SULLIVAN UNIVERSITY RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION FROM BREEDERS’ CUP

SULLIVAN UNIVERSITY RECEIVES GENEROUS DONATION FROM BREEDERS’ CUP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sullivan University has received a generous donation from the Breeders’ Cup in recognition and appreciation of the services the school’s culinary program students provided during major race-related events last year.

Culinary and Baking and Pastry Arts students from Sullivan’s renowned College of Hospitality Studies worked alongside celebrity chefs at the A Taste of the World event at the Speed Art Museum and during the week long Breeders’ Cup events at Churchill Downs, which hosted the 2018 Breeders’ Cup.

In a letter to Sullivan University’s Director of Culinary Arts Chef G. Allen Akmon announcing the donation, Breeders’ Cup Vice President of Events Stefanie Palmieri thanked Chef Akmon “for the incredible work that Sullivan University displayed” during the Breeders’ Cup race, festivities and charitable events.

“Your support to these events was invaluable and we truly appreciate all of the efforts your team and the students put forth in helping us to execute such an amazing culinary experience,” Palmieri wrote. “It was a true honor to work with the Sullivan University students and to have their support of our guest chefs.”

Chef Akmon said he was “shocked” by the unsolicited and generous gift.

“I also felt a deep sense of pride because I know the students that represent our institution and I know the instructors and mentors that prepare them to represent themselves as well as our institution,” he said.

During the events students worked with celebrity chefs to prep dishes and then serve their creations. Among the chefs was Sylvain Delpique of the prestigious ‘21’ Club in New York City. He had a team of three students working with him for the duration of Breeders’ Cup week, prepping food in the Sullivan kitchens and then serving the creations at Churchill Downs and at other venues and events.

“Seldom in someone’s career do they get a chance to stand next to and work shoulder to shoulder with individuals at the top of the field,” Chef Akmon said, “the real innovators, creators and celebrities that people typically only read about or see on TV. The students also see what a real top class event can encompass from the food to the décor, the service, the clean up, the entertainment. These events are often unfathomable to students or people that have never experienced such an event.”

In addition to the experience of working with these people, the students often receive internship opportunities. And one student, Dallys Highfill, received a scholarship from the Breeders’ Cup Limited for creating the winning dessert at the A Taste of the World Event, a deconstructed carrot cake with coconut cremeux, orange yogurt mousse and spiced pineapple sauce.

Chef Akmon said Sullivan was honored to participate in the Breeders’ Cup events.

“It shows that our institution is a premier culinary and baking and pastry school that is respected and known on a scale much larger than just locally,” he said.

About Sullivan University

Sullivan University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award Associate, Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Sullivan University or visit them online at www.sacscoc.org.

The University offers numerous certificates, diplomas, and degrees in career-orientated programs, ranging from business, pharmacy, human resources, I.T. and cyber security, supply-chain management, culinary and baking and pastry arts, hospitality studies, conflict management, nursing, allied health sciences, HVAC-R, interior design, and legal studies. Sullivan University has campuses in Louisville and Lexington, an extension in Fort Knox on the U.S. Army Post, and Learning Centers in Louisa, Carlisle and Mayfield. Sullivan University also has many programs available partially or wholly online. For more information, visit www.sullivan.edu.