Skip to Content

Stanford Business magazine

 

Epicurean Edibles at Stanford Dorm

RaulLet’s make it clear. There are reasons to choose an executive program other than the excellence of its dining. Great faculty, top-notch participants, innovative curriculum, collegial atmosphere—Stanford Executive Education has it all. But let’s not forget the food!

When the Financial Times rated executive programs, Stanford Business School ranked number one in the world in “food and accommodation.” Why? Here’s a hint: roasted chateaubriand with bordelaise sauce and sauce béarnaise, whole spring lamb on a spit, whole roasted pig with hoisin sauce. These are just three of the entrees that came out of the kitchen of Raul Lacara, general manager and executive chef of Schwab Executive Services, in the course of the Stanford Executive Program last summer.

And Lacara is no slouch when it comes to the rest of the meal. The chateaubriand represented only one of the selections at a pan-European dinner, which also included tapas, braised bacalahau, herring salad, and shepherd’s pie. Eighteen differeStanford Ediblesnt passed appetizers preceded the whole lamb and its sides, salads, and dessert at an Australian feast. The roast pig had to share the spotlight with Peking duck at the China station of a pan-Asian dinner, where the menu also featured Vietnamese and Malaysian appetizers and Japanese, Singaporean, and Indian entrees.

Lacara, who first learned to cook professionally in the Hotel Nikko Manila, apprenticed in Germany and has worked in fine restaurants in Asia, the Middle East, and the United States, as well as on luxury cruise lines.

He has won numerous awards for his cuisine and his ice carving, a specialty that finds its way into many of Schwab’s festive dinners. Executive Education is currently working on a cookbook of Lacara’s recipes, which is expected to be available in 2009.