By Victor J. McNulty

To the ACCSC’s Instructor of the Year, a bad student is any good teacher’s job. The trick is to inspire the uninspired.

Gordon Ramsay aside, the days of screaming chefs ruling with an iron fist over the kitchen kingdom has pretty much ended, in the U.S., anyway. We now live in a litigious/PC society where such behavior can get you into hot water, pun intended. If the chef should raise his or her voice, throw an item or mention an employee’s questionable upbringing, the ensuing results would not be worth the momentary satisfaction.

Most people are not motivated negatively, or at least not motivated to please their aggressor. They may even be driven to quit, steal, complain to a superior, vandalize, contact agencies like the Department of Labor and the Better Business Bureau, fist-fight or the crème de la crème (pun fully intended) of contacting the dreaded harassment lawyer. I’ve seen all the above.

Sullivan University’s Derek Spendlove succeeds Guggenmos as chair; rest of commission named.

Derek Spendlove, CEPC, CCE, AAC, baking-and-pastry-arts chair for the National Center for Hospitality Studies (NCHS) at Sullivan University, Louisville, Ky., has been named chair of the American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF) Certification Commission and will assume the position’s responsibilities on Jan. 15, 2010. Spendlove will replace current chair Karl J. Guggenmos, AAC, University Dean of Culinary Education, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I., who will remain on the commission as past chair.

By Douglas L. Alley

When we work together, the foodservice workplace provides many opportunities to do well by doing good.

The ancient fable of stone soup recounts the story of three hungry travelers who come upon a small town, plagued by years of war and meager harvest. Having not even enough for themselves, the villagers urge the travelers to move on without ceasing. "We have nothing for you,” they say.

By Edward Korry, CWE, CSS

Here’s what every wine server should know.

When making suggestions to guests, get a sense of the kinds of wines they enjoy to avoid making needless suggestions. The server should be very familiar with the establishment’s wine list. If a wine is unavailable, the guest should be informed prior to making a selection. The server should observe the following procedures:

By Lynn Schwartz

What’s the difference between a private chef and a personal chef? Audrey Heckwolf of Grand Rapids Community College, who cooked for a Fortune 500 family, can tell you.

Private chef and personal chef are titles that evoke “glamour job” images—globetrotting with celebrity employers and preparing ultra-luxe dinners for very important people. But do we really understand what these jobs entail? Audrey Heckwolf, a former private chef, says, “Most chefs don’t know. And they don’t know the difference between a private and personal chef. This is a growing part of the culinary industry. Chefs need to educate each other and their clients about the differences.”