USF culinary lab officially opens to the public

After a month of hosting classes inside a Culinary Innovation Lab located in the heart of Lakewood Ranch Main Street, the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee's faculty and students decided to officially introduce the new facility to the public.

February 5, Lakewood Ranch community residents and those involved with the school, flocked to see the university's College of Hospitality and Technology Leadership's hub for all things involving cooking, event planning and working in the people-pleasing business.

Students, dressed in their chefs' coats and hats, catered the event, as they cooked hors d'oeuvres with interested patrons watching nearby.

"This is huge for the school," USF Professor Garry Colpitts said. 

Colpitts, along with Professors Joe Askren and Burak Mil, lead classes three days a week, which focus on various aspects of hospitality, including learning "back of the house" best practices.

This marks the school's first personal cooking station. The university's students formerly traveled to Manatee Techincal Institue's State Road 70 campus to work in a kitchen setting.

Contact Amanda Sebastiano at [email protected]