It was two hours of foodie nirvana as 500 gourmands sampled cuisines from around the world and wines from the region during the 13th Annual Tasters' Guild Scholarship Auction.
Held Friday night at the Hagerty Center, the event highlighted the talents of 120 students in the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, the Northwestern Michigan College program that benefited from the annual fund-raiser. First year students in the two-year program whipped up dishes from countries or regions including Spain, Greece, Italy, India, the Pacific Rim, France, Cajun/Creole and Asia. Second year students presented a seemingly-endless desert table featuring a range of bite-sized confections to complete the experience.
"This is wonderful, absolutely wonderful,” said Ken Bindschatel of Traverse City attending for the second year. "It's just a phenomenal event and we're here to support the kids — and there's great wine, too.”
Later in the evening, Fred Laughlin, director of the culinary institute, announced $26,000 in scholarships for 15 students in the program. The funds disbursed were proceeds from last year's auction and event, providing an ongoing win-win-win scenario for the institute, students and the community.
"We have a big event in the fall, which is the Epicurean Classic, and then in the spring is the Tasters' Guild,” said Laughlin. "They give students a chance to showcase their skills and what they've learned and it is also a great opportunity for them not only to practice their cooking skills but their social skills and presentation skills.”
"It's a complete learning packet for culinary arts,” he added.
Students are involved in all aspects of the event, from teaming up into cuisine specialties and selecting recipes to ordering ingredients, preparing and serving the dishes. Each team created hundreds of appetizer-sized portions of the three to five selections they chose.
Sometimes deciding what to serve proved to be one of the biggest challenges.
"We were having a hard time narrowing it down, there were so many good things to choose from,” said Rachel Greiffendorf, whose team presented a table of Middle Eastern delicacies. "We specifically chose to focus on Lebanon from the Middle East because all the cuisines would be similar.”
The Cajun/Creole table always draws heavy traffic every year so this year's team knew to make extra.
"We had to go a bit heavier because we figured the crab cakes and scallops would be hit pretty hard,” said Matt Davis of Gaylord, a first year student at the institute.
In the few hours preceding the event's opening, students drew on their weeks of preparation and planning to put the finishing touches on their food and tables, which were decorated to theme. Of course, no matter how hard they prepared last-minute snags arose, such as the busted butane burner at Davis' table that needed a quick replacement.
"The most fun is the adrenaline rush of cooking 400 portions about two hours before serving,” added Davis. "We spent the past hour and a half searing scallops — but that's what we love to do.”
The scope of the event and the level of details involved immersed students into their future careers.
"You really understand everything that goes into the culinary business: the catering, the presentation, the equipment that you need and the timing,” said Greiffendorf. "That's what distinguishes it from cooking in your home.”
Kathy Calcutt, who works in the tasting room at Bel Lago Winery, noted that this off-season event has a loyal following among area wineries, which appreciate the enthusiasm and expertise of attendees.
"It's excellent exposure because people who attend this event love food and wine,” she said. "The food is exceptional, the level of what they do here is great and it's nice to show how to pair the wines with the food.”
For more information on the Great Lakes Culinary Institute, see their Web site at www.nmc.edu/culinary/.