A MOMENT CAPTURED

Tiffany Brown, Las Vegas Sun

Monday, May 14, 2007 | 7:04 a.m.

Pastry chef instructor Sivaporn Derval, left, points out the finer points of genoise to Courtney O'Neil during class at the Culinary Institute of Las Vegas on Thursday morning.

"I show them what to do and everything comes out very nice," Dervay says. "They enjoy it, they love it and I enjoy it too ... seeing everything come out so good."

O'Neil brought her enthusiasm for the restaurant business from Chicago.

"My first restaurant job killed it for me," O'Neil, 24, says. "I was just like, 'I love this atmosphere, I love everything about it, I love the stress, everything!' "

That first job? Hostess at Chili's at O'Hare International Airport. "Like the busiest airport in the world," she says, "so it was crazy busy and out of control. It was fun."

Within four months she was a server. Then she worked in the clubs, bars and restaurants. Despite having a marketing degree from DePaul University, O'Neill came to Las Vegas last summer to polish her restaurant skills at the Culinary Institute, a division of the Art Institute of Las Vegas.

"The day I graduate I'm moving back to Chicago. I'll probably work in the industry for a while. I used to want to own a restaurant; that was my plan but now I think I'll just see where it takes me and see where it goes. I think that is the smart thing to do. I just want to take it a day, a year at a time."

In the meantime O'Neil and the other students are having fun with their hands-on learning at the school in Henderson. The community can sample what the students are up to at Opus Too, a lunchtime restaurant on the second floor of the school at 2350 Corporate Circle. The restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday.

For reservations, call 992-8500 or e-mail opustoo@aii.edu.