By Edward Korry, CWE, CSS

Here’s what every wine server should know.

When making suggestions to guests, get a sense of the kinds of wines they enjoy to avoid making needless suggestions. The server should be very familiar with the establishment’s wine list. If a wine is unavailable, the guest should be informed prior to making a selection. The server should observe the following procedures:

By Lynn Schwartz

What’s the difference between a private chef and a personal chef? Audrey Heckwolf of Grand Rapids Community College, who cooked for a Fortune 500 family, can tell you.

Private chef and personal chef are titles that evoke “glamour job” images—globetrotting with celebrity employers and preparing ultra-luxe dinners for very important people. But do we really understand what these jobs entail? Audrey Heckwolf, a former private chef, says, “Most chefs don’t know. And they don’t know the difference between a private and personal chef. This is a growing part of the culinary industry. Chefs need to educate each other and their clients about the differences.”

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

The more you establish your expectation of participation and help students reach it, the better the learning experience for all.

One of the most challenging aspects of teaching is getting our students involved in class discussion and other class activities. Sometimes, they are shy or reluctant because of fear of not being articulate or making errors; other times their cultural backgrounds limit their willingness to participate in active discussions. They may also be anxious about appearing stupid or afraid they may not understand. Since we know that students who use ideas and discuss them tend to learn and remember them better, this issue of Mayo’s Clinics provides four suggestions about this dimension of teaching.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

It’s easier to teach how to set the table and serve the guest than to teach the emotional skills of being passionate, caring, hard-working and intelligent.

Teaching front of the house to culinary students can be a very interesting proposition. Most students come to school to learn to cook, “not,” as more than one student has retorted, “to act like some kind of server.” We have some students who resent and resist being outside the kitchen. “I’m going to be a chef like those guys on TV. What do I need to know about table service?”

By Adam Weiner

Letting students fail a few times before showing them the tricks of the trade will make them more receptive.

I teach my students that there are five Ps to professional cooking: Planning, Preparation, Presentation, Passion and Pride. Last year in the January/February issue I wrote about presentation, so I am a bit out of order on how to teach planning.