Dillard offers new catering course to help food industry professionals

By Victoria Clark
Contributing Writer

Food is a huge part of the New Orleans culture. So when restaurants open in the South, business owners need training and certification to not only compete, but also thrive. Dillard University’s Ray Charles Program in African American Culture hopes to support the food service industry in the city with a Catering Intensive course. Dillard’s Ray Charles program was created to document and preserve how African-American culture is transmitted through food.

Training for this new course will be held every Monday, from Oct. 15 to Dec. 3, 2018. They will take place in the Professional School Building at Dillard in room 112 from 6 to 8 p.m. The courses will be taught by restaurant professionals and cost $300, which can be paid at the Dillard University cashier office. The last day to register for the class is October 14.

The course aims to train those who are new to the food industry, but to also better those who need the training to grow and enhance existing businesses.

The idea for the class originated from residents in the community around Dillard, said Zella Palmer, the chair of the Dillard Ray Charles Program. She explained that the community asked the program to coordinate the class because they saw a need for it.

Palmer explained that New Orleans is a city that is constantly changing in the food industry. So, the timing for the course is beneficial for restaurant owners who are new to the scene.

“We’re responding to the need of the community,” Palmer said.

This article originally published in the October 22, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.