2025 Hospitality Gala: A night of unmatched excellence in hospitality

An elegant evening that equally recognized the College of Human Sciences Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management students and the Horst Schulze Award for Excellence in Hospitality honoree L. Nick Davis ’84 came together on Thursday, April 24 as hundreds of guests celebrated the signature Hospitality Gala held at The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.

The Hospitality Gala is the culmination of an entire semester’s worth of hard work and planning by students in the Horst Schulze School of Hospitality Management. Known as the senior capstone class and event, the students are split into various teams that include marketing, operations and design of the event.

L. Nick Davis (center) served as the Horst Schulze Award for Excellence in Hospitality honoree at the 2025 Hospitality Gala.

"I’m mesmerized by all the work,” said Baniya. “It’s 47 of them coming together and it’s a big challenge in the sense that 47 minds think 47 different ways, but they came together to produce this amazing Gala. In the beginning, they were struggling a little bit but then we got one consistent idea and then everyone aligned. That was really interesting and my favorite part about leading the class. It’s full practice of individual talent, teamwork and leadership to finally produce something spectacular. I am so glad the attendees gave a standing ovation to the student’s work.”

Sally Owen, a senior majoring in event management, also participated in the Gala for the first time and said she learned a variety of things that will help prepare her for the future.

 “My favorite thing has been the creative side and getting to work as a team to come up with ideas — whether it is florals or linens, but I learned the most about the financial side of things like budgeting and having good communication with our vendors,” said Owen. “I’ll be doing catering sales and event management after graduation and this event really sets me up and taught me so much when it comes to working with a team. It really gives me extra confidence.”

While the students’ hospitality skills were a key ingredient for the Gala, the highlight of the night was honoring Davis at the dinner, who is no stranger to the meaning of hard work and a staunch supporter of the College of Human Sciences. Davis serves as President, CEO, CMO and majority shareholder of Momma G’s, Inc., the franchisor of Momma Goldberg’s Delis. He serves as President, CEO and sole shareholder of The Davis Companies and currently serves as the Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Human Sciences.

During a portion of his acceptance speech, Davis praised his parents and their ability to lead by example and show graciousness and hospitality whenever hosting guests. He also acknowledged his husband and other close friends as being major influences in his life.

“Generosity was not a performance it was simply who they were, and I’ve carried this from my parents and grandparents into my own life and career,” said Davis. “I’m seen around Auburn as being generous and a gracious host in giving my time, talent and treasures to support all things Auburn. But the truth is that without my village I could do none of that.  While this award bears my name, it reflects the influence and hard work of so many others. For anyone out there who feels like their path is taking longer or looks different than expected, remember that delayed is not denied.”

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Another highlight of the event is the four distinguished chefs and wineries from all over the world, who came together to create a culinary experience of a lifetime. Prior to the Gala dinner, guests arrived to enjoy a delicate reception led by featured chefs such as Owner and Head Chef of II Falconier Silvia Baracchi, New Realm General Manager Joshua Cain, Corporate Director of Food & Beverage of Noble House Hotels & Resorts Marcus Repp and Executive Chef of Noble House Hotels & Resorts Roy Hendrickson. The wineries featured were Moët and Hennessy, Baracchi, de la boue and Trinchero Family Estates. Each wine was paired with each specific dish designed for the event to create a four-course meal. 

A new addition to the 2025 Gala was allowing student chefs Mary Flavin, a senior majoring in culinary science and Sophie Snyder, a junior majoring in culinary science, to show off their cooking skills. The dinner dessert prepared by the duo was a chocolate torte with a chocolate mirror glaze, Amarena cherry compote, candied hazelnuts with shortbread crumbs, topped with a toasted brown sugar meringue and it was a hit among guests.

“When putting a team together I immediately thought of Mary because she can do everything in the kitchen,” said Snyder. “We’ve been working together since January and about a month ago we came up with our plan of work and exactly how we would get it all done. We figured out numbers, how much we would need of every ingredient to serve this many people and how many recipes we would need to make of each thing.”

“The most fun for me is the creative process and when you make decisions just fine tuning it and getting advice from professors and other professionals really gave us confidence,” added Flavin. “This is our day, and we run it the best way possible so it gives us confidence after graduation that we can do something on our own and we can actually cater for a large group.”

Guests also enjoyed Alabama white barbecue shrimp carpaccio, duck cannelloni with coriander carrot sauce and parmesan fondue, olive oil-poached halibut and more. The night concluded with the bidding on several auction items that included a Sunday at the Masters package, an elevated dining experience at 1856 with Auburn men’s basketball coach Bruce Pearl, a night in Music City at the CMA Awards and much more.

While the Gala only lasts a few hours on one night in the spring, College of Human Sciences students will move forward with life skills they can use well beyond their time at Auburn.