What: Nick Ocando, executive chef of the Old Hickory Steakhouse at Grapevine’s Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center, will join students at the University of North Texas’s Club at Gateway for a day of cooking and serving as part of Guest Chef Day.
When: April 4 (Tuesday), with seating from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Where: UNT Club at Gateway, located inside the Gateway Center at 801 N Texas Blvd. in Denton.
Media: The event is sold out, but journalists are welcome to film, photograph or interview Ocando as he works with the UNT students starting at 9 a.m. April 4 (Tuesday).
More information: For media passes and parking passes, contact Monique.Bird@unt.edu or 940-369-7782.
DENTON (UNT), Texas - Heirloom tomato salad, herb roasted chicken breast, potato boulangère and chocolate hazelnut fudge bars are just some of the tasty dishes that University of North Texas hospitality management students will prepare under the guidance of an experienced chef during Guest Chef Day at UNT’s Club at Gateway April 4 (Tuesday).
Each semester, a culinary professional visits Club at Gateway, UNT’s student-run restaurant, to work with students for one day. All students earning bachelor’s degrees in hospitality management must enroll in two restaurant operations courses and spend two semesters in the Club to practice fine dining service techniques, management skills, menu planning, financial management, marketing techniques and food production.
This semester, the students welcome Nick Ocando, who serves as the executive chef of the Old Hickory Steakhouse at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine. He will instruct the students and help them serve a delicious meal to event guests.
Ocando received his culinary arts degree from Le Cordon Bleu at Atlantic Culinary Academy in New Hampshire. After graduating, he moved to Puerto Rico to serve as executive chef of the Blue Macaw restaurant and as sous chef at the Mix on the Beach restaurant at the W Retreat and Spa. He later served as chef de partie at the Blue Mermaid in New Hampshire and as sous chef for the Alain Ducasse restaurant Pinch in New York.