Iowa State students know all about the sporting events at Hilton Coliseum, the concerts that rock C.Y. Stephens and the performing arts at Fisher Theater, but generally draw a blank when someone mentions the Scheman Building.

The Iowa State Center, completed in 1974, is located on the southeastern side of campus. The Scheman Building is found nestled between Hilton Coliseum and Fisher Theater.

The Scheman Building hosts a variety of events ranging from wedding receptions to business meetings. The catering department, located in Scheman, works with all the buildings in the Center, and many that are not.

Chris Palar, the Iowa State Center food director, is in charge of the catering department. He said, “The types of events range from something as simple as a coffee break to as complex as a five-course sit-down meal.”

During an average day, several different meetings or events take place at Scheman. Palar said, “We can cater to as many as 800 people in the Scheman Building itself in the various rooms.”

Scheman also houses the Office of Continuing Education which brings in a variety of events that deal with educational topics. The on-site catering service allows these groups and others to have their meeting and eat in the same building.

“We have thousands of different groups that come through here, groups affiliated with university and private businesses having events here — Christmas parties, weddings,” he said.

The Scheman catering department caters many special events. Annual events such as the Iowa State football and basketball sport banquets take place at Hilton Coliseum, where, Palar said, seating “is close to 1,500 on the floor.”

Palar said they also cater to Odyssey of the Mind, a national competition that occurs every two years when, “10,000 to 25,000 people invade Ames.”

Besides in-house catering services, Palar said they often take their show on the road. A portable kitchen and different stages of food preparation allow the staff to cater events located at different sites on campus.

The Scheman catering department hires many of their employees through ISU. Palar said, “[Nearly] 95 percent of our servers are students.”

Palar said it is important for students to work at Scheman events so people can see the representatives of this university.

Palar and the Scheman catering department are all employees of the Iowa State Memorial Union, and work in conjunction with Ogden Allied.