Culinary Externship and Baking and Pastry Externship
Dining has always been a cause for celebration at Biltmore Estate. When George and Edith Vanderbilt entertained, uniformed footmen in the grand Banquet Hall served eight-course dinners. Fresh fish was shipped from New York daily; lobster was delivered twice weekly.
Today fine dining remains a cherished Biltmore tradition. Our talented culinary staff, inspired by the Vanderbilt legacy of entertaining, creates wonderful menus for functions large or small, formal or casual.
The centerpiece of estate dining is our "field-to-table" concept that draws from the freshest ingredients available. Blessed by Biltmore's agricultural bounty, our chefs utilize the harvest from surrounding gardens, fields, orchards, and vineyards. Our ten-acre Kitchen Garden yields 117 varieties of produce including red oak lettuce, shiitake mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes of every description. Estate-raised beef and lamb, fresh fruits, local honey, and award-winning Biltmore wines also grace our menus.
Students who complete one of our Extern Programs have a broad range of practical, resume-building experiences that might otherwise take years to accomplish. Both culinary and pastry externships are available. Participants rotate through restaurant settings ranging from casual high-volume to elegant fine-dining; along the way, there's a contemporary open-kitchen bistro and a restaurant that features an extensive buffet for lunch and hosts private catered events in the evenings. Externs move on to a new restaurant about every four weeks. The program provides hands-on experience at most culinary stations, and a one-on-one learning relationship with our chefs and culinary teams. See icons on the right for restaurant descriptions.
In addition to basic restaurant and station rotations, other externship components may include:
- Pastry and Bread Production (a dedicated Pastry Externship is also available)
- Ice Carving
- Meat Fabrication
- Kitchen Garden and Vineyard Experiences
- Winery Production
- Culinary Field Trips
Stable Café
Deerpark
The Dining Room at IOBE