Rosen College students host themed event as part of final

Students from the Rosen College of Hospitality Management eschewed studying and hosted the third annual Cabaret & Cabernet event held Saturday night. With a theme inspired by the era of flapper girls and infamous gangsters, “A Taste of the ‘20s” was an evening of four-course meals, fine wine and entertainment, put together entirely by Rosen students as a requirement for their final exam. 

Michael Weiss, assistant director of public relations for Rosen, said the event was produced as part of a course. Students marketed, promoted and even catered food for Cabaret & Cabernet. 

“Pretty much all of the elements were organized, coordinated and managed by students,” Weiss said. “This is art of the event management two class, so they do earn credit for participating and managing the event.”

The Cabaret & Cabernet sold more than 200 tickets and raised more than $17,000 for the Tourism, Events and Attractions department, according to Weiss.

Marietta Matusevich, a senior event management student and co-chair of the event, said that though the planning was stressful, she learned skills that she could use later on in her field. Some of the skills she got to learn firsthand include gaining sponsorships and vendors and networking with important people. 

“It’s crazy to know that I’m graduating in May in two weeks, so going out into the field is a great way to end the semester,” Matusevich said. “I’m learning the ins and outs, how to please the guests and making sure the guests’ experience is what they came here to see.”

Suzan Bunn, a professor at Rosen, helped start the event three years ago as a way to both give students a hands-on learning experience and help raise funds for the Rosen College Tourism, Events & Attractions Department. 

“[The money] is used for us to buy things for us to use to help enhance students’ learning, and also things that we can use for future events,” Bunn said. 

This year’s theme of the 1920s was brought out in the event by incorporating things inspired from three major cities that shaped the events of that decade: Hollywood, New Orleans and Chicago. 

“Every year we try to put a little twist on it,” Bunn said. “This year the kids thought it would be fun to do ‘A Taste of the ‘20s’ and incorporate three different cities that were pretty historic in the ‘20s to bring out the character of that time period.”

Though the registration fee for the event may seem highly priced at $65, Bunn said that in comparison to similar events it’s a good deal. 

“It’s a four-course meal, three rooms of entertainment, plus some very expensive wine,” Bunn said. “So we feel it’s a good value.”

Some of the sponsors for the event, including Walt Disney World, Max King and the Orlando Convention Center, also provided wine and sent representatives to see how the students put it all together.

Bunn said that many people from industries, especially hotel management, have UCF alumni come to Cabaret & Cabernet to experience what they had previously learned.

“I hope they know about Rosen College, and to see how great of an education our students get,” Bunn said. 

“It’s great to see how the students have developed and are able to execute an event like this. There are so many different things going on that the overall success of event is pretty rewarding,” Weiss said.

For more information on events hosted by the Rosen College of Hospitality Management visit hospitality.ucf.edu.