“The Art of Presentation” Workshop, L’Academie de Cuisine, Gaithersburg (Part 2):

02 September 2009

For the first day of class, we do a “culinary bingo.” We ask questions like “Whose family owns a restaurant?” along with other culinary questions. It ends up being a fun way for new students to find out more about each other. We also talk about chefs we admire along with chefs we do not like! (CS)

Getting Acquainted in Chef Class. On 3”x5” cards (or write questions on the board), have students pair up and interview each other and then introduce their partners to class. Collect the cards and use the following days in class for a Mystery Chef of the Day exercise. Read info on card (leave out name) and have class guess who the person is. Examples of questions: favorite food, favorite restaurant, if you could choose anyone to go out to dinner with, who would it be, something everyone should know about you, etc. (DMc)

When I taught middle school, I used to do the “me” report as an ice-breaker. Now that I teach foods, I do it with a slight variation: My favorite fast food; my favorite sit-down restaurant; my favorite Italian dish (cookie, bread, breakfast food, lunch, etc.) (HD)

In my Food & Beverage Management class, the students have a semester-long team project where they develop a restaurant concept. They develop and design the menu, select a location, identify their target market, design the layout, and establish a staffing plan. I give them some time each week to meet in their groups, and they also make time to meet outside of class. At the end of the semester, each group presents its concept to the rest of the class. The students really enjoy developing a restaurant and they spend a lot of time on their presentations in order to impress their colleagues in class. (JS)

The Hyatt Regency talks to our students regarding work ethic and attitude and how important it is in the foodservice industry from an employer’s standpoint. Chefs and employees from the property demo and talk about other foodservice-related positions. Students are more apt to listen and learn from people in the industry. Relating what we do in the class to real life situations is useful! (CZ)

An effective field trip for students in culinary is to a local farm for a tour and a talk with the farmer. It’s amazing how many students are unable to relate to where their food comes from. Seeing it firsthand allows them to understand the origins of what they work with. (JC)

During lab production, always have the student tell you his or her opinion/answer to the question he or she has asked you. For example: Is this done baking? Make the student learn to make a decision before you give the answer yourself. “What do you think?” (VO)

We have several farms in the area that do specific methods of farming. We take field trips to learn the beginning to the finish. This has been such an eye-opener since most of the kids have never seen/tasted such items, except out of a box/container/microwave tray! This is loads of fun and educational! (CR)