Many foodservice students today have yet to experience fine dining. But it’s just as important to expose them to the several other service styles in the marketplace so they may excel in their careers.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

When I attended The Culinary Institute of America in the early ʼ80s, the restaurant business was divided into four types of dining: quick-service restaurants (QSRs), casual dining (brass & fern bistros), institutional dining and formal dining or “white tablecloth restaurants.” We were required to work in each of these environments. We had the diner for training in QSR and casual dining, instruction on institutional dining and three other restaurants to expose us to formal dining. By rotating through these four environments, we gained experience in each area.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

More diners demand that their tea service show an understanding of style and quality. Good news is that programs are now available for training and credentialing.

A significant trend in dining today is the re-emergence of the popularity of tea. Tea is no longer just the stuff of grandmothers. Million-dollar deals are now being consummated over afternoon teas in some of the nation’s top hotels.

Not just an alternative to coffee, tea can claim health benefits such as vitamin content and high levels of antioxidants and polyphenols, and has a history as medicine. Everywhere you look, people today are drinking more tea.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

Hosting meetings where food and beverages are the stars can provide great learning opportunities for students.

An important group will be meeting at your facility. While there, they will need breakfasts, lunches, snacks, a dinner and even a “happy hour” mixer along the way. What to do? Simple buffet service would be easiest for each of these, so that is suggested. But this visit can provide great opportunity to expand the skills of your students. What other choices might you have?

By Wendy Gay, CHE

The day of the frumpy, inattentive waiter is gone. In the current economy, properly training wait staff has never been more important.

For most U.S. restaurants, this has been the roughest stretch in memory. Reports show that numbers are down in every part of the industry. Restaurant visits overall fell 1% in the quarter ending in June, marking the eighth consecutive quarterly drop. Experts predict it will take another year and a half to recover to pre-recession levels. While high-end restaurants are being hit the hardest, the effect is trickling down to every level. What are restaurants doing to increase their numbers? The answers are extremely important to every educator as we prepare future culinary professionals.

The two key elements garnering the most attention are affordability and experience. Restaurants at every level are finding creative ways to make their wares appear more affordable to get customers in their doors and then paying particular attention to the customer’s experience once they are there.

By Audrey Heckwolf

Culinary students love learning tableside, and guests will become committed patrons if we treat them to dinner and a show.

The art of tableside service is near extinct. Few restaurants offer fresh preparations performed at a guest’s table. It seems to be isolated to cruise ships, French restaurants, catering and Sunday brunches. It is incredibly challenging to even find reliable sources on the subject that date more recent than the 1970s.