Why culinary teachers should consider operating a personal-chef business as an adjunct career. It’s not only for the additional income.

By Candy Wallace

These days in foodservice we hear a lot of talk about the future, because the industry is constantly changing. The personal-chef career path might have started out as a fad in the early 1990s, but with the hard work of a small group of committed individuals, it has grown into a legitimate culinary career acknowledged by the largest organization of professional cooks in the Western Hemisphere, the American Culinary Federation. Since 2002, when I signed a partnering agreement with the ACF on behalf of the American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA), the ACF has certified personal chefs.

I am the founder and executive director of the largest professional personal- and private-chef trade association in the United States—and a working personal chef. Twenty years ago, many of my colleagues went on record that personal chefs were merely a fad and would never last as a legitimate culinary-career choice. Some went so far as to say that personal chefs are not “real” chefs.

Today, however, successful personal chefs are making comfortable, satisfying livings, and the vocation continues to become more mainstream each year. Personal chefs are here to stay, and this career choice will continue to flourish as more culinary and hospitality students and career-changers choose to follow their dreams of entrepreneurship doing what they love most: cooking wholesome, palate-specific food for others.

At this year’s Worlds of Flavor Conference at the CIA in the Napa Valley, presenting chefs from the best kitchens in Western Europe, Asia, Latin America and the United States stressed developing a sense of place in one’s cuisine.

The 16th Annual Worlds of Flavor® International Conference & Festival welcomed 700 culinary professionals at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone, Nov. 14-16. They heard from 70 chefs and presenters from 15 countries who worked through more than 400 recipes during 53 sessions.

Under the theme “Kitchens Connected,” the program combined traditions and trends, fine-dining innovations and comfort-food memories, Millennial insights and information technology for restaurateurs. “Today's digital world offers à la minute glimpses into countless kitchens—and the culinary geniuses animating them,” says Greg Drescher, vice president of strategic initiatives and industry leadership. “At this year’s conference, we pulled back the curtain on some of the major ideas and dynamics shaping the future of the food world, here in the U.S. and around the globe.”

Annual dinner for national foodservice media, prepared by students, recognizes an exemplary professional U.S. culinary-arts program.  

Olson Communications is proud to announce that Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland, Ore., is the recipient of the 2013 Chefs of Tomorrow™ Award.  Sharon Olson, founder and president of Chicago-based Olson Communications, presented the award on Oct. 29 at the annual dinner for foodservice media.

The Chefs of Tomorrow Award launched in 2008 as a grant program to assist the professional development of foodservice educators in postsecondary culinary-arts programs nationwide. According to Olson, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Portland earned a 2013 award as an exemplary program preparing students for fulfilling careers in the hospitality industry.

“The broad and challenging hands-on curriculum at this venerable Portland institution draws on Le Cordon Bleu’s century-old tradition of immersion in the culinary-arts and hospitality world and instruction that emphasizes demonstration followed by practical application,” Olson says. “We were impressed with the cutting-edge facility and passion and dedication of the students in the program, who train with experienced and supportive chef instructors, faculty and staff.”

Several foodservice educators contributed to the American Culinary Federation’s chef team’s second-place win among 12 teams in Dubai.

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) culinary-competition team received a gold medal at the Dubai World Hospitality Championship 2013, Dubai, UAE, Nov. 16-18, giving the United States second place overall in the international competition. Singapore’s culinary team placed first and Australia’s team was third.

“The U.S. team worked together to represent the fresh, unadulterated flavors of American cuisine,” said Edward Leonard, CMC, WGMC, AAC, team captain. “After two months and three practice sessions, we finished second against 11 other countries and achieved our goal of a gold medal based on flavors, craftsmanship and teamwork. My toque is off to my fellow chefs in pastry and cuisine. They excelled in this competition with passion, pride and a quest to be the best.”

ACF organized a team of seven chefs at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, to represent the United States at the inaugural international competition held at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The ACF team competed against 11 other teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and Wales.

The seven U.S. chefs competing were:

Chef Jason Ziobrowski of InHarvest inspires culinary grads of Victory Trade School.

“Everyone, no matter how talented, has to pay his or her dues,” said Jason Ziobrowski, CEC, corporate chef of InHarvest’s Eastern Region, to graduates of the culinary-arts program at Victory Trade School (VTS) on Nov. 8. “You are no exception. Pay yours, and pay them willingly. And remember to network while doing it! At the end of the road, you’ll be well rewarded.”

With those words, Ziobrowski began the commencement speech he was invited to deliver to more than 500 assembled graduates, their families and friends, as well as representatives of the foodservice community, at the Springfield, Mo.-based school. He shared his story of being inspired to pursue professional cooking when, as a boy, his grandmother praised his tuna-fish sandwich, leading to his culinary-arts degree from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., followed by stints in professional kitchens of restaurants, clubs and corporations throughout the country.

Ziobrowski recounted the highs and lows, twists and turns of a varied 20-year career that led to the building of his family, earning certification as an executive chef from the American Culinary Federation and, ultimately, becoming a corporate chef for InHarvest (a leading U.S. supplier of heirloom and exotic grains and grain blends to foodservice, retail and manufacturing) and serving customers in the vast swath of the nation east of the Mississippi River.

Ziobrowski told graduates to zealously explore new ideas from every source. “Read everything you can get your hands on,” he said. Look not only at food TV for inspiration, but also the chalkboard menu at a mom-and-pop establishment. Research the finest restaurants, but don’t ignore the corner Jewish deli and lunchtime taco truck. “Look down the street at your competitor,” he continued, “but remember that the best source of trend information is right here in this room: your customers and guests.”

Through the free videos he helps produce for Unilever, Steve Jilleba stresses the need among current and future cooks to understand culinary origins and the impulses that inspired authentic flavors around the globe.

By Lynn Schwartz

“Today, everything moves quickly. There is a lot of cross-culturalization, and culinary traditions get mixed and blended,” says Steve Jilleba, CMC, corporate executive chef for Lisle, Ill.-based Unilever Food Solutions. “Original recipes and cooking techniques can become lost forever.”

The risk of unrecoverable culinary practices inspired Unilever and The Culinary Institute of America to partner in a preservation initiative, The World Culinary Arts DVD & Internet Project. “Savoring the Best of World Flavors” is an interactive series that provides a first-of-its-kind video reference library for future generations, documenting and conserving best culinary practices worldwide.

To date, this ambitious undertaking offers seven volumes featuring more than 16 countries including India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Greece, Sicily, Spain, Mexico, Peru and Brazil. “We are trying to preserve a country’s authenic culinary traditions,” says Jilleba.

To accomplish that, Jilleba and his team travel to a specific country and film the “experts” as they prepare time-honored recipes, divulge necessary ingredients and reveal cooking techniques. The interviews often discuss the dish’s development, geographic and historical implications, and examine how a dish has evolved in contemporary kitchens. The camera also catches visits to a variety of open-air street markets and long-standing food shops. The result is that the viewer, comfortably transported far and wide to each locale, is privy to a country’s past, present and future food culture—something most chefs would never have the opportunity to witness on such a large scale. The videos and podcasts are free of charge to foodservice professionals and students, and many of the recipes are available to download.

Through culinary and reflective journaling, students can become empowered to consider broadly and deeply what they are learning and what they need to do in the future. Your role is simply to encourage them to write.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed helping students take charge of their lives by using peer coaching. This month’s column is about using journals, a powerful strategy to assist students in taking charge of their education and their lives.

Journaling
The use of journals has a long and productive history in education. They have been used at all levels of education for a wide range of purposes. They have been used to foster creative-writing skills, research interests, interpersonal skills, intellectual reflection, personal rumination and critical thinking. Inviting—or requiring—students to keep journals in a way to encourage them to write, and writing is one of the most effective a ways to clarify thinking and improve writing, something we want to promote in all our students.

Culinary Journals
Many successful chefs have kept journals of good recipes, ingredient combinations, plate presentations, food events and menu ideas. They become repositories of good ideas to which the chefs can refer when needing to come up with new ideas or new practices. They are also very helpful in reviewing the progress and development of a chef’s thinking and career growth.

Some culinary faculty members encourage students to keep culinary journals while they are in school, as well, so that the students develop the habit of collecting and reviewing information. It builds good habits of note-taking for the future. In some schools, faculty members collect and read the journals, but most just encourage students to keep journals and use other techniques—tests, papers, cooking assignments and observation of performance—for evaluative purposes.

Give back, says Chef Weiner, and teach your students to, as well. Whether self-serving, altruistic or both, the many rewards—both personal and professional—far outweigh any inconvenience.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Last December I wrote the 12 things that every culinary student needs to know. It was kind of my gift to you. This year I am going to take the completely opposite approach. It is time for your students and you to start giving gifts to others.

A. For Your Students
Volunteering is important for students for a variety of reasons. Foremost, it is just a good thing to give back. At the holidays and throughout the year there are people who need help and would enjoy and appreciate your students’ volunteer efforts.

If being altruistic isn’t within your students’ skills set, then let’s talk about them volunteering for their own gain. First, I have had a number of my students hired while doing volunteer work as other chefs were volunteering or were watching. You can guess what happened. The chefs were impressed with the volunteering spirit, the students got jobs.

Furthermore, volunteering is good résumé value. With so many students coming out of culinary programs at the high school, vocational and college levels, it is important that your students have something (preferably a lot of somethings) on their résumés that separates them from the pack.

Graduates need to crawl before they walk and walk before they run. What are the skill sets that chefs and restaurateurs expect your students to have when they start their employment? Can your students meet those expectations?

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Designing a culinary program is no different than developing any other sound business with potential for growth. The key is to focus on two primary areas as a start:

• Identifying the need
• Envisioning the opportunities

I would encourage all those responsible for the health and viability of a culinary program to assess their curriculum with these two areas in mind. First, does your program adequately address the current needs of the industry that it serves? Have you engaged this industry in the process of ensuring that the content and measureable results meet the skill sets that are critical for entry-level culinarians? Are your graduates “kitchen ready”?

Although all culinary programs are mindful of preparing graduates for a career that brings them to positions of greater responsibility, graduates must first demonstrate their ability to function as part of a kitchen team. Graduates need to crawl before they walk and walk before they run. What are those skill sets that chefs and restaurateurs expect your students to have when they start their employment? Do you engage industry leaders in identifying those skill sets and is your curriculum designed to adequately address them?

Greener Fields Together™, which documents farms’ sustainability gains, lauds four well-known produce suppliers that were recently recognized for significant improvements in waste reduction, CO² emissions, water and energy use, and more.

More of the fresh produce headed to restaurant kitchens and grocery stores nationwide is now verifiably “greener” and more sustainably raised. This accomplishment is thanks to Greener Fields Together, the sustainability and local-produce initiative created by the PRO*ACT produce supply-chain management company, which works with partner farms to implement and track continuous, farm-to-fork sustainability improvements. Via independent verification service SureHarvest, Greener Fields Together has documented significant sustainability improvements made by four of its national farm partners: D’Arrigo Bros. Co. of California, Mission Produce, Grimmway Farms and Rainier Fruit Company.

Detailed case studies evaluating and verifying strides made by these companies are now available on http://www.greenerfieldstogether.org/national_farms_featurettes.php. Highlights include:

D’Arrigo Bros. By merging several facilities into a single location situated in the heart of its farming fields, D’Arrigo saves an estimated 300,000 truck miles previously traveled each year to haul product from field to cooler. This is the equivalent of taking 123 cars off the road each year and cutting annual CO² emissions by 593 metric tons. By reducing travel time and distance from field to cooling facility, D’Arrigo also has improved product safety and quality.

Mission Produce. Mission has implemented an innovative, fully automated system to manage water and nutrients at its San Luis Obispo, Calif., avocado orchard. The system enables Mission to irrigate and fertilize precisely when and where the trees need it to optimize production using less water and fertilizer per unit. The company’s investment in water-management innovations has resulted in significant savings.