Bringing an Upscale Dining Experience to the Plains

By: Catherine Price

The latest edition to Auburn University’s campus is the Rane Culinary Science Center. This is a part of the College of Human Sciences and is located on the corner of Thach Avenue and South College Street.

With this addition to campus comes a whole new level of luxury dining to Auburn. 1865 is the premier dining experience, and it is within walking distance of the Auburn University campus. It has brought in some of the best chefs in the Southeast. There is a preset menu for dinner that changes monthly to feature items that are grown locally or that are at the peak of their season.

The restaurant often uses fresh produce from local farms. This is a key aspect that makes them so vital to agriculture and the Auburn community. The use of locally grown products bring that focus back to the agriculture industry and gets people talking.

Agriculture is one of the two things Auburn University was founded to do and we have lost that focus. There needs to be more on campus like Hey Day Market and 1856 that feature locally grown products and Alabama agriculture. Hey Day Market is a cantina-style dining hall in the Rane Center which features nine different small restaurants. There really is something for everyone.

1856 has a highly trained culinary staff and chefs who curate the menu to feature the freshest and most delicious meals for each month. The dinner menu is a preset tasting menu that changes monthly in accordance with the season to make sure the food is the freshest.

For the month of April, the menu features dishes ranging from seafood to steak. 1856 is also a teaching restaurant. This is one of the most unique features of this high-class establishment. All of the students in the School of HospitalityManagement are required to do hands-on learning. They will learn the menu and also be able to talk to patrons about what they are being served in extensive detail. Along with the prefixed dinner is wine pairing with each course. The wines are especially chosen to accompany each dish and enhance the flavor of the food.

There are also rooftop gardens that are harvested to be used in 1856 and Hey Day Market.This is a unique feature of The Laurel Hotel. Guests can go and enjoy the gardens and rooftop view of Auburn while having a specialty cocktail from the bar on the roof.

1856and the Rane Culinary Science Center are a benefit to Auburn University and the Auburn community in many ways. Local products are featured and it also is a teaching restaurant that gives Auburn students in this program the hands-on learning they need to be successful in their field. It is the first of its kind in the state of Alabama. It is a great way to showcase Alabama agriculture to the general population and it is a massive asset to the Auburn community.