The BC Chefs Table Society met for the last summer meeting Monday afternoon at the beautiful open dining room of NU Restaurant.  It was the best turnout we’ve had to date.  It was also a very fruitful meeting, lots on the agenda, with two guest speakers, and many pending issues to resolve for the summer.  But, this being a table of successful chefs, we accomplished the full agenda in a very short period of time – getting things done in limited time is one of our prime professional survival traits.  Plus, many crafty ideas were proposed and basically finalized that puts the society in very good standing indeed for the fall and down the road.  This society began with nothing, yet we walked away realizing much has been built and more is to come.  That’s another instinctual talent of ours:  give chefs little and we’ll turn it into a feast.

I cannot help but be impressed when I see a group of put-your-head-down practical chefs in one room.  Besides the brain power, there’s an intense energy to focus on information in its most boiled down practical terms. When our guest from the Pacific Prawn Fisherman’s Association spoke about their continuing relationship with the Society to inform and connect the consumer about our coastal fish, these chefs not only demonstrated a genuine interest to be a conduit for excellent, accurate, and vital information, they articulated their well-informed opinions most impressively.  Words like “commitment” and “mindset” were carefully chosen to represent the Society’s care for the products that sustain their profession.

For a person who started as an academic and entered the culinary profession with apprehension, I can now confidently say that cooks and chefs are indeed smart minds.  They’re smarter than 20 years ago.  They have to be.  Their “mindset” has shifted in a positive way, especially when it comes to ingredients. 

Yet when it comes to the next generation of cooks, our mindset has not changed much.  The one word I wish one day I will never have to hear is “kids” when referring to culinary students.  All - and I mean all – of the industry, from chefs to media, still refer to my students as kids.  When I’m asked “How are the kids doing?” I never know if they are referring to my sons or my students.    I’ve always seen the word to spell bad news.  As a parent of 18 and 21 year old young men, calling them kids would spell disaster.  Not only would they not talk to me, but, much worse, they’ll never leave home.  It’s simply counter-productive.  The average age of students entering culinary schools these days is 24 years of age.  Perhaps today’s chefs are unaware of this. 

I’ve been wanting to bring the “kids” thing up for some time now with my colleagues, but I really do not think the industry is yet ready for a new “mindset” when it comes to culinary students.  I know for sure it will change one day.  Fish was just fish a couple of decades ago, and now it’s a socio-political topic demanding mature dialogue and sophisticated terms like “sustainability”, “eco-management”, “endangered”, and so on.  It will make me happy, most happy I must say, when the day comes that my NWCAV students are referred to as adults, as fine men and women.  It will perhaps ensure that they are treated like adults, and the payoff might well be they will work like adults.  This field needs fine young men and women, not kids.  I wouldn’t want a generation of “kids” taking over for the fine work adults have already done. 

Trying to eliminate the “K” word,

Tony Minichiello

Instructor to adults

The most difficult, challenging topic for me to teach is pasta.  Getting students to understand the essence of pasta is extremely difficult because most, the vast majority, have been lead astray.  Getting students to get off the dry vs fresh track is nearly impossible, taking much effort, a Joe Pesci attitude, and time.  Eventually the students get to experience authentic pasta and are forever changed when it comes to that particular food.

But I’m looking forward – very soon, in fact – to the day when I can simply direct the students to some homework, and not just reading, but video.  Not just any video, but a well crafted script, with detailed and meticulously shot techniques, all logically and wisely editing, all detailing the essence of pasta, where it comes from, how it’s made, how to dissect quality, how to make it at home, cook it properly, what to do, what not to do, why, what happens when you make a mistake, how to prevent it, fix it, etc.

The module on pasta filmed in the kitchen studio at Rouxbe took a whole week, with hours of narrowing down the writing to its essence, shooting the key critical points with the best angle, cleverly, creatively, and then hours of editing and in the sound room.  By the end, every one of the Rouxbe team, from camera, to sound people, to editors, were pros at pasta, elevated to an Italian understanding of pasta…FOREVER.

Though it still took the physical experience to be convinced of this, the video does my job in 20 minutes, rather than hours.  Video, if well scripted and performed, is the tool of the future for any culinary learner.  Watch for the Rouxbe culinary school. (http://blog.rouxbe.com/rouxbe-cooking-school-sneak-peek/) It will change the way you cook and eat.  Period!  

Tony

Chef Ian Lai, instructor for our Professional Culinary program, has been receiving a lot of press lately.  As founder of the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society (http://myterranova.ca/), Chef Ian is very active in the Richmond community teaching young people from K-12 about the joys of organic farming, and connecting them to the earth & their food.  At the farm they grow everything from flowers to oats, and the students participate in the entire life cycle from planting to harvest.  They even learn how to prepare the food they grow, including winnowing & milling the grains to make their own bread.  The benefits of the project don’t stop there because the bounty produced at Terra Nova is donated to the Richmond Food Bank.  Visit the Terra Nova website for more information.

On May 8th Chef Ian was recognized for his tireless dedication with  a much deserved U-Roc Award.  Congratulations!

In other news, he has agreed to act as the new resident “Chef in the Market” at the Steveston Farmers & Artisans Market for 10 Sundays this summer.  Check out this article by Arlene Kroeker:

http://www.bclocalnews.com/richmond_southdelta/richmondreview/entertainment/18744499.html

We are proud & honoured to have Chef Ian as part of our NWCAV family.

Kudos!

As many of you know, NWCAV is proud to support the Terra Nova Schoolyard Society farm project in Richmond, BC (www.myterranova.ca). Terra Nova was founded & is headed by Chef Ian Lai, one of the Professional Culinary instructors at the Academy.

Chef Ian is pleased to announce that Terra Nova now has it’s own custom tea blend, provided by renowned tea merchants “T”. It is an enlivening blend of Organic Rooibos with citrus notes of orange & lemon. The price is $15 per tin (yields 50 cups). All proceeds go toward the Terra Nova Schoolyard Project. I have tried this tea, and like it so much I ordered 6 boxes for myself & to give as gifts!

If you would like to order some of this delicious tea for yourself, please contact Ian at info@myterrnova.ca or 604-767-9264, or call the Academy at 604.876.7653. Payment by cash only at time of pickup.

Enjoy,

Marla (tea aficionado)

On the first day of class, within the first hour in fact, we put our students in groups and ask then to list the qualities that best define a professional cook versus a professional chef.  This is to eliminate any illusion that the focus of our school is not to create chefs, but cooks, and more specifically, students on their road to becoming professional cooks.  Amazingly, they do an accurate job of being quite real about this, eliminating any need for the school instructors to pontificate the reality of the industry (you know, that speech every industry chef believes no one has ever heard before).  So our students are asked to put into words what they feel they need to bring to the table AND what they feel a chef should bring to the table.  The following is a list of what they concluded, in no particular order:

Cook:  Hard-working, disciplined, hungry for knowledge and skills, consistent, persistent, team player, motivated, committed, organized, loyal, punctual, multi-tasker, stress management, good communicator, clean, humble.

Chef:  Leadership, passionate, good coach/teacher, respectful, disciplined, inspirational, graceful under pressure, loyal to cook’s development, organized, quality-conscious, open-minded, integrity, patient, available, professional at all times, humble.

Impressive, if you tell me.  It saves us 3-4 weeks of putting our students through a reality check.  They do it themselves…and nice to see the media hasn’t skewed their perspective and sensibilities. I only hope they can live to that standard.

Tony Minichiello

Humble Culinary Instructor who spilled clarified butter and split his beurre blanc today…a great day, nevertheless.

When asked if any of my students are superstars, I smile, bite my tongue, and pray that this might be the last time I have to answer such a stupid question.  Our obsession to over-dramatize the status of chefs and equate them to rock stars, celebrities, or superstars is as naive as our obsession to over-dramatize the food experience as “to die for” or “better than sex”. 

Now if the question posed was which student would I recommend most highly to an industry colleague, the answer would be simple:  the quiet, reliable, hardest working, and committed team player who does the little things no one else sees, does it with pride, with care, day in and day out. The cocky, wavy-haired, good looking, charismatic flash in the pan cooks make better mixologists.  The Gehrigs and Ripkens of the world make great cooks - and much in need these days.

In general, when it comes to describing great food and chefs, we’re simply too loud, if not obnoxious.  Fernand point once said “food…now that’s worth talking about.”  If we’re moving towards a trend of keeping things simple and mature, our language needs to follow suit. It’s only to die for, or better than sex, when you ain’t got any.

Tony Minichiello

Culinary Instructor

There’s this perception out there that people go into the cooking field for the love of it, solely for the love of it, simply for the passion, not the money.  How naive to even think that people are willing to sacrifice their personal life - willingly, I may add -  in order for others to gain financially. This super-human species of cooks do not exist.   What does exist is a status quo, an unjust axiom that states that cooks must sacrifice like no other profession because that’s the way it is, it’s always been. Who’s benefited from this?  The restaurateur and the customer, and not the profession.

Wages are going up, but not because we suddenly feel for our cooks, but because demand for staff, especially qualified staff, is high and getting more desperate.  The industry needs bodies - it’s supply and demand.

Right now the hot topics are sustainability and local ingredients.  That’s very admirable.  So Chilean sea bass, wild coho get a lot of attention these days - a good thing.  But what about the cooks, the ones that cook 95% of customers’ meals (it’s primarily cooks, not chefs, that cook our meals)?  At the moment we’re not - as an industry, as a culture, as a local public, and definitely as a media - doing much to sustain their survival in their profession.  Attracting intelligent, ambitious, hard-working people into this field is becoming more difficult (sorry Food Network, you’re no longer helping). Won’t be long before we’ll have to import our cooks. 

I like fish, but I like people more, and love cooks most. Is the food business, like big corporate business, in denial?  Will it take as long as the global warming issue for everyone, including public and media, to get real about making the necessary paradigm shift?  I hope not. 

 Tony Minichiello,  Culinary Instructor

This term, more than any, I was privy to more details of every individual student.  I have always had an interest in the life of all my students for the simple reason that I connect to their very choice of work.  I am a believer that it takes a certain person – “good people”, as I like to call them-  to want to cook as their métier. Reflecting upon this, I am certain the reason is very simply the fact wannabe cooks believe it’s best to do something with all the passion and love one possesses. 

I’d like to share my view of these very fine people, for somehow they are not given the appropriate respect and attention they deserve.  Firstly, they are committed and , likewise, very passionate people.  They work hard, knowing even harder work and challenging wages await them.  Though many of my industry colleagues refer to them as “kids” (which I protest and correct them immediately), they are in fact some of the most mature people I know.  They are civilized, caring, thoughtful, team players, and honest -  literally salt of the earth.    

Graduation is an uneasy feeling for me.  I know these fine people must learn to persevere, take good care of themselves, be strong, organize their priorities, and basically survive the first 2-3 years.  The industry sometimes will take good care of them, and sometimes it will try to take advantage – too many businesses survive this way.  My hope is that one day cooks – the 99% of the people who prep and cook your food when you dine out, not the chefs – are treated by media and the general public with the respect they so deserve.  Long ago I entered this industry disillusioned, but fortunate to find myself with some really good people to keep me going.  I still feel our industry has a hell of a long way to go, and hope lies in the fact that each term I know there are very fine people going into the field with the vision, guts, and integrity to create change.  These students fuel my passion, my work, my métier.  Thank you.

Forever loyal,

Tony Minichiello

The “reality” of becoming a professional cook is the same old story no different than “when I was your age, I had to walk 3 miles to school, in the snow, uphill both ways.”   I hear it all the time, it’s well documented in culinary “reality” biographies and TV, pontificated by chefs and instructors alike. 

No doubt there is a reality culinary students must understand and compromise with when committing to this career:  it’s hard work, it takes patience and persistence, time, and incredible focus, even personal sacrifice to do one’s work very well.  But times have changed.  Those entering this field are no longer 14-16 years old - wide-eyed, malleable and dependent kids.  Can’t call the majority of them “kids” anymore as most going into this field, especially in North America, are in their 20’s, well-traveled, informed (and connected), bright (many with post-secondary education), independent (thus with their own living expenses), and willing change-agents (to borrow from Bill Clinton).  So that old story that if you want to make it in this industry you’ll have to make total sacrifices, work crazy hours, and receive little pay because that’s the way it was, has been, and will always be -  that doesn’t jive anymore.

What is needed, soon, is a paradigm shift.  I’m of this Barack Obama wave:  we can do better.  What is needed, soon, is fair pay, fair treatment, organized and structured training within the industry to keep employees, and responsible media.  In other words, the industry leaders need to assess the “old reality”, stop the denial, and create a new one - one that is fair to all, moves forward, and invites bright young people to commit positive energy for the better future of the hospitality industry that feeds so many people every day.  The public’s responsibility is to demand quality changes:  don’t forget, it’s people, not an industry, that cook your food and feeds you any time you decide not to feed yourself, and quality, cost, and health all go hand in hand.

Tony Minichiello, Culinary Instructor

At NWCAV we like to keep in touch with our graduates, and to follow & support them in their careers. We put out the call to our alumni for their input on this post, and here’s a diverse sampling from the multitude of responses we received.

ADAM

I graduated from Northwest in April 2005 after completing both the Professional Culinary and Professional Pastry and Baking courses.  After graduation, I was afforded the opportunity to complete a practicum placement in the pastry kitchen at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver.  From the Pan Pacific I moved to spend a year at Terra Breads, learning the art of artisan bread production.  With a desire to get back in the kitchen, I now find myself working as Pastry Chef at the Watermark Restaurant on Kits Beach.  Since starting at the Watermark, I have competed in, and won, the 2007 Belcolade Chocolate Competition; designed my first dessert menu; and learned how to more effectively manage the pastry department in a restaurant kitchen. 

Feeling confident and inspired by my chocolate competition victory, I am working towards opening a chocolate shop in the near future. In the meantime I leave February 17, and I’ll be spending 4 days in Barcelona, followed by a week in Belgium working at Belcolade in their chocolate centre, then I’m off to Valrhona to do a course in ‘gourmet pastries’ being taught by Christophe Adam from Fauchon, and I’ll finish up in Paris, getting back just in time for Easter, a new menu, and another summer on the beach at the Watermark (http://www.watermarkrestaurant.ca/).

I will stop by the school sometime before I leave. Hope all is well with everyone a the Academy, and I’ll see you soon.
-Adam

TARYN

Hello all,

My name is Taryn  Wa. I graduated from both the Professional Culinary & Professional Pastry & Bread Making programs in 2005.  Since then I have worked in a couple fine dining establishments to hone my skills. I also had the chance to work as a Sous chef for the Fusion Fare show on channel M.  “I currently run my own catering company ‘The Savoury Chef’ ( www.savourychef.com). We target multi-course dinner parties and cocktail parties. We supply light-savouries to ‘The Urban Tea Merchant’ located in Park Royal on a weekly basis. I have also started selling a product for the retail market titled ‘Seasonal Confiture Collection’, which is a great accompaniment to cheese and meat platters.  One of my most significant career highlights to date has been to orchestrate 8-10 course meals where the client has left the entire menu up to me, with no budget!

Read the rest of this entry »

For all of you technical food lovers out there who have related blogs & websites, we are pleased to announce that our sister site Rouxbe.com has made it easy to embed the invaluable drill-down videos right into your blog post. Want to show someone the proper way to émincé? Now you can easily add these videos which highlight skills, techniques, ingredients and product information. Just click on the embed code button on the top right of the video. Here’s an example:

You can also share your favorite Rouxbe recipe previews. Simply copy and paste the embed code. Here’s a peek at one of my favourites:

Enjoy!
Marla

The professional culinary students today did their mid-term practical exam, and performed quite well.  Yet, there was one aspect of their performance I would have liked to see… or hear, I should say.  We emphasize the importance of the knife till we’re blue in the face so the students realize the importance of this defining tool as THE springboard to their career.  What I didn’t hear enough was that wonderful pinging sound of a knife honed on a steel.  I am convinced that had they gathered their ingredients and started honing while staring down their carrots, shallots, mushrooms, rutabaga, celery and leek, those ingredients would not have stood a chance.  

The steel gives the cook an edge in many ways.  The obvious is it gives your knife more authority to cut through food.  More importantly, I think, it gives you a warrior’s attitude to use your knife with authority.

Tony Minichiello, Culinary Instructor

p.s. Check out this knife honing instructional video from our partner Rouxbe: