You may recall a story featured in Student and Staff News this past April titled Lunch (and Language) is served: EAL Support for Jane’s Restaurant Practical Students.   The story described how a small group of Hospitality and Tourism Management students taking Restaurant Service Practical (HOSP-1019) attended a communication workshop series led by Emilie Jackson of the Academic Success Centre (LAS).  With the goal of preparing students to provide professional tableside service in Jane’s fine dining restaurant, workshop students poured over the language of menu items and role-played server scripts with classmates to get ready for their first day serving tables in the restaurant.   

Fast-forward to the start of a new fall term with a new group of first-year HTM students.   ASC’s Emilie Jackson again delivered a communication workshop series for students preparing to serve tables at Jane’s.  Throughout September students met three times weekly for three weeks completing their training series with a virtual lunch event where they served guests via Webex breakout rooms and received feedback on their tableside communication.  With the pronunciation of menu items mastered and scripts memorized, students were set to serve their first tables at Jane’s.  And a few days later, they did.  

After pressing pause on a long-standing tradition of regular lunch dates at Jane’s with colleagues, I recently found myself again enjoying one of the unique restaurant experiences in Winnipeg. I walked into western Canada’s oldest skyscraper, flashed my vaccine QR code, joined my colleagues at a table for four, and ordered the Pan seared chicken breast with du puy lentils, glazed carrots, grilled fennel, caper olive tapenade and crème fraiche.  It was wonderful to meet with colleagues outside of their video call boxes (‘I don’t remember you being so tall, Carleigh’), but the real stars of the show were the HTM students working the room.   Looking sharp and confident seating guests, tending bar and serving tables, students were three weeks into a six-week dining room practical experience, and it was fantastic to see (and hear) these students in action, an experience even sweeter than the White Chocolate Pumkin, Lemon Matcha and Dark chocolate Espresso Pot de Crème Trio we all had for dessert.  From start to finish, the students provided a warm welcome and excellent service.   They even agreed to smile through their masks for a photo.  Don’t they look great!   

Through workshops, small group tutoring, and 1:1 tutoring, the Academic Success Centre provides integrated communication support for many college programs including Hospitality and Tourism Management, Ace Project Space, Science Laboratory Technology, Pharmaceutical and Food Manufacturing, Nursing, Creative Communications, Early Childhood Education, Technology Management, International Business, Civil Engineering Technology, and more.  For faculty looking for information on ASC program integrated communication supports and for students looking for EAL tutoring, contact Kaleigh Quinn or Stephen Sawchyn at EALsupport@rrc.ca.   

To check the menu and book your lunch or dinner table at Jane’s, look no further: https://www.rrc.ca/janes/. 

Written by Stephen Sawchyn, EAL Specialist (Academic Success Centre)