‘Community gem’: Themed meals at Penn State give students, diners unique experience

For limited dates throughout the year, Happy Valley foodies in the know flock to Penn State’s University Park campus for a unique dining experience that can’t be found anywhere else: Café Laura.

Kay and Ernie Salvino, both Penn State alums, have enjoyed weekly reservations at the café for its themed dinner series over the last few years.

“It’s a community gem,” said Kay, who served as a prior president for the Penn State College of Health and Human Development Alumni Society Board and, as such, has long supported the college’s students, which includes dining at Café Laura throughout the school semester.

“It’s one of our favorite restaurants,” she added.

Café Laura is where students within the School of Hospitality Management learn management skills through real-world food service. In a classroom setting, these students split into teams and then take what they’ve learned outside the classroom, with each team overseeing two themed dinners at Café Laura throughout the semester.

Each theme is developed within the student’s management team and with the help and guidance of the professor, said George Ruth, an assistant teaching professor in the School of Hospitality Management. After the theme is set, the students develop their menu.

“Every single item is then tested in something we call ‘pre-test’ and reworked prior to the event,” Ruth said. “Then, every team manages their event twice, learning from the feedback from the customers, the professor and themselves, and then applying that feedback to the second dinner.”

The result is a crucial educational experience for students and a one-of-a-kind experiential, themed meal that’s open to the community two nights a week, for eight weeks.

“The themes are always different, so, to some degree, it’s like a pop-up event, where the menu and theme are always different … (Diners) can expect a really high-quality product at an affordable price,” Ruth said.

This semester’s eight themes — for a total of 16 dinners from February through April — range from favorite and nostalgic childhood foods reimagined (think a deconstructed chicken pot pie and a whipped Oreo pie) to a Kentucky Derby theme with menu items like mint julep mocktails and fried chicken and waffles. Some themes are more straightforward, like the themes that simply focus on regional cuisines, while others are a little more up for creative interpretation, like the elemental theme that translates earth, fire and water into a culinary experience. Each menu provides a selection of appetizers, a salad, four entrees and sides, and two dessert options.

“There’s always something that I like,” Kay said. “They do a really nice job with lots of different types of foods and … the different themes (are) also part of the fun.”

Beyond the food, Kay noted that the students also make the dining experience stand apart. “(They’re) really interested in participating in your service. They want to learn and they want to be appreciated … They’re very responsive.”

This interaction between the community and students is one that Donna Quadri-Felitti, Marvin Ashner Director and Associate Professor at Penn State’s School of Hospitality Management, says benefits graduates significantly.

“Hospitality as an economic engine in every community, large or small, resides very clearly with the citizens, the patrons, the guests, and the owners. ... We need the community’s support to be the economic engine that we are in communities around the world, whether rural or urban. This mirrors that experience exactly for our students who are going to go on and be those owner-operators, entrepreneurs and corporate innovators,” she said.

And for those Penn State hospitality management students who don’t end up as owner-operators or entrepreneurs after graduation, the Café Laura experience still provides them with a deeper understanding of all the fine details that go into hospitality management, setting them up for success no matter where their degrees take them.

“You have to understand the details, because the profit margins are in the details,” Quadri-Felitti said. “Guest satisfaction is in the details, how you train your employee, et cetera. Understanding that and being coached through that experience in college, synthesizing and solidifying what you’ve learned — it gives you confidence, but it also gives your employer confidence that you can be successful.”

The spring 2023 Café Laura themed dinner dates, themes and menus are available at cafelaura.psu.edu/theme-dinner-schedule-menus, where you can also find information regarding pricing and the restaurant’s BYOB policy. Reservations can also be made online or by calling 814-865-1853. Café Laura is located on the first floor of the Mateer Building.