Metro Cooking Show by Randi

Today, I volunteered at the Metro Cooking Show. The show is a food and entertainment show. I was volunteering at the media booth. People from the media would come to the cooking show, and I would help sign them in and check their credentials. I liked this position because I had the wonderful opportunity to interact with many different people including the press and chiefs. It was also interesting to see all of the different kinds of publications at the show. For example, many international reporters did pieces on the food and entertainment. Reporters also brought their own cameramen and photographers. I also got to interact with many different staff members at the show, and learn a little bit more about their jobs. Many of the cooks there were up and coming and promoting their new restaurants. It was interesting to see how many of the unknown places had the most lines. However, my favorite part of the day was getting to try all of the food of course!  

Volunteering @ 29th Annual Lombardi Gala

Volunteering experience @ 29th Annual Lombardi Gala.... By YuW, October 24, 2015.

This past Saturday, I had an opportunity to volunteer at the 29th Annual Lombardi Gala that is hosted by Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to raise funds for cancer research, education, and treatments. The event was held in Washington Hilton near Dupont Circle. There were about 800 attendees including Washington area leaders such as political officials, sports figures, CEO's, and others. 

The Gala started with a cocktail reception and a silent auction in one of the largest meeting spaces, Columbia Hall. The auction featured hundreds of items donated by local businesses and individuals. I was assigned to the Jewelry and Fashion section at the auction to assist guests with bidding procedures and other questions.

The second part of the Gala is the dinner in the Ballroom followed with raffle drawing, awards and dance. My role was to deliver packages to the bid winners, and also thank them for their support since all of the proceeds benefit the Lombardi Cancer Center for their research programs. 

My observations: 

Overall, it was a great experience for me because this is my first time volunteering at such a big scale event. The event planners/organizers are all very professional with many years of experiences working for the Lombardi Gala. At this kind of large events, there were so many details I found to be something new for me to learn. They did a great job recruiting volunteers and holding orientations and trainings for us so we were able to be very knowledgeable and helpful to the guests at the auction. we also had opportunity to socialize with some new friends at the volunteer dinner before the gala.  

The event was pretty successful as they received great amount of donations from the guests, and the guests had great time meeting their old and new friends, and networking with many profesionals at the auction and dinner. 

It was generally a great learning experience for me. I would love to go back to join the volunteer team again next year if I have the chance. One thing I think that they could improve for next year is that better transition. Starting this year, they decided to use bidding website called BiddingForGood on individual guests' mobile devices for the bidding process instead of the traditional paper bidding. Even though volunteers at each auction section were trained to know how to use the website and help guests with the bidding process, plus there were 5 bidding concierge with laptops set up to assist guests with registration and bidding process, some guests were frustrated by this new form of bidding method as a lot of them were so used to the old process in paper, and some guests had to spend a long time with account registration, they had problems figuring out the current bid, etc.. Therefore I think what they could have done better for this year's gala is to have both paper bidding and mobile bidding available at the auction to provide convenience for the guests, have volunteers to introduce the new movie bidding method to the guests at the auction this year, and next year change it to only mobile bidding, and guests should be able to be more familiar with the new method at next year's gala. 

In addition, the event was sponsored by Lexus, Lexus did a great job putting their brand out at the event as they had three cars displayed at the events, also tv screens with Lexus commercials on. 

The volunteers also were lucky to get a gift bag from them as appreciation. 

Dining Experience At Boqueria NYC JE

          This weekend I went home to New York to visit my family. On Friday night we went to dinner in the city to a restaurant that we have been to several times before. The restaurant is called Boqueria, which is a Spanish tapas restaurant and lounge. I have been to this restaurant numerous times, and have always been overly pleased with the quality or food and service. When my family and I arrived at the restaurant at 8:15 for our 8:30 reservation, we were immediately seated. We placed our drink order, and about 10 minutes later our waiter came over with the drinks. What happened next was unexpected. As the waiter was reaching for a drink off of his tray, he accidently knocked over two other drinks from the tray that landed on my brother’s lap. As expected, my brother jumped as he was blind-sided by the cold drinks that fell on his lap. You could tell how upset and embarrassed the waiter was, and he then began to apologize numerous times. My brother assured him that accidents happen, and he was alright. My brother cleaned himself up in the bathroom, and my family and I continued to have a great dinner while enjoying each other’s company. We did not think twice about the mishap, because it was clearly an accident that could have happened to anyone. At the end of the meal, the manager approached our table and told us that he was truly sorry about the drinks, and that our meal would be on him tonight. My father spoke up and said that it was not necessary, but that we appreciate it very much. The manager was so kind to us, and wanted to make sure that we were still satisfied with our dining experience. Although there was a slight mishap, Boqueria still managed to provide my family with a great night, great service, and great food. 

          From a hospitality management perspective, the restaurant flawlessly handled the situation. The customers understood that what happened was an accident, but the restaurant went above and beyond to ensure that the customers were 100 percent satisfied with their dining experience. 

Jordyn Epstein

www.boquerianyc.com