s Small Business Development Center), Mark Mistriner (of NCCC's Culinary Institute), and Sue Simms (of Wegmans) were each celebrated, and in turn, acknowledged the various hospitality institutions that helped them on their journey.  The night’t theme was Partners in Progress, and the honorees did not hesitate to invite others to share in their success.

 

Buffalo State Hospitality students were also awarded scholarships at the ceremony for their academic excellence and extracurricular contributions. Hospitality Department Award recipients were Alex Davis, Bonnie Lambert-Hall, and Raven Owusu.  In addition, the following students received scholarship awards from Pano’s – Courtney Anderson, Jaret Bebe, Troy Benson, Jamie Blumrick, Christine Marcusa, and Brian Dechenes.  Matthew Pfieffer was awareded the Hart Award – Congratulations to all!

Professor Kathleen O'Brien congratulates student winners

To extend the night’s festive atmosphere, Hospitality students, assisted by department faculty, displayed their knowledge and talents by sharing delicious international cuisine and drink pairings with award winners and guests alike at Campus House.  The student event planners chose to showcase areas in Buffalo that are also showing signs of progress, to mirror the event theme.   Each dish served was paired with a Buffalo landmark or locale, giving the event a historical, informative, and very relevant feel.

Buffalo's story told in pictures

Photos depict Downtown Buffalo in days gone by

Canalside was represented by Buffalo-style calamari with Maytag blue cheese dipping sauce, paired with Southern Tier Eurotrash Pils beer.

Campus House students man the eastside-themed station

The eastside’s venerable institutions, Central Terminal and the Broadway Market, were highlighted with Golabkis (Polish beef, rice, and cabbage rolls), paired with a housemade bloody mary, dubbed the “Broadway Market Mary.”

Student server Solandra pours an Italian red

Hertel Avenue’s growth was exhibited through a live pasta creation station, manned by student cooks, featuring a variety of sauces, proteins, and veggies for a very personalized experience.  Depending on the sauce choice, guests could select either a Montepulciano or Verdicchio wine to enjoy alongside.

Students Denise and Yasmin create Hertel Avenue-worthy pasta dishes

Buffalo is aggressively “carving up Downtown,” so to demonstrate Downtown’s deconstruction and new construction, students offered a carved prime rib station, paired with a Hess Collection wine.

Carver extraordinaire -- student Kenny Armstrong 

The Electric Tower has seen renovation and renewed interest, so in the top floor of Campus House, the building was celebrated through desserts, including chocolate dipped strawberries, various cheesecakes, loganberry sorbet, and a live crepe station.  A selection of dessert wines accompanied the sweet finales to the evening.

 

In addition to the aforementioned feast, a variety of hors d’oeuvres were passed, including goat cheese, date & fig crostinis, mini crab cakes with lobster corn aioli, and lamb lollypops with mint pesto.

Campus House was the proud host of the awards reception.  The students working to plan the event put in many hours creating the food and decorations, and planning the logistical details necessary to make the 20^th anniversary Ambassador Awards memorable for all.   Students responsible for planning and creating the 2014 Ambassador Awards were Paula Pazyck (student manager), Rose Syso, Katie Zwara, Joanna Boutin, Claire Perrot, Ilyana Feliz, Kristina Burley, Solandra Payamps, and Jacqueline Frost.

The Campus House foyer gets re-mapped

We hope to see you soon at Campus House, where you will receive world class service.

Lunch Specials for April 21-25

With less than a month left of the spring 2014 semester, time for faculty, staff, and students alike seems to be racing at warp speed.  Campus House suggests slowing down for just a little while and relishing a relaxing lunch with us.  With weekly features like these, a meal begs to be enjoyed at leisure.

***This week’s soup feature is Beef Stroganoff Soup with rice and chives.  Diners can also enjoy gluten-free corn chowder.

***We should all channel a little more laid-back Caribbean frame of mind this time of year.  Chef Shetice makes this easy with her Jamaican Jerk Chicken Sandwich, topped with a pineapple raisin slaw and cilantro mayonnaise on a Costanzo roll.

***Some dishes, no matter how many times one enjoys them, never fail to delight.  A perfect example of this is the iconic Stuffed Banana Peppers, done Campus House-style with Italian sausage and cheese stuffing, served with dressed greens, crusty bread and marinara sauce.

***A truly classic combination -- Prosciutto and Melon – gets a fabulous springtime treatment as a salad with cantaloupe, arugula, red onion, toasted pine nuts, and shaved Pecorino Romano.  This combinations is tossed with white balsamic vinaigrette and finished with a sweet and tangy balsamic reduction.  Diners may choose to top the salad with grilled chicken or grilled shrimp for an additional charge.

***The San Francisco bay is closer than we think when feasting on a west coast seafood classic -- Cioppino.   This timeless seafood stew features mussels, clams, shrimp, scallops, and fresh fish – all simmered together in a white wine, tomato and fennel broth.  Cioppino is served with crusty bread for dunking in every last bit of the sweet aromatic juices.

***Desserts to tempt the fancy this week are chocolate bread pudding and cannolis.

** Campus House will close at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 

April 23rd for our annual Ambassador Awards**

We hope to see you soon at Campus House, where you will experience world-class service.  Please join us for the following upcoming events Campus House…

Campus House is excited to host the annual Hospitality Ambassador Awards for its 20th year.  This year's Awards gala will highlight the progress of both the hospitality and tourism industry as well as the progress of our city.  Three local "ambassadors" will be honored, as well as a number of Hospitality student scholarship awardees

The ceremony will be held at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23.  A grand reception will follow at Campus House.

Tickets for the Ambassador Awards are $40 per person, available by calling Campus House at (716) 878-3300 or by emailing Campus House at 

campushouse@buffalostate.edu

**************

You Are Cordially Invited to

the Buffalo Cherry Blossom Festival's

Japanese Cuisine and Sake Tasting

 Monday, April 28th 5:30 pm

Campus House

***Featuring an offering of

special green tea by Buffalo Tea Ceremony

instructor Atsuko Nishida-Mitchell

***Chef and local restaurant owner Mike Andrzejewski 

will offer interpretations of Japanese cuisine.

***Rob Kohout, Buffalo State alumnus and 

fine wine and spirits sales representative, 

will also lead discussions about Japanese rice wines.

  

Tickets for the Japanese cuisine and sake tasting are $50 per person, available by 

calling Campus House at (716) 878-3300 or by emailing Campus House at 

campushouse@buffalostate.edu

Campus House bar training

Frequent restaurant-goers seek out the beverage programs at establishments that can truly enhance their dining experience -- by ten-fold if done well.  A great dish, paired with an exquisite wine can make the whole meal sing.  For those of us that long to start a meal with something stiff, sometimes the absolute best appetizer is a perfect sip of Manhattan or martini.

A selection of Campus House Vodkas and Gins

Campus House knows this well and takes full advantage of the opportunity to train its students in the finer points of beverage service.  Unfortunately, far too many servers, bartenders, cooks, and managers in the hospitality industry learn bar skills exclusively on the job, including all of the bad habits that are easy to acquire.  In its efforts to produce the highest quality of hospitality professionals, Campus House and the Buffalo State College Hospitality program want to give students all of the training and tools necessary to be consummate professionals, especially in the arena of drinks.

Campus House uses a variety of traditional glasses

As a society, American diners are becoming more savvy every year, expanding their knowledge of fine wines, demanding higher quality beers, and yearning for skillfully made and expertly crafted cocktails.  The Hospitality program here is rising to the challenge and meeting those needs with ever-expanding wine, beer, and mixology training for students. 

Campus House offers many fine rums and tequilas

First and foremost, the student servers at Campus House receive the opportunity work shifts behind the club bar, so they can understand the basic flow and attention-to-detail rigors that bartending requires.  Campus House strives to stock its bar with high-end, sometimes unusual, and always high-quality beverages, so students get the crème de la crème bar ingredients to work with and learn from.  Beyond the day-to-day bar service at the club, students are also crucially involved in wine, beer, and liquor selection and service at the various specials events and themed dinners hosted by Campus House and the Hospitality program, so their bar exposure is varied and dynamic.

Manager and instructor Josh Blumberg teaches students about wine

In addition to this on-the-job bar training in the learning labs, Campus House students are actively involved in mini-seminars, lead by Campus House managers Josh Blumberg and Krista Constantino, the resident beer and wine expert and cocktail extraordinaire, respectively.  Students learn the proper names and procedures for stemware, drink glasses, and bar tools.  They are given background on the wine or beverage du jour, allowing them to formulate talking points for guests.  They are shown correct procedures for wine and beer pouring; the best techniques for drink mixing; and the right way to suggest food and beverage pairings.  Most importantly, students gain the confidence to speak intelligently about beer, wine, and liquor in a multitude of situations.

Campus House manager Krista demonstrates proper cocktail mixing

For those students who wish to delve deeper into the growing field of oenology (the study of wine and wine making), a wine-specific HTR 335 Wine Essentials, taught by Campus House manager and instructor Josh Blumberg, is also offered through the Hospitality department -- where students get to expand their tasting, pairing, and wine speak knowledge.  In addition, various bar service skills are touched upon in a number of other Hospitality lab and lecture classes.  These skills run the gamut from the history of beer and wine to dram shop laws for responsible liquor service (including a bar service certification called TIPS).

Josh goes into the finer points of a wine service

We hope to see you soon at Campus House, where you will receive, not only world-class service, but world-class drinks as well!

We also hope to see you at our 20^th annual Hospitality Ambassador Awards.  This year’s celebration of Hospitality industry professionals will take place at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, followed by a gourmet reception at Campus House.  Please join us for this year’s festivities!  We are celebrating progress in both the hospitality industry and progress in the ever-changing Buffalo cityscape.  Please call Campus House at (716) 878-3300 for more details.

Join us for the Ambassador Awards!

Campus House is excited to host the annual Hospitality Ambassador Awards for its 20th year.  This year's Awards gala will highlight the progress of both the hospitality and tourism industry as well as the progress of our city.  Three local "ambassadors" will be honored, as well as a number of Hospitality student scholarship awardees.

The ceremony will be held at the Burchfield Penney Art Center at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 23. A grand reception will follow at Campus House.  The menu for the event will celebrate areas and landmarks in Buffalo that represent both the past and the future of our great city.   The Ambassador Awards will showcase the changing landscapes of Canalside and the Waterfront, Downtown Buffalo and the Electric Tower, Hertel Avenue, and the eastside Central Terminal and Broadway Market.

Each district or area will have a corresponding dish (or multiple dishes!) with paired drinks for each available at various stations throughout Campus House.  The student staff at Campus House, in both the kitchen and dining room, are looking forward to presenting the following:

*Passed appetizers (paired with Cuvee 61 Brut champagne and Lacrima de Morro d'Alba) 
        *Goat cheese, date, and fig crostinis
        *Mini crab cakes, topped with lobster corn aioli
        *Lamb lollypops with mint pesto

*Carving station for Downtown Buffalo (paired with Hess Collection Mount Veeder 19 Block Cuvee)
        *Prime rib roast with rolls, horseradish, and au jus

*Build-you-own pasta station for Hertel Avenue (paired with a white and red wines - Verdicchio del Castelli and Montelpulciano d'Abruzzo)
        *Live pasta creation with choice of marinara, arugula basil pesto or parmesan cream
          and a variety of vegetables and proteins

*Seafood station for Canalside/Waterfront development (paired with Southern Tier Eurotrash Pils)
        *Buffalo-style breaded calamari with Maytag blue cheese dipping sauce

*Eastside favorite station for Central Terminal & Broadway Market (paired with J. Wilkes Pinot Blanc)
        *Traditional beef & rice stuffed golabki (Polish cabbage rolls)

*Dessert station for the Electric Tower (paired with Kracher Auslese Cuvee and Fonseca Bin 27)
        *Live crepe station
        *Assorted mini cheesecakes
        *Loganberry sorbet
        *Chocolate-dipped strawberries

Tickets for the Ambassador Awards are $40 per person, available by calling Campus House at (716) 878-3300 or by emailing Campus House at campushouse@buffalostate.edu

For more information on the event, please check out our previous blog posts:

An Ambassador Awards Invitation
and
Ambassador Awards Preview

We hope to see you at Campus House on Wednesday, April 23, for our 20th anniversary Hospitality Ambassador Awards, where you will receive world-class service.

Lunch Specials April 14-18

As the school year draws closer to the end, spring fever inevitably sets in.  Spring fever at Campus House means a mad dash to pack in as many flavorful (and gorgeous!) specials as possible so guests and students can receive maximum exposure to the wonderful bounty that springtime brings.

***The current soup special is a perennial favorite, beans and greens.  This soup brings together white beans and chorizo sausage in chicken broth, and is crowned with grated asiago cheese.  The vegan and gluten-free soup option is tomato and wild rice soup.

***This week’s sandwich special is the southern California diner classic patty melt, done up right for Campus House with an Angus burger, topped with caramelized onion, Swiss cheese, Russian dressing, all on grilled rye bread.

***A half rack’s worth of lamb chops are grilled and nestled on a spinach salad, including red onion, grape tomatoes, sweet peppers, grilled bread, and feta cheese.  The salad is tossed with a herb shallot vinaigrette, perfectly complementing the rosemary and garlic-marinated lamb.

***As Dingus day looms closer, everyone seems to crave pierogis this time of year.  Chef Shetice serves her potato pierogis with caramelized red onion, sour cream, and a final delicious flourish – sage brown butter.  Diners may choose to add grilled chicken or shrimp for a supplementary charge.

***Ahi (high sushi grade tuna) is coated with sesame seeds, seared to a beautiful ruby rare, and served with a spicy Asian cabbage slaw with jasmine rice.  This dish gets the sweet soy treatment and a sushi-inspired shredded nori garnish.

We hope these weekly delights sound as good to you as they do to us!  Please join us soon at Campus House, where you will receive world-class service. 

Don’t forget, the 20^th annual Hospitality Ambassador Awards are fast approaching, as the students and staff of Campus House are looking forward to putting on a good show and great reception for members, guests, and Ambassador Award recipients.  This yearly celebration of industry professionals is often the highlight of the year for hospitality students and Campus House guests alike.  Please join us for this year’s festivities!  We are celebrating progress in both the hospitality industry and progress in the ever-changing Buffalo cityscape.  Please call Campus House at (716) 878-3300 for more details.