Unless you are from Vermont or part of the decades old culinary education world then you may not know whom this person is. Fran Voigt was the founder and past president of New England Culinary Institute (NECI) that in its day was considered one of the finest schools for cooks in the country. I would…
Author: culinarycuesblog
AVOID PAINTING ALL KITCHENS WITH THE SAME BRUSH
There is no shortage of news regarding inappropriate, and in some cases – illegal behavior in restaurants and kitchens. Where it exists it must be stopped and dealt with in no uncertain terms. Treating people with disrespect, gender bias, unprofessional advances, and bullying cannot be tolerated – it is not how we want our industry…
IF YOU CAN’T CHANGE A TIRE – CAN YOU COOK MY MEAL? MAKING EDUCATION “REAL”
The thought process behind this article began while watching a commercial for an insurance company. This was, to me, a startling revelation about our society and the lack of commitment by everyone towards life education. In the commercial a mother standing next to her son (in his later teens) talked about how great her insurance…
WORDS OF ADVICE FOR EVERY CULINARY COLLEGE GRADUATE
It is May and all across the country students from the more than 1,000 culinary schools will be graduating and starting their careers in the business of food. You have accomplished a great deal, assimilated more information than you thought would be possible, and built a suitcase full of skills that will serve you well…
CHEFS PLANTING SEEDS – THE RETURN OF TRAINING ON THE JOB
Here we are – seven or eight years into a steady economic recovery in the U.S. leading to the admirable statistic of a 3.9% unemployment rate (granted this is not qualified with regard to those who have stopped looking or those who are working at less than full time) – a figure that a decade…
THAT’S HOW COOKS ROLL IN THE KITCHEN
Many have written about the make-up of line cooks– what makes them tick? What is evident is that the best cooks are complicated characters, yet fairly easy to generalize. Having worked with a wide array of individuals filling the ranks of cooks I feel comfortable making some generalizations. This does not attempt to look at…
LINE COOKS GOING THE DISTANCE
Jake woke up with a pounding headache. It was only 7 a.m. and he was already sweating from the July humidity or maybe it was from those last two shots of tequila just a few hours ago. As was the case on most nights after a busy service – he found his way to the…
The AMERICAN FARMER and YOU
THE FARMER’S DILEMMA I have never done this – I have never used my blog to post an article from someone else, but this one was too compelling. I could write pages on my feelings about this, but the author of this article said it much better than I ever could. Let me simply say…
IN THE KITCHEN: EVERYONE’S DIFFERENT – EVERYONE’S THE SAME
This story may not be true – but it could be. “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” -Jimmy Carter Chef Michel looked around his kitchen and reflected: “What an incredibly diverse group of people who are keeping this kitchen afloat.” The…
OWNERS/OPERATORS – VALUING COOKS AND CHEFS
It is certainly true that those who work in the kitchen are not the only reason why a restaurant may be successful, but it is certain that if the back-of-the-house team is not competent, is unable to function as a cohesive unit, or lacks the passion to take pride in their work then the restaurant…
