Creme de la creme

Just two blocks west of Penn's campus, five college-age students are hard at work preparing for Olympic-level competition. But in this spectacle of might, skiing, skating and slalom all take a backseat to slicing, sauteeing and serving -- after all, this team is training in a bustling kitchen. The five are top students in The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College and will represent the United States in the Culinary Olympics in Germany next year. The Restaurant School, located at 42nd and Walnut streets, is a local training facility for young chefs and restaurateurs working toward degrees in culinary and pastry arts as well as hotel and restaurant management. Both full and part-time, the school includes recent high school graduates in addition to professionals in search of a second degree or a career change. On the one hand, they're students just like any others -- they simply substitute traditional requirements with courses like patisserie and menu design. But on the other hand, they're also entrepreneurs-in-training, virtually operating four separate restaurants -- not to mention a pastry shop -- all located within the school's facilities. And their future plans are a little different from that of the typical college student, too. "I'm definitely going to start my own restaurant eventually," says Scott Campbell, as he poaches a lobster in butter. Campbell, a 20-year-old culinary student, certainly is no stranger to the business. He grew up in a culinary family and currently lives outside of Philadelphia where his father owns a seafood restaurant. He is also the captain of the Restaurant School's Olympic-bound team, which won the gold medal at the American Culinary Federation National Convention in Las Vegas, and he personally was nominated for the Northeast Region Junior Member of the Year award, an honor bestowed on about 15 people. But in addition to his extracurriculars, Campbell is one of roughly 700 students who studies -- and works -- at The Restaurant School. And many of them are there to follow dreams similar to his. Restaurant management student Ron Gray, who works in the pastry shop, shares Campbell's ambition -- to open his own restaurant, "making millions." "It's a longshot, but it should work," Gray says with a sly smile. * "Making millions" sounds an awful lot like the goal of many Wharton graduates. But what sets The Restaurant School apart from a traditional college atmosphere -- and produces world-class chefs -- is that "there is a lot of personal attention," says Dean of Academic Affairs Corinne Ryan, who can walk into any crowded kitchen at the school and address students by name. But the close student-faculty interaction is not the only thing that makes the school's "classroom" environment different. The school's facilities themselves stand in stark contrast to the outside world -- after all, one would not expect to find an Italian Trattoria, an American Heartland, a European Courtyard, a restaurant that blends Great Chef recipes, a wine lab and a pastry shop all in the heart of West Philadelphia. But there they are -- all staffed and operated by students. The little Italian Trattoria, for instance, evokes feelings of an authentic ristorante. Then there's American Heartland, decorated with wicker chairs, lace curtains and a booth that looks like the back of a wagon. Here, diners sit before a backdrop of fields watered by "rain" that is automatically sprayed every 20 minutes. The third restaurant and training site, the European Courtyard, is modeled to resemble an outdoor European public square, decorated with fountains, flowers, cobblestone paths and balconies. The Great Chefs restaurant combines the best of the city, as students replicate dishes from Philadelphia staples -- Susanna Foo and Le Bec-Fin, to name a few --in a three-course meal. * While this restauranteering appeases most of the school's students, the Olympic elite like to whip it up a little -- they spend time perfecting their creations and plan to participate in a competition in Scotland next month. "Normally in a restaurant, you strive to put out the best that you can in a certain amount of time," explains pastry student Krystal Weaver as she tempers some dark chocolate to melt the crystals into solid form. "In a competition, you have to put out the best." Period. "It's a whole different level," concurs Jerry Scanlan, the team's coach. "It's European." * Not surprisingly, The Restaurant School's services stretch over to the Penn campus. While many go there for the occasional evening out -- the school offers high quality food at reasonable prices -- Penn students can also enroll in courses, ranging from puff pastry and cake decorating to chocolate tempering and plating desserts. "It's a resource that's right here rather than going in to Central Philly," says Engineering sophomore Charles Forster, who takes community culinary classes at the school. "They're really fun.... It's really hands-on. While Forster, who had previously taken cooking classes in New York City, does not plan on becoming a professional chef and says that for him, cooking "is just a hobby," he still recommends classes to anybody who is interested in learning how to cook. And he hopes that Penn will take advantage of The Restaurant School's close proximity, perhaps striking a deal that would allow students to take courses there for elective credit. But until then, most students will have to be content experiencing The Restaurant School's fine cuisine, instead of creating it.