The value of a three-legged conversation is that you can make some statements or ask questions that prompt students to think about the topic they are raising, and you do not have to completely answer the question in one meeting.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed ways to begin a semester by making our students feel special; this month and for the rest of the fall, we will talk about ways to help them learn to take charge of their education and their lives. This month will focus on the strategy of the three legged conference.

Students Taking Charge of Themselves
One of the important goals of any teaching situation is promoting creative and critical thinking. However, we often apply it only to the subject matters that we formally teach and not very often to helping students become better industry professionals and better persons for several reasons: There is not enough time in class, these subjects are not part of the curriculum, and most of us never learned how to teach about professional and personal development.

When you stop to think about it, helping our students to build their decision-making skills is a great goal, and one that many of us in culinary and hospitality education have adopted, even if only on the edges of our teaching. After all, helping our students to become better professionals is an important part of our commitment to them and a unique aspect of culinary and hospitality education; other fields do not care so much about that aspect of their students’ lives. If you want to commit to this goal, there are several strategies; the easiest is using the three-legged conference to promote their thinking about themselves.

Continuing the theme of helping students work together successfully to better prepare them for real-life employment, Chef Weiner suggests strategic ways to group team members who don’t necessarily see eye to eye.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Last month’s article was based upon a seminar given by Paul Sorgule at this past summer’s Leadership Conference about how students interact, fight and then grow together to become a team.

The two key points of that article were: 1) whether or not students like working in teams, they need to learn how to work in teams to work in the culinary field, and 2) whether they like someone on their team is not relevant, as they still have to work together well.

How teams are chosen will, in large part, contribute to teaching students how to work in a team format. Here are some of the ways to pick teams:

Through the company’s Green Thread® program, concessioner ARAMARK works to reduce its environmental footprint by developing and implementing long-term environmental stewardship programs and policies for its state- and national-park accounts, diverting nearly 3 million pounds of waste from landfills.

Each year, millions of people flock to America’s national parks, forests and state parks to enjoy our pristine natural resources. Keeping these visitors fed, sheltered and comfortable is a monumental task that normally results in the use of vast amounts of resources and leads to thousands of tons of waste.

ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, a leading concessioner of national and state parks and forests and cultural attractions, has taken the issue of waste head on and diverted nearly 3 million pounds of waste through recycling and composting over the past three years.

Through the company’s Green Thread® program, Philadelphia-based ARAMARK works to reduce its environmental footprint by developing and implementing longterm environmental stewardship programs and policies within the areas of food purchasing, supply chain, building operations, energy and water conservation, transportation and waste management.

“Preserving our natural spaces for future generations is a top priority for us,” says Allison Gosselin, director of environmental sustainability, ARAMARK Parks and Destinations. “Through our on-the-ground environmental stewards, partners and help from guests, we’ve been able to keep 2.8 million pounds of waste from reaching landfills since 2010.”

Though not a lesson plan, Chef Gilles Renusson, a pastry professor at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, posted a video on YouTube last month that shows him preparing the next generation of sugar artists who will represent the United States in the 2019 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie in Lyon, France.

To watch this fun and interesting video on sugar pulling, click here. 

Marco Chirico, at only 25, is already moving a legacy into the next generation via his father’s restaurants—one operating for three decades and one a few years young—in Brooklyn.

By Lynn Schwartz

When a parent receives public recognition in a career, the children might prefer to run in the opposite direction, deliberately choosing a different livelihood. Then there are those offspring who desire to follow in the impressive family footsteps. With that decision is an inherited responsibility; there is a pressure to measure up.

Marco Chirico has chosen the latter path. At only 25, he is taking over Marco Polo Ristorante, his father’s legendary Italian restaurant in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn—a restaurant that has just celebrated its 30-year anniversary.

Accepting the reins requires a delicate balancing act. Chirico must maintain the quality, integrity and longevity of the famed family business, but also carefully and respectfully guide the restaurant into the future for the next generation.

Filling Some Very Big Shoes
Chirico grew up in the middle of a lively business where the whole family was involved. Chirico’s father, Joseph, immigrated to New York from San Martino, Italy, in 1964. He began with a luncheonette, serving Italian sandwiches, and in 1983 opened Marco Polo Ristorante, named for the Venetian explorer.

Joseph Chirico became recognized as a pioneer, introducing both fine Italian dining to Brooklyn and serving unfamiliar ingredients such as bufala mozzarella imported from Italy, porcini mushrooms and truffles. He also became the owner and operator of the historic Gage and Tollner on Fulton Street in downtown Brooklyn.

There was no expectation for Joseph’s son to make a career in the hospitality industry. “I was bussing tables since I was 12 years old,” says Marco Chirico. “We all worked there. My sisters were hostesses, but there was never any pressure for me to be in the business. I just liked it. I liked the customers and my father saw that.”