Food and Beverage Program Goes Top Shelf

The Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Food & Beverage Wine Cellar

A group of alumni, parents and industry leaders collectively supported a major expansion of the Fritz Knoebel School of Hospitality Food and Beverage (F&B) program. Their combined gifts made possible a number of innovations that transformed existing classroom space and advanced educational opportunities for students in this high-demand field.

“These gifts have been critical to our ability to attract and educate future F&B leaders,” said David Corsun, program director. The program now features the Sauvage Family Demonstration Kitchen, the Silver Oak-Twomey Cellars Academic Wine Cellar and the newly named Cossack Foundation Guest Chef Series. A lead gift from Charles Merinoff and Breakthru Beverage underwrote many of the classroom changes as well as beverage-related travel from Napa to Napoli. “Beyond what the money can buy,” said Merinoff, “we can create experiential opportunities such as distillery tours and internships. This helps students get an edge in this very competitive marketplace and understand what it takes to be successful in our industry.”