Monroe Culinary Students Work at New Rochelle Grand Market

Visitors to the New Rochelle Grand Market on Saturdays get a chance to sample the work of Monroe College students going to the School of Hospitality Management and Culinary Arts.

Dr. Frank Costantino, the school's dean, said that the students use the weekly appearances for community outreach and to do fundraising for their clubs.

"Last week, the Culinary Arts Service Club was giving out samples and selling brownies, granola and fresh squeezed lemonade," he said.

On Saturday, June 22, the pastry club will be selling pastries and baked goods, Costantino said.

The whole exercise, he said, is interesting for a couple of reasons.

Not only do the proceeds from sales benefit the students' clubs, but they are running a mini-business, Costantino said.

"It gives them a sense of the commercial aspects of food," he said, by have to determine the selling price and dealing with the consumers.

An upcoming club will be testing spice blends with customers filling out response cards on which one they preferred and why. Costantino said the winning blend will be produced for sale.

The students, he said, benefit greatly from the real-world experience.

"They get an immediate response from the public and make the connection," Costantino said. "Ultimately, at the end of the day, they serve the public."

The New Rochelle Grand Market is open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays through October 26. It is located at Library Green, which is the corner of Lawton and Huguenot streets in New Rochelle.