HCC students earn scholarships with food and design
May 3, 2016
A healthy serving of innovation and collaboration were on display for all to see and taste during Designing Dining 2016 at Houston Community College (HCC). Students from the world-renowned HCC Culinary Arts and Interior Design programs worked in teams of two to plan and design a 20,000 square-foot restaurant concept, from menus and presentation, to interior design and branding.
Designing Dining 2016 is the culmination of a semester of planning into execution with culinary arts students preparing hors d’oeuvres from their restaurant menus and interior design students showcasing their work through renderings, color palates, and floor plans. The event also gives the students real-world experience into the hospitality industry.
“The restaurant business today is not only driven by food, but also by high design,” said interior designer, author, and event judge Bill Stubbs, owner of William W. Stubbs and Associates. “The level of professionalism here is amazing.”
Led by Interior Design professors Kevin Hamby, RID, IIDA; Shasta Swift, IDEC, ASID; and Culinary Arts instructor Chef Christy Sykes, the 11 teams worked for nearly two months to create their concepts based on a pre-selected global region, which they picked in a random draw.
The teams’ ability to represent those regions impressed Chef Michael Bargas of Aramark and Houston ISD, who judged the food on complexity, originality, technique, and overall flavor and execution.
Bargas said, “They hit the target; the students represented themselves very well in terms of the flavor profile of their region.”
HCC Board of Trustees Zeph Capo, District I; Robert Glaser, vice chair, District V; and Dr. Adriana Tamez, chair, District III were among the more than 150 people who attended the event.
“I am very impressed with the interior designers and chefs and I am honored that they chose to get their education at Houston Community College,” said Tamez.
Designing Dining is more than a great event with fabulous food and design; it is a scholarship fundraising event for culinary arts and interior design students.
The following Designing Dining 2016 Awards recipients include:
• People’s Choice: Patricia Alvarez, Culinary Arts and Mario Morales, Interior Design for their American South-Cajun/Creole theme and Amazing Crab cake;
• Second Place Team Award: Paula Guerra, Culinary Arts and Samantha Bourgeois, Interior Design for their Asian Cuisine – SE Asia;
• First Place Team Award: Nick Robinson, Culinary Arts and Tania Albin, Interior Design for their Latin Cuisine-Central/South America theme and Shrimp Ceviche;
• Best in Show for Interior Design: Tania Albin for La Vela Concept;
• Best in Show for Culinary Arts: Robert Bertot and his Texas BBQ
Albin, who took home two awards, explained that a blue corn tortilla chip inspired her team’s seafood concept.
“This was a great collaboration between the two departments,” said Albin.
A shocked Bertot, whose Texas Barbecue sample stood out among his fellow Culinary Arts classmates, dedicated the win to his late nephew.
He said, “My nephew gave me the energy to take on this project. Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life.”
Deep Eddy Vodka, The Greater Houston Restaurant Association, The Network of Executive Women in Hospitality, the HCC Foundation sponsored the event.
The Interior Design and Culinary Arts programs are offered at the Consumer Arts & Sciences Center of Excellence. For more information, please visit hccs.edu/consumerarts.