The sounds of knives and forks clinking merrily on fine white dishes and the tempting aroma of an expertly prepared entrée commonly associated with eating at an expensive restaurant might seem like an unlikely possibility for many students.

But this semester, the culinary department is offering faculty, staff and students alike the opportunity to enjoy a carefully planned and prepared six-course meal as a part of Fine Dining.

Fine Dining, a six-week event from Feb. 12 to April 8 hosted by the sophomore culinary class, will consist of six six-course meals, each with a unique menu for that week.

With a theme of international cuisine, their work will include researching the cooking and culture of different countries so that patrons can enjoy nothing but the finest dishes possible.

Chef Robert Hansen, a culinary arts professor, is in charge of this semester’s Fine Dining.

He explained that the event, which takes the form of twice-weekly labs as well as the meal itself, was designed to help students develop the kitchen and service skills they have been learning and devloping in their other labs over the course of their last few semesters.

“It’s very intense,” Hansen said. “It will be comparable to a major project in a class.”

The students will be responsible for both the preparation and the service of the meals.

In the kitchen, they will alternate each week between preparing the multiple different courses and then leading the kitchen in the position of a sous chef.

According to Janette Wiedman, a sophomore culinary major from Michigan, “Everything will be from scratch.”

Also, each week a student with the title of maître d’ will be in charge of preparing the dining room for visitors by decorating it to fit with the theme of that week’s cuisine.

Kristen Whaley, a sophomore culinary arts  major from South Carolina, said that since this is mimicking a real restaurant, you have to be very cordial to the guests and the other cooks.

Tickets for the events, which will take place on Friday evenings at 5 and 5:30, will be available for purchase starting Feb. 2 at the Culinary Retail Building, located across from the Press Printing Division from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., Tuesday through Friday.

Tickets will cost $20, but Hansen said that considering the quality of the food at the event, the price is very reasonable.

The menus for each week are available on the BJU intranet for convenient review before you purchase your tickets.

Also, patrons are encouraged to leave whatever tip they are able to for the hard-working culinary students.

Any tip money earned during the evening will go toward enriching their culinary education through special meals and food sampling.