Nestle to present food demonstration for students at Kelley School of Business

Recruiters from Nestle Prepared Foods Co. will team up with the Bloomington Cooking School to present a food marketing seminar for approximately 20 students from the Kelley School of Business Tuesday.\nThe purpose of this event, according to the invitation sent out by the company, is to teach students techniques for developing and marketing food products. Nestle owns Lean Cuisine, a food program that focuses on nutritionally aware food.\nMatt O'Neill, one of the owners of the Bloomington Cooking School, will prepare a seafood meal for the students, giving them advice on selecting, preparing, cooking and presenting salmon.\n"We're going to prepare a great meal and let them be entertained and educated at the same time," O'Neill said. "The last thing students think about during their time at school is cooking, and normally their nutrition levels go down."\nAfter O'Neill's presentation and the dinner, Lean Cuisine Marketing Manager Harry Jones will present a food marketing case.\nAlong with the Bloomington Cooking School, O'Neill also owns the Bloomington restaurant The Runcible Spoon, as well as a restaurant in Bedford called R Street Bistro.\n"One of the challenges I face is presenting food in a nutritious but tasty manner," O'Neill said. "Whether you are a giant corporation like Nestle, or a little tiny dot like us, we basically face the same challenges."\nO'Neill said representatives from Nestle located his school on the Internet and asked him to help them present their company to students.\n"I guess they're approaching us because they want us to introduce the students to the world of food," O'Neill said. "It's huge now. You can start a restaurant with $20,000, or you can start a restaurant with $20 million. It's a great big crazy business right now."\nThe Bloomington Cooking School is not affiliated with IU, but it does offer some for-credit classes to students at Ivy Tech. However, some IU students do take classes just for fun, O'Neill said.\nResidents of Bloomington can take one-time classes from the school for $37, but nonresidents pay an increased fee of $46. Prices might vary when the menu includes more expensive items, such as wine.\nBloomington Parks and Recreation collaborates with the Bloomington Cooking School to provide these classes to the city's residents.\n"I think people take these classes because it's an opportunity to have not only a class, but also a meal, in a social setting," said Michael Simmons, an employee of Bloomington Parks and Recreation. "It's an opportunity to meet new people and interact with them in a classroom setting"