By Adam Weiner

Part 1 of a two-part series from Chef Weiner on advising your students on selecting and maintaining knives.

All culinary students will ask you, at one time or another, about buying knives. Since we are all busy, I thought I would make your life a bit simpler. Just print out the below and give it to your students.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

Interactive activities for communicating foodservice principles of “green.”

Sustainability education is rapidly becoming a part of culinary and hospitality curricula cross the country, and there are few teaching tools that front-line educators can easily access and use in their classrooms. Attendees at the last CAFÉ Leadership Conference were given one such tool that we created at Kendall. For those who couldn’t attend, we’re sharing it today, along with another one, which will be posted permanently on the CAFÉ Web site in the Resource Center under Lesson Plans.

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.