Rumors were rampant Wednesday at Wake Tech's culinary school: Hillary Clinton might tour the kitchen. She might dine at the school's Flavors Restaurant.

By the end of the day, a decision came from Clinton's advance team: The presidential candidate would love some hot tea and confections before her speech Thursday.

Because the pastry students are practicing for the school's pastry competition, there were confectionary creations to spare: hand-dipped chocolates filled with Kahlua- or mint-flavored creams and intricate boxes made of semi-sweet chocolate. Pastry chef Caralyn House picked out an oval-shaped chocolate box with a lid featuring a textured floral design. Inside, she tucked some of the students' truffles, pecan diamonds and a mango-raspberry gummy. Penny Prichard, head of the culinary program, had jasmine tea and imported French tea to serve on silver trays.

By Thursday morning, the kitchen was buzzing.

Student Barbara Coleman, 33, squealed with delight upon learning her chocolate box was being used for the occasion. "I'm going to put that on my resume," Coleman said.

By 8:30 a.m., Charlene Miller, a culinary student who works in the program's office, was filling carafes with hot water and amassing tea cups and saucers. "I don't know how she would take her tea," said Miller as she set out a sugar bowl with four different sweeteners.

At 9:15 a.m., it was time to take the confections upstairs to the green room. Prichard, Miller and three other women lined up to carry items.

"Should we take a cart?" asked Jane Broden, hotel and restaurant management instructor.

"No," replied Prichard, who was sporting a Hillary sticker on her dress. "If we have a cart, we can't all go."

Outside the freight elevator, a Secret Service agent inspected the insides of the tea canisters, the carafe and the chocolate box of treats before they could proceed.

They laid out the goodies on a banquet table. Once the chocolate box was perched on a delicately folded cloth napkin, Prichard remarked: "Somebody needs to tell her that they sprayed that with hair spray to make it shiny."

Apparently the message didn't get through. Those who enjoyed the chocolates also ate half the hair-sprayed lid and took a bite out of the side of the box.