By Mark Molinaro, CEC

When it comes to quality of guest service, the smallest example can make the biggest impression.

Reflecting on the guidance I received from the ladies and gentlemen of The Ritz-Carlton has served me well in my 15 years as a cook, chef, teacher and now director. It was a pleasure and a privilege to have been able to work with such passionate and dedicated people whose shared goal was to surprise and delight every guest who walked through our doors.

The Ritz-Carlton culture is a model for excellence in organizational behavior. From the daily line-ups to departmental meetings to hotel-wide seminars, I always felt connected and an important part of the organization. Examples of model leadership, behavior and expectation are expressed throughout the company, from the interactions between individual line employees to the daily briefs that were sent from corporate office.

By Jen Wulf

They’re easy to include, but hard to find.

Annually, more than 12 billion morning meals are served by commercial restaurants (NPD CREST, YE May 2010). Curiously missing on most breakfast menus are whole-grain items. A mere one in three breakfast menus offer any item made with whole grains, and those tend to be either hot or cold breakfast cereals (Datassential MTD, July 2010).

With heart disease and diabetes constant concerns across our country, many consumers are looking for healthier options at breakfast. According to Mintel, 77% of restaurant users “would like to see more healthy items on the menu” (Mintel Healthy Dining Trends, May 2009).

by Bradley J. Ware, Ph.D., and C. Lévesque Ware, Ph.D.

In any business, reducing employee turnover can result in greater productivity and increased profitability.

Foodservice operations are different in size, structure and sophistication, yet there are basic guidelines that can be applied in varying degrees to any operation to encourage employee retention. Employees who feel respected, appreciated and fairly treated and who are comfortable in their work environment do not usually leave. Opportunities for personal growth and possible career advancement are also important enticements for employees.

By Brian Campbell, CEC, CCE

Because everyone grew up eating sandwiches, students will inevitably view sandwich-making as a life skill they have already mastered. This is where the teaching challenge lies.

When teaching one of the major objectives (the technique of roasting) in a recent class, I had an opportunity to show how to utilize a leftover roast from the previous day, in this case pork loin, to produce a profitable menu item.

Courtesy of The Perishables Group

With the recent fluctuation in seafood sales and the oil spill in the Gulf, how the industry will fare this year is difficult to predict. But one thing’s for sure: Eating healthier is driving increased interest in seafood.

The seafood industry suffered during the onset of the recession in 2008, but it came back in a big way in 2009.

While other fresh ingredients benefited from the boost in sales spurred by people cooking at home more often in 2008, the seafood business took a hit. The only notable bright spots occurred in catfish and lobster, which people stocked up on after the lobster industry experienced an oversupply.

By Brent T. Frei

Rising culinary star Michael Matarazzo, the U.S.A.’s Chef of the Year™ for 2010 by the American Culinary Federation, is merely grateful to still be learning.

Michael Matarazzo, 30, executive chef of Bear Mountain Inn in New York’s Hudson Valley, has already achieved more than many chefs who are half again his age. What distinguishes him among chefs of his generation who have garnered so much glory so soon is his humility. “I didn’t expect this; I didn’t even prepare a speech,” he said after being named the U.S.A.’s Chef of the Year™ for 2010 by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) at the organization’s national convention in Anaheim, Calif., in early August. “It’s mind-blowing to me that I am standing here with the amount of talent that is in this room.”

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Although a common vision for your curriculum takes patience, careful listening and explaining to many audiences, it can excite everyone to contribute and revitalize your program.

Several months ago, we reviewed the process of developing curriculum by identifying and involving the key stakeholders in the curriculum, and then we discussed the challenging task of getting faculty members to make changes in individual courses, especially courses that they feel strongly about or are invested in maintaining in their current focus or format. This month, we will review the larger issue of developing a sense of the goals for the curriculum and the overall vision for the new curriculum.

Courtesy of Dow AgroSciences LLC

A Guide to Choosing What’s Right for Your Kitchen

Educators today often lack three key ingredients to a successful program: time, energy and resources. Each school year and curriculum offers a host of opportunities to discuss a variety of topics, but educators are charged with presenting students with the most important, useful and applicable information in a short period of time.

Today, some foodservice and food-processing companies are recognizing these needs and are investing their time, energy and resources to supporting culinary educators with the tools needed to provide their students with current and applicable information as they enter the workforce. One such company, Dow AgroSciences, saw a need for these tools and decided to help culinary educators provide their students with information and expertise from Dow AgroSciences’ Omega-9 Oils team.

By Adam Weiner

Says Chef Weiner, using firm-cooked sausage to teach the technique of braising can be accomplished within a short class time and brings the concept home to students.

When you think of braising you think of comfort food. From the wafting of the aroma as it cooks and as the plates are carried to the table to its savory down-home “stick to your ribs” flavor, braising has long been popular with families and customers. Pot roast is perhaps the most famous of all braised dishes. For years, osso buco and coq au vin were the most famous restaurant version of braising. Nowadays short ribs seem to have taken their place.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

Defining “sustainable food” is not a black-and-white issue like water and energy conservation or waste-stream reduction. The decisions are value judgments that are unique to each individual.

What is sustainably farmed food? Is it organic? Is it biodynamic? Is it local? Dr. Fred Kirschenmann, sustainable-agriculture pioneer and distinguished fellow with The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, says the answer to those questions is, “Sometimes, but not necessarily.” Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with him about this subject and came away with a new understanding of the complexities.

Organic
Kirschenmann served on the USDA National Organics Standards Board, which developed the rules for implementing the National Organic Program. According to those standards, organic means that producers can use any natural inputs as long as they aren’t on the “prohibited list” (e.g., elemental sulfur or copper as a plant or soil micronutrient). The only synthetic inputs allowed are those on the “allowed list” (e.g., certain chlorine materials related to food-safety concerns).