On March 3 in the Tuscan Ballroom at DU’s Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Management, a pop-up restaurant called Casa DiVino will be built and run entirely by the students of the Contemporary Cuisine class. These 15 hospitality students will do everything from decoration to cooking and everything in between.
The class puts on three events every quarter, the previous two being a dinner for beverage management on Jan. 25 and the Public Good Gala on Feb. 18. However, this is the only event done in a restaurant rather than a banquet style—a challenge for the students.
“The kitchen we will be using for the event is definitely built for banquet-style service, which will be our biggest challenge for the event,” said senior hospitality major Alanna Giraldi of Beaverton, Ore. and general manager of the event.
The students have been planning the event since the beginning of winter quarter, working hard to ensure that every aspect of the dinner goes off without a hitch. Each member of the class is given a specific role for every event to make the process go as smooth as possible, including purchasing manager, beverage manager, marketing manager, decor manager and more.
“Through their role, each person gets to put his or her individual ‘stamp’ on the event. It’s been a great learning experience not only about the event industry, but also about myself,” said Giraldi. “I’ve learned a lot about being a better leader. I used to tend to micromanage and get overly involved in each aspect of planning, but I realize now that it’s about empowering others and holding them accountable.”
Casa DiVino’s menu, created by class member Daniella Chavez, is inspired by flavors from Argentina, Perú, Chile, Venezuela and Mexico. It features ceviche and empanadas among its appetizers, Argentine-style steak and tacos Mexicanos among entress, flan and agave-vanilla plantains among deserts and piso sours and mojitos for drinks. The menu pricing is very affordable at $6-10 for appetizers and desserts and $12-17 for entrees.
“The best part of this experience is getting the chance to work with my fellow students and present a product that we’ve made to the community. We want this to be a break for students and community members during week nine, a fun night out to relax and enjoy a nice meal,” said Giraldi.
Casa DiVino will be a reservation-only restaurant, so please contact carole.bellfi@du.edu to make one. The first reservation will be at 5:30 p.m. and the last at 8:00 p.m. Interested parties are encouraged to make a reservation as soon as possible.
