哔咔漫画

Bulls Bistro Caters to Community While Letting USF Hospitality Management Students Shine

By Elizabeth L. Brown

LAKEWOOD RANCH (October 29, 2021) 鈥� On a recent Thursday night, about 35 local patrons enjoyed dinner out along Main Street in Lakewood Ranch. The wait staff at Bulls Bistro served an All-American BBQ menu of honey cornbread muffins, a cilantro lime watermelon feta salad, and chicken sliders with a side of potato salad. The meal ended with a slice of Grandma鈥檚 Apple Pie.

The guests weren鈥檛 just having a night out with friends. They were also part of a hospitality management 鈥渋ncubator鈥� run by USF Muma College of Business鈥� School of Hospitality and Tourism Management.

Bulls Bistro is a series of dining events where students in USF鈥檚 Restaurant Operations class get first-hand experience running a restaurant and providing a dinner experience.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not a culinary school. It鈥檚 to give the students this hands-on experiential learning,鈥� said Instructor Garry Colpitts. 鈥淔rom the students, it鈥檚 just a resounding, profound, positive experience.鈥�

鈥業t鈥檚 real鈥�

鈥淲hen you look behind you, it鈥檚 real,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 real wine. There鈥檚 real food. These are real people. It鈥檚 real time management. It鈥檚 real critical-thinking skills.鈥�

That real-life experience included solving normal problems that pop up at a restaurant. For example, the night鈥檚 dishwasher called in sick, so the team had to jump in and cover for the call-out.

Hospitality management students in the Restaurant Operations class are required to work six Bulls Bistros as part of the intensive curriculum. In the first six weeks of the course, Colpitts covers more traditional lectures. The second half of the class gives students the direct experience of running a restaurant through Bulls Bistro.

Students lead

Colpitts said students take the lead by planning the menu, doing the shopping, pricing out the ingredients, and keeping an inventory of items. During Thursday鈥檚 event, students did everything from start to finish.

哔咔漫画 student Lisette Anton, a hospitality management major set to graduate in 2022, said her experience working at Bulls Bistro has opened her eyes to the problem-solving and planning skills required to run a restaurant.

鈥淭he biggest surprise is how on top of everything you have to be,鈥� Anton said. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 let things slack, otherwise, you鈥檙e not going to hit the right timelines or get the food out on time. And you want to make sure people are happy.鈥�

The Oct. 28 event was her fourth time working at Bulls Bistro. She said she has enjoyed getting to know the regular customers and the experience lets her put what she learned in the classroom into practice.

鈥淚鈥檓 a hands-on learner. I like to physically be able to see what I鈥檓 doing and being able to do it myself,鈥� she said.

哔咔漫画 senior Amie Powell served as the team leader at the Oct. 28 Bulls Bistro. She said she loves how the Bulls Bistro is a way to show the community what USF Bulls hospitality management students can do.

鈥淚t opens up the public on what our university does,鈥� Powell said. 鈥淲ith this class, I enjoy the hands-on experience. It opened my eyes to being cost-effective in getting as much product as possible.鈥�

As the team leader, Powell helped manage her peers to ensure the dinner service would run smoothly. That included assisting with the prep work, like picking out the color of the napkins and the types of plates to use with the night鈥檚 theme.

That also includes some quick thinking. Powell said she came into the night鈥檚 Bulls Bistro realizing the team needed to add knives to the silverware 鈥� a last-minute change 鈥� and had to make sure those were cleaned and polished.

Community Support

Stan Jernigan of Lakewood Ranch said he and his wife Deborah have been attending Bulls Bistro nights for the past five years. He said he loves supporting hospitality management students. He and his wife have recruited a group of about 12 friends who also are regular attendees.

鈥淲e love it. We love that the students do a majority of the work,鈥� Jernigan said. 鈥淲e love how the students create their menus. The instructors give them the responsibility and hold them to it. Honestly, in the five and a half years we鈥檝e been coming here, I can tell you I鈥檝e never had a bad meal here.鈥�

USF鈥檚 Culinary Innovation Lab is holding two upcoming Bulls Bistro nights on Nov. 4 and 18, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Main Street in Lakewood Ranch. The cost is $30 for each guest. Tickets include three tapas and either two glasses of wine or two glasses of domestic beer.