By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Providing clear information about how students will be evaluated helps them demonstrate their knowledge and skills as well as to evaluate themselves and others.

Last month, we discussed accountability and its importance in helping students become better professionals. One of the ways that we can help them develop as professionals is to encourage their thinking about evaluation. This month and next month, we will discuss various aspects of evaluation, something probably on everyone’s mind these days while we are reading papers, lab reports and tests, listening to presentations and judging food preparation and presentations.

By Audrey Heckwolf

Why is something so beneficial often overlooked? Encourage your students to develop their own service philosophies that they can use as a guide in their careers.

Here is a riddle: What is the one thing that hugely successful service companies have in common that is often overlooked? Sure, they all have an enormous bank account, excellent branding and a honed business sense, but that is not what got them their success. The answer is an excellent service philosophy.

By Sharon Olson

A recent survey of Culinology® students in their 20s and early 30s underscores interest in innovative, green and healthy cooking. What does it all mean for tomorrow’s menus?

Soon-to-be culinary professionals identified as part of Generation Y—the menu-makers of tomorrow—are starting to influence dining trends, from the use of molecular gastronomy to the increasing incorporation of artisan, farmstead and locally produced ingredients.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Many students have difficulty meeting deadlines. As faculty members, we carry different responsibilities in helping them learn from these various situations.

Last month, we discussed building community in the classroom and fostering student comfort. This month, we are focusing on the other side of the coin: helping students practice professionalism by meeting assigned deadlines.

Our Professional Obligation
Although we teach a wide range of subjects, we all share a common goal of helping our students become better professionals—often a big shift for them when they are still adjusting to college and juggling the many responsibilities of college life. As faculty members, we need to help them learn in every way possible to behave and think like professionals since we only have them briefly before they join the professional world. In fact, over the last 20 years, culinary educators have been successful in changing the ways that chefs and other hospitality professionals (1) establish good team work, (2) create civil and cooperative work environments, (3) treat women and members of minority groups with respect and (4) discourage sexual and other types of harassment. Today’s commercial kitchens are very different from what they used to be!

Milestone report features top 10 flavor pairings and leading trends that will define 2010.

The flavor experts at Hunt Valley, Md.-based McCormick have teamed up with leading chefs, food bloggers and other culinary authorities to identify the top 10 flavor pairings and key trends that are poised to shape the way we eat in the year ahead. The McCormick® Flavor Forecast™ 2010 marks a milestone: It’s the 10th anniversary of prolific flavor reports from the industry leader.