Tag: Chrles F. Knight Center



Gene Castellitto, Aramark General Manager for The Charles F. Knight Executive Education & Conference Center shares the news that his staff has received recognition for one of the hundreds of special events it caters each year.

Louie AwardCongratulations to the entire Knight Center team on their Louie Award for the annual Scholars in Business Dinner held last fall in the Atrium of Knight and Bauer Halls.

Each year since 1999, the International Special Events Society – St. Louis Chapter has given Louie Awards to outstanding professionals in the special event industry. The award acknowledges the extraordinary efforts, performance, planning, design, and execution of special events in the metro St. Louis area and surrounding cities.

141106_naunheim_olin_scholar_dinner_018At the awards dinner March 6, the Knight Center received the award for “Best Overall On-Premise Catered Event, Budget $30,000 and Over”.
Images: Scholars in Business Dinner by Jerry Naunheim.




Move over Iron Chef. The winner of the Copper Skillet chef competition is in the kitchen at The Charles F. Knight Executive Education & Conference Center at Washington University and he’s cooking up some award-winning dishes.

Shane Brassel, Executive Chef at the business school’s Knight Center, smoked the competition at the recent International Association of Conference Centers (IACC) Copper Skillet Competition in Chicago. He will represent the United States at the 10th annual international round of the competition in March.

Shane Brassel

The prestigious IACC Copper Skillet Award for the United States recognizes the vital role that food service plays in conference center operations. This competition is designed to highlight the artistry and skills of IACC members from around the world.

Chef Brassel’s winning dish, pictured above, featured pan-seared duck breast on a bed of root vegetable hash served with white wine and butter-poached shrimp.

Shane Brassel was born and raised in St. Louis, MO, and began to develop his culinary interest at the age of 16. He attended Johnson and Whales University in Providence, Rhode Island.

During his career, Shane has worked at variety of hotels and restaurants including the Ritz Carlton, Dallas Omni, and Chase Park Plaza Hotel before being joining ARAMARK – manager of the Knight Center facility. Shane has worked for ARAMARK since 2007 and has been the Executive Chef at The Charles F. Executive Education and Conference Center since 2010.

Congratulations Chef Brassel on an outstanding performance and good luck at the international competition!

-Submitted by Gene Castellitto, General Manager, The Charles F. Knight Executive Education & Conference Center