eCornell Bolsters Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group’s Growth with Online Training

Global Hospitality Group Partners with Cornell for Scalable, Ivy League Professional Development

eCornell announced today that it has been selected by the acclaimed Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group (B&BHG), an industry leader in hospitality, to provide an online professional development program for employees working at each of the group’s 26 restaurants . The one-year contract begins July 1, 2013.

“We’re thrilled to partner with B&BHG to help prepare their staff and operations for continued growth and success,” said Chris Proulx, eCornell’s Chief Executive Officer. “The restaurant business isn’t an easy one, but B&BHG’s focus on continuous education and improvement is one way to ensure the group remains innovative and one step ahead.”

B&BHG’s learning and development program will support its business strategy and the eCornell partnership is just one of these initiatives. Selected staff members will be invited to take one course from a hand-picked survey of eCornell courses across multiple disciplines.

“At B&B, our primary focus continues to be growth. We’re rapidly expanding and to move forward, we need a learning and development solution that we can implement quickly and scale up easily. For us, eCornell was the only choice — it combines Cornell’s high-caliber content and industry thought leadership with a flexible, scalable online platform,” said Rajan Lai, Vice President of Human Resources for B&BHG.

To continue to be a leader in the hospitality industry, B&BHG is diversifying its concepts geographically and striving to meet the demand for high quality, affordable, and unique dining experiences. Partnering with B&BHG allows eCornell to assist with improving the group’s operational quality and service.

eCornell’s approach to e-learning combines the experience and insight of Cornell University’s world-class faculty members with the flexibility of a self-paced, instructor-facilitated online learning environment. Classes of 20 to 30 participants per course gain critical knowledge and practice through videos, lectures, case studies, and applied exercises. Students also build their professional networks and collaborative skills using eCornell’s interactive online platform.

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About eCornell

eCornell, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cornell University, provides many of the world’s leading organizations with online professional and executive development in the areas of leadership and management; human resource management; financial management; healthcare; marketing; and hospitality and foodservice management. eCornell’s proven course development model and asynchronous instructor-led course delivery provide students with an engaging, rigorous, and interactive learning experience. eCornell has delivered online courses to more than 50,000 students across more than 200 countries. For more information, visit www.ecornell.com.

About the Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group

Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group (B&BHG) is a premier (restaurant) group that owns and operates 26 restaurants in the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong. B&BHG is owned in partnership by Mario Batali, chef, restaurateur, cookbook author, and television personality; Joe Bastianich, restaurateur, wine maker, and author; and Lidia Bastianich, chef, best-selling cookbook author, restaurateur, and owner of a flourishing food and entertainment business. B&BHG’s restaurants include Babbo Ristorante & Enoteca, Bar Jamón, Becco, Casa Mono, Del Posto, Esca, Felidia, Lupa Osteria Romana, Otto Enoteca & Pizzeria, and Tarry Lodge in New York; Tarry Lodge Enoteca & Pizzeria in Westport, Connecticut; Lidia’s in Pittsburgh and Kansas City; B&B Ristorante, Carnevino, and Otto Enoteca & Pizzeria in Las Vegas; Pizzeria Mozza, Osteria Mozza and Mozza2Go in Los Angeles; Pizzeria Mozza in Newport Beach, California; and Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza in collaboration with Nancy Silverton in Singapore and Carnevino and Lupa in Hong Kong. B&BHG is also an industry leader in sustainability, with fourteen certified Green Restaurants and counting. For more information, visit http://bandbhg.com.