Students turn emergency shelter into five-star restaurant on Nov. 8

Penn State Berks students prepare and serve a multiple course meal for residents at the Opportunity House.

Penn State Berks students prepare and serve a multiple course meal for residents at the Opportunity House.

Credit: Jeremy Drey, Reading Eagle

READING, Pa. — Penn State Berks students will turn Opportunity House, the Reading emergency shelter, into a five-star restaurant for its clients on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 8. Students will serve Opportunity House clients a three-course meal and an evening to remember.

Students enrolled in Berks' four-year Hospitality Management program, and other students throughout the college will participate in this volunteer event coordinated by the Office of Campus Life.

The day will begin with students decorating Opportunity House’s dining area with centerpieces, lights and various other ornaments provided by the Penn State Berks Hotel and Restaurant Society, a student organization. Then they will work on food preparation from 3 to 5 p.m. and begin cooking the dinner at 5 p.m.

Then at 7 p.m., students will serve the meal. Students will serve in the roles of cooks, sous chefs, hosts, waiters and food runners.

For more information on the Opportunity House event, contact Autumn Fritz, Assistant Director of Community Development at Penn State Berks at 610-396-6098 or via email at [email protected].