/Local News
1 / 7
From left, Greene County Career and Technology Center students Maddie Wise, Alivia Minor, and Ellie Turner pose with Dan Wagner, culinary arts advisor (behind Minor) and members of the Waldorf Astoria culinary staff. The culinary students assisted in the Waldorf Astoria kitchen during presidential inaugural events.
2 / 7
The culinary staff at Waldorf Astoria hosted students from GCCTC’s culinary program during the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump. Students prepped and plated for several inaugural events.
Courtesy of Dan Wagner
3 / 7
GCCTC culinary students prepared fruit plates that were served at the presidential prayer breakfast as part of inaugural festivities for President Donald J. Trump.
4 / 7
Ellie Turner and Maddie Wise, culinary students at Greene County Career and Technology Center, prepare salmon lox and cream cheese topped with capers and microgreens at the Waldorf Astoria during inaugural events for President Donald J. Trump.
5 / 7
Ellie Turner, front, a senior at Waynesburg Central High School who is in the culinary program at Greene County Career and Technology Center, prepares a fruit tray for one of the inaugural events at the Waldorf Astoria.
6 / 7
Culinary students from Greene County Career and Technology Center plated thousands of dinners that were served at several events during inauguration festivities for President Donald J. Trump at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.
7 / 7
Greene County Career and Technology culinary students, from left, Maddie Wise, Alivia Minor, Ellie Turner and Austin Baker, in front of the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C., where they spent several days in the kitchen preparing and plating food for inaugural events.
[expand]
close
An international staff that cooked up culinary delights for several inaugural events as President Donald J. Trump was sworn in included students from Greene County Career and Technology Center.
Four culinary students from GCCTC, accompanied by Dan Wagner, culinary arts adviser for the career center, worked in the kitchen of the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.
“Working this event was the most awesome opportunity I’ve had in my life so far,” said Ellie Turner, a senior at Waynesburg Central High School. “Being exposed to so many nationalities and seeing how harmonious every aspect of the chef’s kitchen was, was truly inspiring. I was so thankful to have this opportunity.”
Wagner, paraprofessional Jen Brady, and the students -Turner, fellow Waynesburg Central High School students Maddie Wise and Austin Baker, and Carmichaels Area High School senior Alivia Minor – left on Thursday for the nation’s capital, and spent five days cooking for several inaugural receptions, events, and balls at the hotel, formerly known as the Trump International Hotel.
The students worked at least eight hours a day, and prepared and plated dishes for events that included the presidential prayer breakfast and the Make America Healthy Again Ball hosted by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.
Minor said she plated more than 2,500 meals for guests, including politicians and dignitaries from across the globe.
“It was the best experience,” said Minor. “In the kitchen, everyone came together and spoke in one universal language, which was cuisine.”
The culinary students helped prepare a variety of dishes, including fruit trays, salmon lox and cream cheese bowls, stuffed Campari tomatoes (900 of them), charcuterie boards, salads, wagyu sliders, scallion with kabayaki sauce, and mini lobster rolls.
Monday’s inauguration was the sixth that GCCTC culinary students have participated in, dating back to the first inauguration of President George W. Bush in 2001. GCCTC students also served during Bush’s second inauguration, along with both of President Barack Obama’s inaugurations and Trump’s first inauguration.
Wagner said choosing the students to work at the inauguration was “a really difficult decision.”
For Wagner, the opportunity for his students to work in the five-star hotel – which sits on Pennsylvania Avenue between The White House and the U.S. Capitol – is irreplaceable.
“They have the opportunity to work with some of the best chefs from around the world – Sri Lanka, Brazil, India, and other countries – and they take the students under their wing and ask them to work hard. And our kids do,” said Wagner. “It was constant work from the moment we walked in. We assisted their staff with many food productions. It was amazing. You’re doing the prayer breakfast, and there are four or five other events going on in the smaller banquet facilities in the hotel. You’re plating food for 1,000 people, and then 14 or 15 minutes later, you’re plating for another 1,000 people. It’s like a symphony; there are so many parts, and they all come together harmoniously. ”
Students had the chance to work with dozens of chefs, sous chefs, managers and hospitality staff members at the hotel, he said. The group worked “pretty much night and day,” Wagner said.
Katrina Alonso, executive sous chef of banquets at the Waldorf Astoria, said the culinary students “were amazing.”
“They were a great part of the reason why this inauguration’s events were successful,” said Alonso, noting the staff cooked for VIPs for several large galas and exclusive dinners.
At one point, the students helped Alonso’s team plate a breakfast for 1,000 people within seven minutes and plated a dinner for 700 within five minutes.
“That’s record-breaking,” she said.
“It was an exciting inauguration week, and I am glad I wa able to share these monumental events with Dan Wagner and his students,” said Alonso, who commended Wagner for “teaching his students the value of hard work and, most especially, the importance of having passion for the job.”
For Turner, who plans to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. – and who owns Turner Treats, a cupcake company – working at the Waldorf Astoria was a defining moment.
“The highlight for me was working with so many different people in the kitchen and having the opportunity to work in such a high-level hotel. It was the first time I ever plated up for such a significant event, and I was plating dinners with filet mignon, lobster, and different sauces, and we were really intricate with the dishes and styled them to make them gorgeous,” said Turner. “Our meat and cheese platters were lovely, and even with bread baskets, we made them look gorgeous.”
Wise said he was nervous when he first walked into the hotel’s kitchen, but quickly grew comfortable, thanks to the warm and welcoming staff.
“I expected everyone to be serious and to-the-point because it was the inauguration and a very big deal, but it was the complete opposite,” said Wise. “They were encouraging and supportive. Everything exceeded my expectations.”
Wise described his role as “a supplier” for the kitchen staff. “Anytime there was anything they needed, like cut fruit for fruit trays, or anything, I was in control of that. I felt ready, and I was prepared for anything,” he said.
The inaugural experience reinforced Minor’s decision to enter the food and hospitality industry.
“It was an eye-opening experience. We put a lot of time and effort into it, and it definitely showed. I’m super passionate about everything in the industry, and everyone was willing to help me, and it made me realize what I want to do in the future.”
Wagner said what he describes as an “inaugural internship” gave culinary students the chance to take what they learned in the classroom and use it in a workplace.
“Cooking is cooking and technique is technique. But they got to use what they’ve learned and apply it on a large scale,” said Wagner. “They went from making 25 fruit trays in class to making 900 of them.
“They have the skill and the knowledge, and they got to use it at the Waldorf, they’re having fun and learning new things and they’re working hard. The chefs kept saying how much they liked how hard the kids worked and how much they loved their attitude,” he said.
Wagner said he was “like a kid in a candy store” walking through the hotel’s kitchen.
“I loved looking at all of the different herbs and oils, the truffle oil and spice blends that you just don’t see unless you’re in this type of establishment,” he said. “You walk into the kitchen or the coolers and you see herbs and spices and ingredients that you just don’t find anywhere else. The kids were working with the highest levels of ingredients that you will find out there.”
While they worked hard, the students also got to tour parts of Washington, D.C. They dined at the Old Ebbitt Grill, a historic bar and restaurant that is steps from the White House, and visited the Old Post Office Tower.
Baker said he felt more confident in the kitchen because of the skills he learned in his culinary classes.
“My knowledge from class helped us when we worked at the hotel,” he said. “I loved this experience. Even though everyone came from different backgrounds, we all came together because of our love of making food. This experience was amazing.”
Source link : https://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/2025/jan/26/whats-cooking-greene-students-cook-for-trump-inaugural-events/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-01-25 20:16:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
