The trends are clear as you walk through major shopping centers, city streets, and entertainment complexes: more and more fast-casual, limited service, and casual dining concepts are on the rise. It seems that the future of the restaurant industry is moving away from traditional fine dining service. As Restaurant magazine reported from their coverage of the 2015 Estrella Damm Gastronomy Congress convention, “People want to be comfortable and enjoy their food in a relaxed environment, which means stuffy service just isn’t what people want any more” (The future of fine dining, 2015). But does fine dining necessarily have to mean stuffy? At Vita Nova, we make it work. We still learn all of the steps of fine dining service and high quality food production, yet we innovate to make our dining experience more modern and relevant at the same time. Here are some of the many reasons why it’s good that fine dining is not disappearing for the students and guests at Vita Nova: 1. When guests are expecting a leisurely meal, it allows student chefs and servers to learn and focus on perfecting the details without feeling like they have to rush and turn tables quickly. The food tastes better, the service is more detailed, and the guests get to relax because by marketing Vita Nova as fine dining, guests are expected to take their time. We don’t slow down very often in our lives, so it’s a gift to offer that to locals, students and their families, and professors. 2. Many upscale restaurants define themselves by the details of their wine service (Berenguer & Ruiz, 2009). Since we have such an amazingly stocked vinotec and a student sommelier position each night, we can learn more about beverages in the restaurant industry while also offering a wide variety of wines from around the world to our guests. We learn about food and wine pairings, pronunciations, and descriptions. Since it’s already a practicum for restaurant management, it also can act as a practicum for beverage management. It makes sense to elevate our level of overall experience to take full advantage of our wine education and delicious selection for guests. 3. When the students learn to execute a very high level of service, it prepares us to deliver quality service in our future careers. As Donna Laws, Business Administrator for the Hospitality Business Management department mentioned to prospective students touring Vita Nova, if you train at a high level, you are equipped to work anywhere in the industry up to that level. The students benefit from being held to very high standards, whether they seek to work for the Ritz Carlton upon graduation or open their own casual concept. 4. Even though it’s less popular than it once was, fine dining means a lot of attention given to the guest, every effort made to create a memorable and beautiful experience, and a lot of thought given to the menu and its execution. The spectacle of 10 servers working together to serve entrees to a large party in unison makes each guest feel like the most important person in the room. Who wouldn’t want that? It’s a treat to go there and that makes it even more special. 5. Could we really get away with our tableside liquid nitrogen churned ice cream on a warm skillet cookie? The whole meal really leaves a realistic impression of the level of service the students are able to achieve. We’re sort of famous at this point. By keeping Vita Nova as a fine dining restaurant the amazing managers/chef instructors can keep innovating and adding amazing details to delight and thrill our guests. Creative thinking, experiential dining, and attention to detail are important concepts no matter where our paths lead us next. Written By: Jenna Pekofsky
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The StudentsThe students of the Hospitality Business Management program at the University of Delaware share their experiences at Vita Nova Archives
November 2020
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