• If you are looking for chef coats for your class, try calling your local uniform rental/cleaning company. When the coats are barely worn, they will sell for almost nothing and/or donate the coats to your class. (MM)

• Regarding lab evaluations: I use a form which lists the points available for labwork, attendance/prep, clean-up, proper uniforms/tools, and being on time (total 10 points for the day). The competencies I use are also listed on this form under skills tests which occur every 4 weeks in each section (for example, section 1 is sweetdough and muffins, section 2 is quickbreads, section 3 is yeast bread and section 4 is cookies for a total of 16 weeks or one semester). The competencies are graded using a scall of 1=no clear indication, 2=inconsistent evidence, 3=emerging competence, 4=clear competence. (KN)

• I developed a reading guide for my students in response to my frustration that students would not read assigned material in the text.  Each reading guide covers a chapter.  This has worked well with all levels of students.  I pull test questions from the reading guides for unit tests plus this helps me to develop a study guide.  Student grades have improved plus the reading guides are useful for me for teacher orientation. (MM)

• My teaching tip from my mother-in-law SD is…”Students don’t care what you know until they know you care.” From taking this workshop and listening to your instructors, this is a philosophy that the Florida Culinary Institute believes in as well. (KD)

• Let the students plan blind taste tests. Any products they want (pizzas, cookies, etc). Compare by price, low fat versus regular, sugar free versus regular…whatever. This allows them to guess first what the customer will choose and why, and then go through the process and learn the true results. Let them run it any way they want. They learn a lot about appearance, brand power versus taste, etc. (JF)

Convenience products—a reality in today’s kitchens—are actually platforms from which to create signature dishes.

By Adam Weiner

For economic reasons, there are very few kitchens in the country that cook almost everything from scratch. Mixes, precooked items, packages and containers can be found in even the best kitchens. The problem with many young cooks is that they just open up the packages and cans, dump them into a pot or hotel pan, heat them, and slop them on a plate. They lose the passion for their craft. They become disillusioned and bitter, hating and then quitting their jobs.

These young cooks have not been taught that these products are not the “be all” and “end all” of their cooking. No one has taught them that convenience products are a canvas waiting to be painted with their own culinary style.

Delmar, part of Cengage Learning, announces the publication of The Dessert Architect by chef, teacher and foodservice consultant Robert Wemischner of Los Angeles Technical Trade College.

1. Instead of investing in rolling pins for fondant (wood is too porous), I go to my local hardware or plumbing supply and buy a full piece of PVC and have it cut into 18- or 20-inch pieces. (KS)

By Allison Shaskan, M.A., CSCE, El Centro College

What do you do when one student takes charge, and the others stand around talking?

I am a chef-educator at El Centro College, a regional two-year community college located in the South. As my culinary program “lives” within a larger college, we admit all students no matter their cooking ability.

This means that on the first day in the kitchen I have 18 students in new uniforms waiting for instruction. Some have worked for years in professional kitchens, some have extensive experience in home kitchens, and some have never turned a stove on to boil water.