Following the recommendations identified by the acronym, WARM, you can inspire students to reach for ultimate success from the moment they return to or begin their training.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed honoring and celebrating differences; this month, we will talk about ways to begin a semester by making our students feel special—not always something we think about it, given all the other tasks that face us in September, the time most U.S. colleges begin the year again. There are four major strategies: welcoming, asking, reminding and mixing it up, or WARM. Now might be a good time to consider adopting one or all of them.

Welcoming
Welcoming people has always been a fundamental principle of hospitality. As chefs, we welcome people by feeding them or otherwise offering them food. As teachers, we think about the first class of the term, and we do it well.

This year might be a useful time to think about welcoming them back to the institution, however. As your students come back to the campus after a summer break or an internship/coop/apprentice/work experience, how do you greet them? Do you look for ways to welcome them back to school? Do you invite them to notice all the changes that have been made over the summer? Do you focus on providing each of them with a compliment? Or ask about accomplishments?  Have you reviewed the organization of your office and considered rearranging it to be more welcoming to new and returning students? These and other questions will help you think about how to welcome your new and returning students to the campus.

Students in teams don’t necessarily have to like each other, says Chef Weiner. They won’t have the luxury of choosing their teammates in the real world, after all. But they do have to learn to work together to execute a successful meal. Here are proven tips to teach them how.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

At the recent CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Miami I had the privilege of attending a seminar by Paul Sorgule of Harvest America Ventures. Paul said something that was a proverbial slap in the face for me. He stated that all culinary instructors teach with teams, but we don’t really understand how teams work, nor do we specifically teach our students how to work in teams.

One of the key items he covered is that there are four phases in each team project:

Testing

Infighting

Organization

Mature Closeness

The first thing people do when assigned to a team is to test out the other team members and themselves in the team. How much do the other team members know? How much can I assert myself in the team? Will I be able to ride on other people’s coattails?

Dr. Tso-Cheng Chang was a pioneer of “no pesticides or herbicides” farming in the United States. His farm, which grows vegetables for his award-winning restaurant in Amherst, Mass., not only is one of the largest bean-spout producers in the nation, it also grows schizandra berries—which might be the ginseng of this decade.

Long before “shop local, buy local” became something Americans came to value, Dr. Tso-Cheng Chang grew his own Chinese vegetables to serve at his award-winning restaurant, Amherst Chinese Food, on Main Street in downtown Amherst, Mass. So when in 1983 he converted his farm in nearby Whatley into a small factory designed to mass-produce bean sprouts, it barely caused a ripple on the local business scene.

That same factory on Dr. Chang’s Farm recently celebrated its 30^th anniversary with the distinction of being one of the largest soybean- and mung-bean-sprout facilities in the United States.

“You would say from the success of his restaurant and the sprout farm that Dr. Chang epitomizes the American dream, but his story goes beyond that,” says Steven V. Dubin, spokesperson for Dr. Chang Naturals, which grows and wholesales the company’s certified schizandra berries. “In fact, it’s quite fitting that his farm is in a region known as Pioneer Valley because Dr. Chang has pioneered a number of things, most notably ‘no herbicides or pesticides’ farming.” 

Chang’s journey began in a small town in Shandong Province, China, where he was born in the late 1920s. He earned an undergraduate degree in agronomy from Taiwan University in 1953 and later emigrated to the United States, where he earned an M.S. in crop science from Michigan State University in 1966.

A new video from the American Meat Institute featuring a noted animal-welfare expert is part of the Glass Walls Project to increase transparency in the meat-and-poultry industry.

The American Meat Institute (AMI) recently released a video tour of a pork-slaughter plant hosted by leading animal-welfare expert Temple Grandin, Ph.D., professor of animal science at Colorado State University. The video is available on the institute’s dedicated animal-welfare website, www.AnimalHandling.org.

Also released with the video was a print companion brochure that may be downloaded. Single copies also are available upon request from the AMI. The pork-plant video tour and brochure augment the beef-plant video tour, also hosted by Grandin, which was released in August 2012. Since its release, the beef-plant video has been viewed nearly 50,000 times online and in countless classrooms and other settings.

OMNI-TV host and associate producer Lucy Zilio visited the Culinary Arts Centre at Centennial College in Toronto recently to take in the sights and aromas of a live kitchen lesson. In a video (110 seconds) on the program’s website, Zilio speaks with chef and professor Samuel Glass about the special focus Centennial’s program places on international cuisine. Visit http://www.centennialcollege.ca/successstory/omnitv-culinaryartscentre to watch the video.

Centennial’s shiny new Culinary Arts Centre is a great teaching and learning facility designed with students in mind. The kitchens are spacious and well lit to ensure the safety of all users working in what can be a busy and creative environment. The teaching is hands-on with students working side by side with instructors, while large-screen video equipment can play back instructive lessons and provide real-time feeds and access to Internet and broadcast content, as well.

Centennial College is Ontario’s first community college, established in 1966. It primarily serves the eastern portion of the greater Toronto area through four campuses and seven satellite locations.

PHOTO: Chef and professor Samuel Glass (r.) of Centennial College in Toronto discusses education best practices with other instructors during the roundtable lunch at the 2013 CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Miami in June.

Chef Reginald Martin, culinary-arts instructor at Westside High School in Houston, Texas, is the recipient of the Texas Restaurant Association Education Foundation’s 2013 Educator Excellence Award. Martin has been leading Westside’s program since 2008 and has more than 100 students enrolled in the program. 

The Educator Excellence Award is presented to an educator who has made significant contributions to culinary education through both an unwavering dedication to students and a strong presence in the community using the Texas ProStart curriculum.

“Reggie works tirelessly to provide the most rewarding culinary and hospitality education possible for his students,” says Jerry Walker, TRA Education Foundation chairman and owner of Lunada Tex-Mex Grill, Dallas. “According to his students, he has taught them professionalism, teamwork, ethics and leadership skills. These are skills that they will take with them no matter what career path they pursue.”

Martin is also a successful business owner, and his industry experience and connections with other industry leaders allows his students to engage in unique learning opportunities and gain real-world experience.

“It is a tremendous honor to be recognized by my peers in the education and restaurant industry,” Martin says. “Receiving this award really validates our students’ achievements in the Texas ProStart program. We have worked extremely hard at Westside High School to challenge our students in the classroom through the Texas ProStart curriculum to prepare them for careers in the hospitality and restaurant industry. This award is a daily reminder for me to strive for excellence as I educate the young culinarians that will be the future of our industry.”

The award was presented at the 2013 Southwest Foodservice Expo, June 24, in Dallas. Texas ProStart is an industry-based high school culinary arts and restaurant management program that prepares students for careers. Currently, the program is offered in more than 200 Texas high schools, reaching more than 15,000 students annually.

PHOTO: (l. to r.) Linda Bebee, Texas Beef Council; Don Courville, Auto-Chlor; Reginald Martin; Earl Mulley, TRA Education Foundation chairman.

The great work of chefs and those in the hospitality industry is often gone once guests leave the restaurant, but a new Hall of Fame at the esteemed Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago will showcase the work of the best in the industry. Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago has been chosen to house the new International Food & Beverage Forum “Hall of Fame.”

Launched June 23, the new International Food & Beverage Forum Hall of Fame provides international recognition for prestigious chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers and other food and beverage personalities. The Hall of Fame features certificates, historic menus, commemorative plates from special dinners held around the world, and other items to showcase the success of these respected professionals. 

“The new International Food & Beverage Forum Hall of Fame is a gem to share with current and prospective students, as well as visitors to our school,” says Kirk T. Bachmann, president of Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago. “It is an honor for us to permanently house this collection on our campus, as it will serve as a great source of inspiration and a valuable resource to aid in our students’ professional development.” 

The grand-opening celebrations began with a 20^th-anniversary gala dinner on June 22 at Technique restaurant on the campus of Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago. A ribbon-cutting ceremony followed the next day with remarks from Dr. hc Kurt H. Fischer, founder of the International Food & Beverage Forum. “Le Cordon Bleu is a perfect match for the International Food & Beverage Forum as both organizations share a passion for excellence in the hospitality industry,” Fischer says. “The Chicago location is an ideal home for the International Food & Beverage Forum Hall of Fame to showcase the great work of food and beverage industry personalities who have come before these students and will fuel their passion for the industry.”

Gabriela Grande, a culinary-arts student at Monroe College in the Bronx, N.Y., has added a victory in the “Lead Like Mike” competition to her list of impressive culinary accomplishments. Grande was the 2010 America’s Best High School Chef winner, a C-CAP student from Food and Finance High School, and the first Monroe culinary student to compete at the American Culinary Federation’s Northeast Regional Conference, where she won a gold medal and finished second overall. 

Grande attended the 2013 ACF National Convention in Las Vegas, July 21–25, where Michael Ty, CEC, AAC, outgoing president, served as her personal mentor.  Grande, a member of the ACF Long Island Chapter, was selected as winner of the “Lead Like Mike” contest from a group of four other semifinalists chosen from 140 applicants nationwide.

Eligible applicants had to be either a first-, second- or third-year full-time culinary student enrolled in a degree-granting culinary program at a university or college, or an apprentice in an American Culinary Federation Education Foundation apprenticeship program; an ACF member; and at least 18 years old. Entrants submitted a signed letter of endorsement from their dean or department chair, as well as a 500-word essay describing why they aspire to be a culinary leader and how working with Ty at the 2013 ACF National Convention would help them reach their goal.

The American Meat Institute Foundation (AMIF) on July 24 released an updated version of the AMI Foundation Recommended Animal Handling Guidelines & Audit Guide:  A Systematic Approach to Animal Welfare, July 2013 Edition.

AMI’s Animal Welfare Committee collaborates regularly with guideline author Temple Grandin, PhD, professor of animal science at Colorado State University, to determine what changes and clarifications are needed based upon real-world use. The audit underwent a major overhaul in 2010 when a transportation audit was added. The audit was fine-tuned in the August 2012 edition and fine-tuned even further in the July 2013 edition.

In the latest edition, users will note a number of changes that are detailed on page four of the new document:

• A clarification has been added that farrowing on trucks should be counted just as calving and lambing are.
• A new category called “ambulatory disabled animals” has been added to Core Criteria Six of the Transportation audit to track animals that can still walk and are not severely injured, but appear lame and have some impairment of movement.
• Under Core Criteria 2 of the Sheep Transportation Audit, an omission of “compartments gated” was corrected.

The new edition has received an updated certification from the Professional Animal Auditor Certification Organization (PAACO). The guidelines were the first and remain the only association-authored animal welfare guidelines certified by PAACO.

“We are proud of our guidelines’ long history in encouraging continuous improvement in animal handling and welfare in meat-packing plants and of our continuing effort to make this a living, breathing document that is improved and refined based upon new knowledge and real-world experience,” says AMI Animal Welfare Committee chairman Rob Elder, PhD, director of HACCP, Food Safety and Regulatory Compliance at Seaboard Foods. 

To access the new guidelines, visit www.AnimalHandling.org.

Simply preparing for your classes and delivering material is never sufficient. You have an obligation to yourself, your students and your institution to stay in touch with the industry you represent by building your personal, professional brand.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

As a culinary-arts faculty member, program director or dean, you are a lifelong portal for every student you come in contact with. The value of their education extends beyond the quality of the material that you offer or even the important degree that they might eventually receive. The real value of their education lies in the ongoing significance of their connections to you and to the reputation of your institution

Students’ value expectations today are, as they should be, far greater than in the past. The stakes are more significant as a result of the escalating cost of a degree and the tangible outcomes that will be apparent throughout their careers. Students should expect that you and your institution will remain a resource for them and that the perceptions that peers and employers have of your institution remain positive as they move through various stages of their careers.

To this end, it is imperative that you invest in building your brand. By this I am referring to how you continue to enhance your knowledge and skills, the industry connections that you make, and your visible prominence in the fields of culinary arts and education.

Throughout your time in culinary education and even beyond, investment in your brand development is also an investment in every student’s brand development. I like to refer to this as your “network of influence.” LinkedIn is really an attempt to help individuals build on the concept of “network of influence” by encouraging professionals to catalogue those persons who have or could have an impact on their careers—directly or indirectly. Every time you invest in building professional relationships with others, you open a potential door for yourself and those with whom you have a “portal relationship.”