Culinary Institute may partner with Hotel Emma to create new student program

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CARLOS JAVIER SANCHEZ

The Culinary Institute of America at San Antonio may create a study program where students work at Hotel Emma.

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Stephanie Guzman

Reporter- San Antonio Business Journal

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Today's San Antonio Business Journal has a cover story about the details of Hotel Emma, the future jewel of Pearl.

One aspect we didn't touch on is how the future hotel, set to open in spring 2015, will impact its neighbor, the Culinary Institute of America San Antonio, which has its campus at Pearl.

The school is excited for the hotel to open because it presents an opportunity for opening a "semester away" program at Hotel Emma, said David Kellaway, managing director of CIA San Antonio.

Culinary students completing their bachelor's degrees have the option to do a semester away their senior year to study wine, the farm-to-table concept, or pastries and baking, Kellaway said.

Students can also do a semester away at the San Antonio campus. For 15 weeks, future chefs focus on Latin cuisine concentrating on dishes from South Texas all the way to the tip of South America.

The school and Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants, the company that will manage Hotel Emma, are discussing whether a second semester away program in San Antonio can incorporate the hotel, said Kellaway, who is also working with John Brand, the chef who will run Hotel Emma's main restaurant.

"Theoretically, we may see students spend time in banquets, room service and perhaps the front-office management of sales and catering," Kellaway said. "We're still trying to figure out what the partnership would look like."

If the program is approved, Kellaway said it would be beneficial for students interested in running a banquet hall or working in a hotel's food department. The program would likely include eight to 16 students per semester.

"Although we have a banquet cuisine component in the first two years of our associate degree, it's totally different when you're serving 200 or 300 people parties," Kellaway said. "Hotel Emma would have the opportunity to provide students with that exposure and immersion."

Stephanie Guzman covers real estate and retail for the newspaper.