This week, a very brave Vita Nova student allowed us to follow her around for an entire day so that we can show what a day is like as a student in Vita Nova. Liz Engrassia is a Senior graduating this May. She has just returned from a semester-long Disney Internship, and has signed up to be one of the students in Vita Nova Dinner Lab Spring 2016. Typically, most students have a very easy last semester with free electives and a part-time status, but Liz starts everyday with a full schedule of classes and goes to Vita Nova lab until later at night. She is an example of how hard-working and self-sacrificing our Vita Nova students are. Liz starts her day around 8:30am. She gets up to make herself breakfast and get her life in order before her first class at 10:10am. After a calm morning, Liz arrives to her first class. Her class is one of the many HRIM classes that a Vita Nova student is required to take. At 11:00am, class is over and Liz must rush to her next HRIM class that starts at 11:15. Accompanied by many students that also take Vita Nova lab, Liz learns about strategy in Hospitality until 12:05pm. From there, Liz has some down time to finish up homework, eat lunch, and prepare for her shift. At 2:45pm, Liz packs up her things, takes off her nail polish, and makes sure that her makeup and hair are presentable for lab. She walks to lab to change into her service uniform and attend pre-shift meeting by 3:30pm. At 3:30, the pre-shift meeting begins. Liz learns about all the guests that will be dining today, watches a presentation from the manager-of-the-day, listens to the Vita Nova Managers talk about important topics to note, and then shuffles into the dining room to set the tables. Until 5:00pm, Liz works fast and perfectly to create the Vita Nova dining room atmosphere that the lab demands. At 5:00pm, Liz goes with her fellow students to eat dinner prepared by a student sous chef-of-the-day. She has 30 minutes to eat before the first guest arrives. From 5:30pm until the last guest leaves the building, Liz works tirelessly to execute the 25 steps of service and the level of perfection fine dining requires. When the last guest leaves, it is time to take apart the tables, polish silverware, set up the lunch buffet for tomorrow, and attend a final meeting about the service given that night. By the time Liz leaves lab, it is late and she has been running around since 8:30am. The amount of effort our students put into the lab is incredible. The fact Liz spent her entire day in class just shows how much the students care about their program and school. So the next time that you see a Vita Nova student, remember that underneath their professional demeanor and big smile there is a college student who is working as hard as they possibly can. All in all, it's just another day in the life of living the Vita Nova.
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If you haven't already heard, Vita Nova had a very special guest last week. Tori from the show Tasting with Tori on CBS News Philly came and did a segment on Vita Nova last week. Tori is a food critic, and goes to local restaurants around Philly and looks at everything from the food to the ambiance of a restaurant. As you might have guessed, this show was a big deal to the students and faculty at Vita Nova. Today, I will take you behind the scenes to show you how our students prepared for the big day. At around 3pm, an anxious buzz could be heard throughout the Vita Nova locker room and prep area. The big day had finally arrived and Tasting with Tori was coming to film. Chef whites were bleached, front of the house uniforms were pressed, and the students came in looking more polished than ever awaiting their debut on television. Prep lists were made, and the students quickly got to work preparing for the dinner service. The restaurant felt even more serious than ever before as the students quietly focused. What would Tori think of a restaurant made up of college students? Would she be as impressed with us as the general public was? Would she find our food as good as the food made by professional chefs? At family dinner the students prepared for what could be the most important day of their college careers. After about 3 hours of preparation, the students anxiously waited the arrival of Tori and her camera crew. The tables were set, the kitchen staff was prepping the food, and the managers and scholars were making sure that every little detail was perfect. The only thing the students could do now was what they do every night; bring perfection to everything they do. The anxious jitters were starting to subside, and instead there was a sense of calm that took over. The students of Vita Nova knew that no matter what happened during that dinner service, that they rose to the occasion and did what they do best. Tasting with Tori aired immediately following dinner service on the news. Tori loved Vita Nova, and was so impressed by how great the student leaders of the restaurant are. She even wore the University of Delaware's Mascot on the air as a show of her excitement towards the program. This amazing review is just a testament to how hard the students work day in and day out. We are not just a class, we are not just students, we are Vita Nova.
As many of you now know, Vita Nova is a restaurant with many moving parts. What is most surprising to many of our diners, is that the super-professional waiters and waitresses serving them at their table are the same students that you can catch at Grottos on a Friday Night. How does one maintain the professionalism and etiquette of a fine-dining restaurant while still being a college-aged student? For the students of Vita Nova, it has been engrained in them since their first day as a Hospitality in Business Student. The running joke for a HBM student is that they have more business professional attire than an average working professional. Every guest speaker, seminar, educational trip, and career fair demands a plethora of pressed suits and a professional demeanor. In fact, when admitted into the Hospitality program, each student receives a packet that goes over what dress is expected of them for every situation. In Vita Nova, everything a professional Hospitality in Business student knows is amped up and put to the test. This fine dining atmosphere demands pressed shirts, no slack on your tie, your hair slicked back and in a neutral color, pressed pants, and our dining room manager's favorite: long black socks. This attire may seem extreme, but it sets the stage for a upscale evening. Once the scene is set with the waitstaff's attire, proper etiquette, language, and attitude is addressed. Words like "yeah", "okay", "sure", and the phrase "you guys" are thought of as bad words in front of our guests. Words like "certainly", "my pleasure", and "ladies and gentlemen" are the only proper alternatives to these bad words. If you ever want to test out how hard of an adjustment this is for our students, try going a day without saying any of the bad words mentioned. It takes a couple of weeks to really train the students to speak in the proper vernacular, but once they have caught on, these words only amplify the guests upscale experience. Once proper dress and verbiage are tackled, the student must also learn proper table setting and table etiquette. This means that each table setting must look identical and pristine. It also means that each of the waitstaff must remember the 25 steps of service and what side of the guest they must stand to take an order, serve and clear plates, serve and clear beverages, place menus, and more. All of these practical approaches to waiting on a table finishes the final touches on making it an upscale experience to dine at Vita Nova. So now that you know a little bit more about the transformation from regular college student to upscale Vita Nova waitstaff, we hope that you come in and observe the little touches that the students execute. We also hope that this gives you a newfound appreciation for these college students who are running through a mental list of rules and etiquette from the moment the guests arrive to the moment they leave. Vita Nova is more than proud of the work that the students put in, and how each student leaves this semester with more professionalism than one can expect to learn in a lifetime.
Vita Nova is proud to announce another partnership with the University Art Department for this semesters Bistro Art. You can find this art, as well as several other fantastic pieces, in the Bistro room attached to Vita Nova. This semester the talented Emily Tucci has graced us with her works of art. Emily Tucci is a Fine Arts major at the University of Delaware. Only just a Junior in her undergraduate studies, the Vita Nova team is happy to feature her artwork before she matriculates and becomes a Superstar. Emily believes that art is interdisciplinary, and much like a restaurant, good art comes from collaboration. Emily is not so different from many of the Vita Nova students, as her dream job is to work for Disney. She has recently been accepted into the Disney Internship program, and will join many of the hospitality students down in Florida this fall. Emily is also an avid wildlife conservationist, and uses her passion in her artwork. She often shows singular animals in her artwork and uses different natural resources to show the vulnerable and delicate nature of the animals she wants to help protect. Emily likes to cook and bake in her spare time, furthering the feeling that she is part of the Vita Nova family. We liked the sound of her vegan baked goods so much that we requested some recipes! If you are as in love with Emily's art as the Vita Nova team is, please visit her website: www.emilytucci.com or follow her store on Facebook: e.tucciFineArt. Part of her proceeds on each sale go to supporting Wildlife Conservation. Emily's art will be on display at the Vita Nova Bistro all semester if you want to come see it for yourself! A special thank you to Emily for sharing her life's work with Vita Nova!
Clamoring of pots and pans, the sizzle of sauteed food, the clinking of silverware, and the thumping of moving chairs are just some of the sounds heard at Vita Nova. These are the sounds of the student team getting ready for their first night open at Vita Nova. As Charles Dickens once said, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Nerves run rampant, and students feel the flutter of butterflies in their stomach. As the time grows nearer for guests to arrive, you notice a sense of calm among the students; they have been training their entire college career for this and they are ready. All last week the new students of Vita Nova have been training for this moment. This is the moment that their preparation becomes a reality. Their day starts around 3pm. Many come from a full day of classes, or a busy day at work. They file in and sit for their pre-shift meeting. Demos are given and the stakes are high. The food is prepped and the tables are set. It is time to eat as a group before the guests arrive. The Sous Chef for the day prepares a "family" dinner for the students. The students talk about their nerves and their day. As soon as their dinner is done, they go to their assigned positions for the evening and wait for the guests to arrive. The students are calm, precise, and ready to give each guest the best experience possible. The stakes are high, and you might say that our students must always feel the pressure, but at the end of the day they are all just "living la Vita Nova".
It is that time of year again! Vita Nova is gearing up to bring you the best dishes in Delaware! Every new semester brings a new group of eager students to the Student run restaurant, and a select few students from last semester will return to become Aramark Scholar interns. These interns will guide the new students in learning the ropes of the restaurant business! If you see a Scholar around the restaurant, make sure to say "Hello!". Dinner Lab Vita Nova Aramark Scholars Spotlight: Spring 2016Michael Schietroma Dining Room Scholar Hometown: Delaware Plans after Graduation: Mike will start as an entry-level manager at a business right here in Delaware! Fun Fact: Mike wants to run his own restaurant one day! Samantha Gambino Dining Room Scholar Hometown: New York Plans after Graduation: Sam will work as a Global Customer Representative with Bloomberg. Fun Fact: Sam stays very active on campus, and has been the President of The Hospitality Club for two years! Alison Sprong Kitchen Scholar Hometown: New Jersey Plans after Graduation: Alison will attend the Culinary Institute of America in the Summer. Fun Fact: Alison wants to co-own a restaurant with our front-of-house scholar Mike! Bobby Applegate Kitchen Scholar Hometown: Delaware Plans after Graduation: Bobby believes that the world is his oyster! His future plans include traveling and choosing a career that he truly enjoys! Fun Fact: Bobby is an active member of the Club Lacrosse team on campus. During a student's time at Vita Nova, they will go through a mangers rotation. During this rotation, the student is responsible for all of the front of house operations for that given evening. All these responsibilities can be broken down into 3 major tasks. 1. Pre-ServiceThe student manager is responsible for a few things prior to service. The first is the seating chart for the evenings service. Then the manger must conduct the pre-service meeting where he or she makes a presentation to the team on a topic of their choosing. Then they take role call and go through the night's plan, explaining the amount of guests etc. 2. Service ObservationThe manger must make sure that the evening runs smoothly. In order to make the night a successful one, the manger may need to help out fellow students on the team, respond to any complaints or correct any standards of service that are not being met. Being a manger at Vita Nova really means simply making sure that Vita Nova is held up to its own very high standards. 3. Checking with the guestArguably the most important task during the manger shift is checking in with each table. The student manager will visit each table and ensure that the guest had a wonderful dining experience or if they have a suggestion as to what we can do better.
At Vita Nova, we love to collaborate with students from all different departments. December 10th Vita Nova will be hosting the UD music students for a wonderful holiday dinner. This will be a three course dinner in the Bistro accompinied by live holiday music. Reservations are required! Call us at 302-831-0500. In the mean time, read more about the incredibly talented musicians joining us! Vocal PointVocal Point is the premier co-ed a Cappella group at the University of Delaware. Vocal Point placed 3rd in the world at the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella in 2014. This past season, they placed second in the Mid-Atlantic Region and went on to place second in the Wildcard Round! In 2014, Vocal Point released their first album, Momentum, and this past summer released their first EP, Phoenix. Vocal Point is a fun-loving group of people who simply love to make music with one another! Check out a sample of their music here: https://www.facebook.com/udelaware/videos/10153786831113586/ Nolan FitzpatrickNolan is a junior music management major at the University of Delaware. He grew up in Massapequa, New York and had lived there for the entirety of his life until the advent of his college years. He began playing saxophone at the age of 8 and has since then developed this hobby into one of his greatest passions. He has played in many bands, including the University of Delaware Jazz Band, the University of Hofstra Jazz Band, the New York All-State Jazz Band, and Universal Funk Order, a college funk band. Outside of performing, Nolan is an avid New York Rangers fan, a rower on the University of Delaware men’s crew team, and a proud member of the Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia National Fraternity. Frank SokolovicFrank was born in October 1993 in Washington Township, New Jersey. His musical journey began at age eleven when he began to play the guitar. While in high school, he began to learn and focus on upright bass. Frank is currently a Music Management Major, with Jazz Studies and Italian Language minors at the University of Delaware; he plays upright bass in the University Symphony Orchestra and University Jazz programs. An eclectic and entertaining musician, Frank plays American blues, rock, and folk music, the genres he is most passionate about, outside of the University with various ensembles. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the men’s music fraternity, and enjoys promoting music in America through service and performance. Matthew HubnerMatthew is a senior music management major. When not focusing on the business side of music, he is musically proficient in playing the trumpet, piano, guitar and singing. To get in contact with Matthew for musical events, feel free to email him at [email protected]. To listen to any Matthew's original music visit his soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/matthew-hubner. Mike CarrMike is a senior music education major at UD. Mike is very active in the music scene at Delaware, regularly performing on trumpet, piano, bass guitar, and french horn. Besides music, Mike enjoys following baseball (let's go Mets!), keeping up with various TV shows, and enjoying the company of friends. Benjamin Rossman and Camilla Daniel |
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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