Leis Family Class Act Restaurant at the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College may look like a business, but it’s a class, and an important one. Culinary students prepare, present and serve a lavish four-course lunch, with an international menu that changes weekly. Maui Now’s Kiaora Bohlool featured the restaurant in a story on February 23.
From Maui Now:
Students from the Advanced Cooking and Dining Room courses come together to serve a lavish lunch two times a week during the semester, honing skills in both the front and back of the house.
“After eight weeks, they switch; they cook while the other half serves,” explains Chef Instructor Tom Lelli, who leads the kitchen at Class Act. “Then at the end of eight weeks, they run the restaurant by themselves; we call it Student Day.”
Malone says the transition from cook to server can be a scary one for students, who need to present each course on the ever-changing menu.
“We take them and put them in the front of the house, out of their element, where they have to be in front of the guest and on stage if you would, and get them set up for success,” Malone explains.
For the full story to the Maui Now website.
