Hawaiian fruit salad with lilikoi syrup and toasted coconut, macadamia-crusted mahi mahi with lilikoi beurre blanc, mixed greens with papaya seed vinaigrette, coconut rice and a guava cake to finish it all off – is your mouth watering yet?

Last week, culinary students at the Mississippi University for Women presented the second installment in their three-part “Savor The W” luncheon series – the theme was “Lei’d Back – A Luau Luncheon.” The series was a first for the Culinary Arts Institute (CAI), and junior and senior culinary arts students were tasked with creating the concept, theme and menu from start to finish.

“This is (the students’) capstone class,” said Tracee Watkins, director of the Culinary Arts Institute at The W. “They used to do one very large dinner just for their family, and the community was like, ‘We really would love to be able to drop by and have a quick lunch.’ So we turned it into a luncheon series for them.”

The W said in a statement that it designed the series to “highlight fresh flavors and the rising talent of future chefs,” with an emphasis on the mastery and leadership of its senior students.

Watkins said that each luncheon had a rotating “leadership team” of juniors and seniors from the capstone class, providing all CAI students the chance to lead recipe testing, costing (budgeting for the meal), menu creation and, finally, meal execution.

Blue Hawaiian mocktails were served at 11:30 a.m. in the CAI lobby. Guests, most donning a lei given to them at the mocktail station, had the opportunity to mingle in a relaxed, social setting before being guided to the formal dining room at noon.

As guests were welcomed into the dining room, they were greeted with teal tablecloths, pineapple centerpieces and blue place settings decorated with real orchids. Set to the side was a student-designed menu featuring the courses guests would soon be enjoying.

Watkins said the wait staff was also completely student-led, with students from The W’s Dining Room Services class providing dining services. She said to maintain an “intimate atmosphere,” they kept the guest list to around 50 people, though she added that serving 50 guests was still a “monumental task” for the rising young chefs.

“The biggest challenge with these luncheons really has been making sure that the students understand that they can do this,” she said. “Just building that confidence, giving them the permission to be creative and showing them that they can succeed.”

The student chefs weren’t alone, though. CAI professors, along with Chef Jonathan “Ty” Thames, chef-owner, and Chef John Fitzgerald, chef de cuisine at Restaurant Tyler, provided guidance to the students.

“Really, the kids did all the idea stuff,” Chef Fitzgerald said. “I just want to give them a little advice as far as what might work best for serving this many people. They do all the work. You know, we’re just here to lend a helping hand.”

“We want to help bridge the gap between academia and the industry,” added Chef Thames. “Plus, we’re always headhunting for our restaurant.”

Watkins said the chefs of Restaurant Tyler were “underselling themselves” on how much help they provided the students. She said that at the beginning of the semester, Chef Thames and Chef Fitzgerald pulled together a multi-course luncheon for the students, bringing them all to Restaurant Tyler to “sit and discuss food, and get inspiration about how they can creatively come up with something to serve.”

Chef Fitzgerald said that he was impressed with how much the students already knew and complimented their intuition on what flavors work well together. He said the advice he gave was mostly practical tips for serving a group this large.

“For this particular event, for instance, they’re doing fish that’s crusted with macadamia nuts,” he said. “And we talked about how we’ll need to go ahead and toast the nuts a little bit first, and then cook the fish, and then put them together and finish in the oven so we don’t end up with a burned fish.”

That advice seemed to do the trick. Guests had great things to report after finishing up their meal.

“I loved each course; the fish was really great,” said Anika Perkins, executive director of University Relations and luncheon guest. “You can tell the students really took their time thinking of each dish and how to fit it into their theme. And the lunch service was excellent — we’re really proud of all of our students.”

The first luncheon, held April 1, was themed “Brunch Through the Garden Gates: A fresh, seasonal exploration of elevated midday favorites.” Today, the students will serve the third and final luncheon, themed “Honey and Thyme Rustic Table: An artisanal finale focusing on earthy herbs and comforting, sophisticated fare.”

If you didn’t grab a ticket this year, don’t worry. Watkins said that the CAI plans to make the luncheon series an annual event since the assignment gives students a robust hands-on experience outside the scope of regular classes – an “invaluable experience” to have before graduation.

“Plus, lunch is such a wonderful time of day,” she said. “Take a break, get refreshed from your desk job, get something to eat from our rising chefs and then go back and finish up strong for the rest of the day. We’re excited to keep offering this.”