By John Paul Khoury, CCC, www.preferredmeats.com, www.preferredmeatsblog.com

An interview with Mark Liberman, chef/owner of Black Sheep Butchery, Sacramento.

Mark Liberman, a well-seasoned Sacramento, Calif., native, has worked in some of the top kitchens in America, if not the world, for such chefs as Joël Robuchon, Daniel Boulud and Roland Passot. Liberman has also competed in the semi-finals of the prestigious Bocuse d'Or. He has, curiously enough, returned to Sacramento and opened his own business. What brought Liberman back home, and what's his story?

Here's the scoop:

What drew you to the industry and why become a chef?
My initial draw into the restaurant/hospitality industry began when I was relatively young; growing up with both of my parents cooking at home and watching lots of PBS cooking shows is what drew me in. But when I got my first job as an apprentice at 15, I was hooked even before I ever worked on a line. Every day is something new, every day you start from scratch. It’s incredibly tough with long hours and constant pressure, but I never even fathomed doing something else.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Forming dyads requires students to clarify their own thinking before sharing it with another student, and then discuss it before sharing it with the entire class.

Last month, we discussed using current events in the classroom. This month, we will talk about strategies for using more and varied learning activities in our classroom by focusing on pairs.

Most of us have developed a series of strategies for working with small groups. This Mayo’s Clinic may remind some of you why they are helpful and suggest new ways to work with pairs of students in your classes.

Reasons for Pairs
Using pairs—often called dyads—In class is a way to help students feel comfortable discussing a topic that is new to them or one in which they do not feel well prepared, either because of difficulty learning the material, the lack of time spent studying or for some other reason. By letting them talk with just one other student, they can start to build a vocabulary for the topic and some confidence about the topic. It also enables them to learn from someone else who may know more or less; either way, it can be a learning experience.

By Adam Weiner

Chef Weiner continues his advice for students on selecting and maintaining knives. This month: the difference between sharpening and honing and the definition of “true.”

Last month’s article was a handout for your students on how to buy knives. This month I am giving you a handout on how to hone and sharpen knives. Next month will be on using knives, and then the fourth article will cover how to care for knives. So, cut out the below and give it to your students as part two of a four-part series on knives:

Many new cooks confuse sharpening knives with honing knives. They are not the same thing. Honing a knife puts the edge back into “true,” while sharpening a knife removes part of the metal and creates a new edge.

If you look under a microscope at a knife, you will see a lot of thin teeth, kind of like one of those cheap plastic combs. Through use and washing, the teeth get pushed out of alignment, out of true. The purpose of the steel is to bring the teeth of the knife back into alignment, back into true. If the end of the teeth becomes dull because of a lot of use or abuse, then aligning it with a steel will not help, and the knife will need to be sharpened instead.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

Turn-key teaching tools for sustainability.

As chefs, when we talk about cost, the focus is usually food and labor. Sometimes we forget about energy and water because we figure it’s a cost of doing business that’s beyond our control. You’ve probably heard me talk about the topic before, but I wanted to share my recent conversation with Richard Young and Kong Sham from Food Service Technology Center (FSTC). An unbiased research laboratory, FSTC is based in California and funded by PG&E, a major utility. As part of their work for the utility, they go into the field and help operators by auditing their facilities and showing them how to decrease their energy and water use.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

The day of the frumpy, inattentive waiter is gone. In the current economy, properly training wait staff has never been more important.

For most U.S. restaurants, this has been the roughest stretch in memory. Reports show that numbers are down in every part of the industry. Restaurant visits overall fell 1% in the quarter ending in June, marking the eighth consecutive quarterly drop. Experts predict it will take another year and a half to recover to pre-recession levels. While high-end restaurants are being hit the hardest, the effect is trickling down to every level. What are restaurants doing to increase their numbers? The answers are extremely important to every educator as we prepare future culinary professionals.

The two key elements garnering the most attention are affordability and experience. Restaurants at every level are finding creative ways to make their wares appear more affordable to get customers in their doors and then paying particular attention to the customer’s experience once they are there.