Hospitality students served up a pink menu to combat bullying late last month.
A spin on Pink Shirt Day, diners were treated to a gourmet menu created by students based out of the hospitality school at George Brown College (GBC).
Held at the Chef’s House on March. 21, the fundraiser was put together entirely by students who hoped to raise awareness and ensure that GBC is free from bullying.
“We put students in teams of five and we give them the empty campus restaurant, which is the Chef’s House, and the team has to curate the food menu, the beverage menu, and they have to determine the selling price. They have to do all the marketing and the promotions; they have to create Eventbrite and a scan code,” said Tammy Vaillancourt, program coordinator at GBC.
She notes the work that the students do to put this together is tremendous, including working with a community organization.
“They have to work with an external charity or a community member, and then they have to sell enough tickets to break even to pass the course and then the day they run the restaurant… their entire three course menu, the appetizer, entree and dessert are all fully pink meals. All three beverages are fully pink, and they will be doing a mixologist demonstration for drink number three and doing (any) fundraising for the 519 which is a local charity formerly known as the 519 Church Street Community Centre, in support of anti-bullying.”
The event was inspired by the annual day of wearing a pink shirt in solidarity against bullying. This started after a boy from Nova Scotia was bullied for wearing a pink shirt in 2007.
“Pink is a big representation for anti-bullying, and they wanted to really stream it through everything they did. So, the placemats are pink, the appetizers pink, the entrees pink, the dessert is pink, all three beverages so they just really wanted to have that continuity,” Vaillancourt added.
Funds generated through this event will be directed towards The 519, a community centre in the city.
“We don’t have a set amount that we want to raise… $5, it could be $10. We’ll take anything and it’s going straight to the charity to help them towards ending homelessness. They help [support] people with mental health, getting therapists as well as shelters.
Guests in the event expressed their delight in bringing people together for a positive change.
“In today’s society, it’s so hard to understand what the new bullying is, especially with cyber and the new social media. So, to allow everyone to be aware of what’s happening in the world is just amazing to me.”
Pink Luncheon highlights the efforts led by a group of people that can help make places safer and more welcoming for everyone.
People who wish to contribute can donate through the charity’s website: www.the519.org/support-the-519/donate/
