They say you can’t go home again, but you can always return to family—or as Brandon Smith ’22 calls it, La Chanterelle.
So, when he was invited to return and celebrate the 30th season of the student-run applied and experiential classroom, Smith, who now works as the Assistant Reservations Manager for Hilton Boston Park Plaza, immediately RSVP’d yes. Then, he was transported to the fall of 2019.
It was the 25th anniversary of La Chanterelle, and diners were streaming into the oceanfront estate. Smith had been selected as a host for the evening, where his duties included interviewing people for an Endicott-produced 25th-anniversary video where he could showcase his skills for entertaining and making people feel at home. It was a precursor to his career with Hilton.
The task wasn’t unlike his freshman semester working in the La Chanterelle kitchen as part of the Culinary Arts Operations class, learning to cook and gaining the skills to run a fine dining restaurant while mastering the customer service and transferable management skills that could translate to any hospitality setting.
“Interviewing was just as nerve-wracking as working in the kitchen!” recalled Smith.
Now, as an esteemed guest at La Chanterelle’s 30th season celebration on April 18, Smith was finally on the other side of the table as a new cohort of La Chanterelle students prepared for the latest gala event that would be forever seared into their memories.
“It’s good to be here and mentor the new students—I see so much of myself in them,” said Smith. “Like, I did this before.”
In the moments before guests flooded the Misselwood tent, Operations Coordinator Kayla Richards corralled students from La Chanterelle and her Eta Sigma Delta International Hospitality Honors Society for a pep talk.
“This is all about fun and interacting with guests—we’re celebrating 30 years of La Chanterelle,” said Richards. “There’s going to be a lot more people than you’re used to, but it’s a different type of event.”
There was even a brief pop quiz—How many ounces are in a pour? Does everyone remember the wine buzzwords?—some last-minute delegations, and a quick reminder: “Smiles on! Enjoy everybody.”
Soon enough, the guests had arrived for wine and student-prepared hors d’oeuvres, including a sticky smoked pork belly, which guests circled like sharks, and was undoubtedly the evening’s culinary tour de force.
“It’s an homage to American BBQ with a Korean-style flair,” explained Nick Giunta ’23 M’24.
Provost Sara Quay told the crowd that when she first started working at Endicott, just four years after La Chanterelle opened at the College, she attended her first dinner “in this classroom—one in which students worked in both the front and back of the house and practiced what they were learning, in real-time, right in front of us.”
“During that dinner,” she continued, “I realized the secret of Endicott that has stuck with me ever since: At this college, students actively apply what they learn in the classroom to real-world experiences.”
To commemorate La Chanterelle’s 30th season, we spoke with graduates of La Chanterelle and Endicott’s hospitality program who have gone on to—as Quay said—actively apply what they’ve learned in exciting roles. Here are their stories.
Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
Lily Abramo ’22 M’23
Workplace Experience Manager, Shift Program, 53 State Street
“La Chanterelle made me understand the value of feedback and how it can drastically improve your current operations or approach. I now push for my tenants at 53 State to give me feedback as much as possible so I know how to suit their needs better.”
Annie Keith ’22 M’23
Assistant General Manager, Ledger
“To be a manager, you must be able to comprehend every step of the process while it is in motion, and to not only look one step ahead but to see five, 10, 20 steps ahead. This way, you can decipher the moves necessary to ensure a solution when something goes wrong. La Chanterelle taught me this.”
Brandon Smith ’22
Assistant Reservations Manager, Hilton Boston Park Plaza
“Part of being a hospitality professional is having a global mindsight and appreciation for other cultures, so I am enjoying seeing the La Chanterelle experience evolve and introduce new ways of cultural exploration through fine dining cuisine.”
Jamie Mucci ’18 M’21
Assistant Director of Event Operations, Boston College
“I have La Chanterelle to thank for giving me my first leadership opportunity.”
Brooke Russo ’21 M’22
Event Specialist, Boston College
“Ninety-nine percent of jobs require human interaction and La Chanterelle will force you to make small talk with strangers.”
Eileen Geyer A’90 ’92
Executive Director, Misselwood Events
“The students that come through the La Chanterelle program understand the importance of our mission and innately understand customer needs must be handled with professionalism and kindness.”
Kelsey O’Keefe ’19 M’22
Event Sales Manager, Weddings and Socials, Misselwood Events at Endicott
“My now-fiancé and I met at Endicott freshman year in the hospitality program—we were both in the culinary and service classes at La Chanterelle together!”
