Senior Meal

As a graduating senior of the hospitality management program at the U of I my senior project was to create, execute, and run a fine dining restaurant. I recently finished the experience, and it was a month of planning and 1 single night I will never forget. The Spice Box at the University of Illinois hosted “URBAN LOCAL”. It was a night to celebrate Illinois and its ability to produce fresh and tasty ingredients. I took the opportunity to show 126 guests of the Spice Box the importance of buying locally and appreciating ingredients for their simplicity of natural flavors. My inspiration came from my Summer 2009 internship at Charlie Trotter’s restaurant in Chicago. Chef Trotter places a large focus on fresh ingredients and supporting our local farmers. I also saw this importance and wanted to carry out a night full of tasty dishes, while at the same time showing guests that even in mid-March there is away to cook with fresh and local ingredients.  


The dining room was decorated with willow and prairie grass adorning the tables and windowsills. I also chose to feature local artist Kelly Enskat’s paintings on the walls, which are available for purchase by contacting the artist at Kelly.enskat@gmail.com.  


The menu, printed on handmade flower pressed paper, featured at least one local ingredient in each course. 
The four course Prix Fixe menu included; a wild mushroom consommé, trio of goat cheese dumplings, braised lamb with a salad of baby arugula and candied grapefruit zest served along side root vegetable mash, and a deconstructed carrot cake.  


The two course Specialty menu included a wild mushroom consommé and Lake trout in a provencal sauce served along side root vegetable mash.  


My featured beverage was Goose Islands’ Matilda Belgian style pale ale, which paired nicely with the complex flavors of the lamb. Everyone begun their night by dining on Pekara bakery’s Semolina bread and ended the meal by dining on handmade amaretto truffles.  


After over a months worth of work I am extremely happy with the outcome of URBAN LOCAL. I made a profit of 11% had a 31% food cost and received many great comments. I would especially like to thank my guest chef, Lauren Calhoun, for all of the hard work that she dedicated to making my night such a big hit.  


Local Suppliers: Pekara Bakery- Semolina Bread, Mill Creek Farm- Oyster Mushrooms, Prairie Fruits Farm- Goat Cheese, University of Illinois Meat Sales Room- Lamb, Blue Moon Farm- Carrots, Lake Michigan (Plitt seafood company)- Fish, Goose Island- Beer, Rick Orr Florists-Center Pieces, Kelly Enskat- Paintings, Alice Vernon- Pussy Willow and red twig dog wood