In late April, Dean of Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Professor Ben K. Goh, and Program Director, Dr. Brenda Yang, led students from the Food and Beverage Management (BFBM) to visit MGM COTAI. With the objective to give the students a better understanding on the restaurant and kitchen operations within an integrated resort, the visit was designed to enable the students to better combine theoretical knowledge with practice, to improve their technical and vocational skills, leading to a seamless transition to the workplace in the future.
Group Photo
At the visit, students were first taken through the warehouse to experience the receiving and handling process of ingredients from unloading, verification, storage, to transferring the items to restaurant kitchens. The students were then led to the Cold Kitchen, Butcher Kitchen, Pastry Kitchen, Hot Kitchen, and Employee Dining Room. Executive Sous Chef of MGM COTAI, Ugo Rinaldo, gave the students a tour of the property’s signature restaurant Grill 58, and introduced the restaurant's concepts including the grill section, Bar 58, and Teppanyaki 58. Chef Ugo specifically showed the students around Macao’s only Himalayan Salt Meat-aging Room within the restaurant, where chefs prepare aged premium meats of various cuts and homemade sausages. In addition, Sous Chef of Grill 58, Pio Duque Gonzalez, demonstrated two dishes on the teppanyaki grill: Hokkaido Scallop with Ikura & Yuzu Butter, and Teppan Flambé Brioche with Wagyu Tallow Ice-cream. The students were ecstatic with the demonstration, which was followed by a tasting session of the dishes.
Students visited the warehouse
Students visited the cold kitchen
Chef Ugo Rinaldo introduced the concepts of Grill 58
Since last year’s “Culinary Demonstration Workshop by Chef Ugo Rinaldo”, the Chef has once again shared his professional insights with the culinary students of M.U.S.T. He said, “Last year, I brought my Grill 58 kitchen team with me to the school and shared our culinary experiences and techniques, menu design, and ideas on sustainable gastronomy. This time, the students stepped out of their classroom to get to know experience first-hand what it is to be operating an actual restaurant and kitchens at an integrated resort environment such as MGM COTAI. These two sessions together are intended to give them a holistic culinary learning experience. Living here in Macao, the UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, students are blessed with access to a myriad of food and beverage related training opportunities. I would encourage students to continue exploring and learning in order to widen their horizons with professional knowledge.”
Chef Pio Duque Gonzalez invited one of the students to help with the demonstration
FHTM instructor chef Mary Ote stated that the visit combined well with the curriculum of their courses of the Hygiene and Food Safety Management, and the Food Preparation and Practice. The students also pointed out that the visit was a valuable experience, making it easier for them to understand the theoretical knowledge learned in school.
