Peter D’Souza has been teaching food and beverage courses at University of Wisconsin-Stout for the past 22 years. UW-Stout is known for its hands-on, minds-on philosophy of instruction and is a national leader in these programs. Peter says “I love the hands-on classroom and laboratory experience with my students. It is a good feeling of having taught my students real-life situations that they may face in the hospitality industry. I also like the professional approach that Stout takes to teaching students what they need to know to be successful in their careers.”
Peter’s expertise is in the areas of full-service restaurant management, culinary management, wines and spirits, wine and food pairing, and professional dining etiquette. He is also the coordinator of "Rendezvous", a full service restaurant managed and operated by senior students in the Hotel, Restaurant, and Tourism Management program.
Before joining UW-Stout, Peter graduated from the Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition in Bombay, India. He was then a Chef for Taj Mahal Intercontinental Hotel in Bombay, India and specialized in French, Continental, and Indian Cuisine. Peter then obtained his master's degree in Hospitality and Tourism and education specialist courses from UW-Stout. His accomplishments include being the recipient of a gold medal at the National Restaurant Association Culinary Salon in Chicago, and a bronze medalist at the International Culinary Olympics (IKA-HOGA) in Frankfurt, Germany. Peter is also the recipient of the "International Foodservice Educator of the Year" by the Council of Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Educators (CHRIE).
Peter is married to Debra who is studying Art at UW-Stout and is a certified framer with 20 years of professional experience in managing art galleries.
Peter has taught the International Wine and Food Pairing course at University of the Balearic Islands (UIB) in Majorca, Spain for the last six years and at Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbor, Australia. UW-Stout students were awarded three credits for the class, which was taught for three weeks at each location. Highlights of each trip were visits to vineyards, wineries and cultural sites. The students were then evaluated on preparing a formal five-course dinner matching wine with food.
In his free time Peter loves to cook on the grill all year, gardening and landscape projects in the backyard and traveling the world with his wife Debra.