President Sue called today’s meeting to order at the Lansing Center with about the same amount of people in person as on the live stream. It’s nice we are able to gather together in the most comfortable manner for each Rotarian during these times.
Gabrielle Lawrence provided the invocation followed by the singing of America the Beautiful by John Dale Smith. Rotarians recited the 4-Way Test and John Cauley reported on the health of the Club that Pam Miklavcic broke her foot in a fall and was awaiting surgery so please keep her in your prayers for a swift recovery.
Ken Beachler introduced today special music performer Clara Hummel. Clara is a senior at Haslett High School and will be performing in this weekend’s Solo & Ensemble accompanied by John Dale Smith. Clara played one song on the flute and a second on the piccolo. Judging from this performance, she will excel at the event this weekend.
Thanks to Gabrielle Lawrence for serving as Chair of the Month and Chair of the Day! Gabrielle introduced us to representatives from one of her favorite restaurants, The State Room at the Kellogg Hotel & Conference Center. She also encouraged us to check out the special events they host such as the Dickens Dinner over the holidays and the upcoming Valentine Dinners.
Our speakers today are Marianne Bacon, Operations Manager and Sarah Kops, Executive Sous Chef speaking about Food & Beverage in a World of Transition.
Marianne (from Lansing) started the presentation with a reminder the Kellogg Center shut their doors in March, 2020 and reopened 14 months later. However, while they were closed to the public, they continued serving campus needs by providing 15,000 meals to students in isolation for covid which kept many of their team members employed.
During the shutdown, MSU reorganized the departments and Kellogg now falls under Student Life and Engagement and are rebranded under Culinary Services.
Marianne and Sarah provided some examples of the ever-changing world of culinary from related to shifting demographics. 1) We now want more creativity with our food to get what we can’t make at home. 2) Rising food prices are also spurring culinary creativity by using cheaper products such as vegetables in new ways. 3) Food for receptions is becoming more interactive and features action stations and new ways of presentation 4) Comfort food is taking center stage.
The Kellogg Center is open five nights (Tues-Fri) for dinner and curbside pickup. They are experimenting with lunch buffets for students as part of the student dining plan. The biggest struggle currently with fully opening is the lack of staffing from students not working as they missed out on so much as virtual students.
There were a number of questions with the following answers: They do use locally sourced products including the MSU Dairy Store and MSU Meat Lab although the supply issues have diminished that some. They change their menu 3-4 times a year and are creatively inspired by their friends who are chefs, experimenting and the internet. Sunday brunch is not being offered due to staffing issues. They have strong partnerships with The School of Hospitality Business but MSU does not have a culinary program. They also partner with the Wilson Talent Center.
Thanks to Marianne and Sarah and a donation will be made in their name to our foundation to do good works in the community!
For more information, https://kelloggcenter.com/state-room.
President Sue announced next week’s meeting will be at the Lansing (second floor) and the speaker will be the General Manager of the Food Service Program for Lansing School District. See you then!
Julie Pingston's email is: jpingston@lansing.org