When an Indianapolis pastry chef walked into the AllegreRestaurant for the "Chocolate Extravaganza," the Ball State alumnussaid her first instinct was to head for the kitchen.
"Being here makes me want to help out," Jenni Babcock said, "butI have to let the students do it themselves."
Babcock, the event's first chairwoman in 1998, said the March 7event sponsored by the Hospitality and Food Management Associationgives students the chance to have "real world" experience.
"Everything here helped me prepare for my career," Babcock said."It's a good multitasking experience, and it's good to learn how todo mass productions."
The event was a collaboration of students majoring in catering,food management and hospitality, Deborah Foster, assistantprofessor of family and consumer sciences said.
Catering student Myra Absi said she learned that proper timemanagement is key when preparing desserts in high quantity.
"Chocolate is a lot more time consuming than it looks," Absisaid. "It's all about presentation too. Presentation is the biggestpart of it."
Event server and senior hospitality and food management majorAshanttii Jones said students are more willing to stray away fromtheir standard Hershey's chocolate bars when the desserts arepresented well, Jones said.
"If a dessert looks disgusting, then no body will want to eatit, no matter how delicious it is," Jones said. "Most people thinkHershey's bars are real chocolate, but there's nothing Hersey aboutour chocolate."
All the chocolates at the event were prepared from scratch bythe catering students, Lois Altman, associate professor of familyand consumer sciences, said.
The chocolate event allowed both students and taste testers theopportunity to try fine desserts, Altman said.
"Most students haven't gone to places where high qualitydesserts are served," Altman said.
For example, when Altman was a pastry chef, she said thechocolate cake Sacher would sell for about $25 to $30.
Instead, Altman said the event's taste testers paid $15 perperson and $10 per student to sample more than 10 varieties ofchocolate desserts.
Graduate student Kimberly Rossman said she enjoyed the eventbecause it made her afternoon more relaxing.
"It's a fun little event to try different desserts," Rossmansaid. "We came here to eat great desserts and talk withfriends."
The event was a fund raiser for the Hospitality and FoodManagement Association to send students to the National RestaurantAssociation Show in May in Chicago.
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