Florida International University Serves Up Collaborative Technology in Its New Restaurant Lab

Part of FIU’s restaurant lab is an actual restaurant with a 5-star feel. Martha Stewart has been here, and said she was very impressed. Photo by FIU.

In the kitchen, students get real-world experience in preparing meals. Here is one area IT Director Dale Gomez said the lab felt like “1,000 pounds of technology being put into a 10 pound bag.” Photo by FIU.

The kitchen’s cameras are shielded by a dome to protect them from oil and heat while students prepare and run meals for the restaurant. At night, these cameras capture surveillance footage. Photo by FIU.

Instructors have the ability to view the kitchen from the restaurant area, and from the restaurant to the kitchen area to make sure everything runs smoothly. Photo by FIU.

Touch panels are located everywhere for easy access, quick communication and effective lecturing. Photo by FIU.

“We wanted to really put ourselves above and beyond what is currently being offered by other hospitality programs out there,” says Dale Gomez, Director of University Computer Systems at FIU. “We…provide students with a five-star restaurant in terms of [having them]creating the dishes all the way up to managing the actual restaurant itself, then encompassing all these audio visual innovations and technology to give them a better edge once they leave the program and they start either working for a restaurant or owning their own.” Photo by FIU.

Students use the restaurant lab’s digital signage displays to call up menus and orders. Photo by FIU.

FIU’s Wine Spirits Beverage Management Center Wine Lab features a special lighting infrastructure that allows the faculty to change the lighting. For example, if faculty are showing students red wine, they can manipulate the lights to turn the room red so students have a better visual experience of the wine. Photo by FIU.