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The Rotunda
Monday, July 28, 2025

You Had Me At Filet Mignon: Longwood Dining Services Celebrate Valentine's Day

Longwood students didn't spend

this past Valentine's Day by themselves.

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, Longwood

Dining Services opened up

the Tea Room of Dorrill Dining Hall

(D-Hall) to students, faculty and

staff alike to enjoy great food, great

service and a great way to celebrate

a holiday that many often avoid.

Available only through reservations

made before Feb. 9, the event

was reserved for parties of two

or four guests who could pay the

$18.95 price of admission through

bonus dollars, Lancer CA$H, Visa,

MasterCard, cash or check.

The dishes offered at the dinner

included various options for each

course.

For appetizers, students were offered

either shrimp bisque or tomato

mozzarella napoleon with balsamic

glaze.

For entrée, students were offered

either lobster ravioli with crème

rosa sauce finished with jumbo

lump crab and broccollini or marinated

grilled filet mignon accompanied

with smoked roma tomato,

shallot and feta ragout, blue cheese

mashed potatoes and haricot verts.

For dessert, students were offered

either coconut vanilla panna cotta

with raspberry sauce or flourless

chocolate truffle cake.

Students were offered tea, water,

coffee and a complimentary glass of

wine or sparkling water, while additional

beverages were available

for purchase.

More than the food, the atmosphere

of the Valentine's Day Dinner

ensured an intimate enough setting

for one to forget he or she was

in D-Hall. A dinner to remember,

the event was capable of being enjoyed

by anyone, whether in a relationship

or not.

Director of Dining Services Grant

Avent commented that he commonly

hears requests for restaurant

style service from students, faculty

and staff. "There's, as you know, a

limited number of good restaurants

in Farmville and places to go to get

a really good meal, and so I've had

people ask would we do something

like that."

Avent commented on how the

turnout for this year's Valentine's

Day dinner was more of a success,

especially with students, this year,

saying, "We only had 20 people last

year, and this year, we had 78."

Assistant Director for Operational

Excellence Brenda Ferguson believed

the increase in the student

population attending the event was

due to not only an increase in advertisement,

but also the opportunity

for students to pay for their meal by

Lancer CA$H or Bonus Dollars.

"This year we were very pleased

with the number of students who

wanted to be there," said Ferguson.

Junior Ceceli Bautista, Senior Alicia

White, Junior Katie Chires and

Junior Leighann Swofford attended

the event as a girl's night out.

"I feel very positive about this experience,"

said Bautista.

White happily commented that

the quality to the event "was very

surprising."

Bautista agreed, saying, "It was

really surprising how well it was

put together. It was very fancy, very

classy."

Describing the service of waiters

and waitresses present, Bautista

said, "She was always checking on

us, making sure we had everything

we needed."

Describing the food, White said it

was, "Mouthwatering."

"It's not D-Hall," joked Chires.

Avent expressed interest in further

restaurant style dinners by Longwood

Dining Services, saying, "It's

different from what we do every

day, and I think that if we did more

that we would get better at it."

Ferguson said, "I think what the

challenge is is that it's something

different from what we always do.

We don't serve restaurant style service

every day."

There were some difficulties on

the day of the event due to the location

of the dinner being located in

in the lower floor of Dorrill Dining

Hall while the equipment needed

to cook the food was in the upper

level.

"It was a good, positive learning

experience," said Ferguson.

White commented about the motivation

she and her group of friends

attended the event with, saying,

"We decided we would treat ourselves

out to something fun. All the

couples are going to do stuff. Why

can't we go do something fun?"

Ferguson said, "I think that Valentine's

Day is a day where you have

an opportunity to stop and reflect

on friendships that you have and

whatever those friendships may

be … So, we wanted to give an opportunity

for people to have somewhere

to go special to celebrate that

friendship."