#nraef

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NRAEF Summer Institutes Goes Digital - Meet the Instructors!

The NRAEF’s Summer Institutes provide technical and professional instruction for restaurant and foodservice educators. This year, Summer Institutes will be digital to ensure the safety and wellbeing our educators, still offering educators a valuable forum to hone their culinary and restaurant management instruction skills.

These online courses offer educators the opportunity to learn from nationally recognized faculty, network with peers and obtain continuing education credits to strengthen their foodservice education skills. With in-depth demonstration and lecture instruction, educators learn how to apply their course's takeaways to their own classrooms. 

Read on to learn more about some of our Summer Institutes instructors, and what they’re looking forward to this year.  

John Johnson

Culinary Instructor - CEC, CCE, ACE

Madison College, Madison Wisconsin

Courses Taught: Food Theory, Sanitation, Professional Cooking I & II, Garde Manger

Kitchen tools/ingredients you can’t live without: Chef Knife, rubber spatula, strainer, and a fish turner.

Favorite Industry Job you’ve held: Working at Berg Chaserrugg in Unterwasser Switzerland and skiing home each day from work.

Q: What do you hope educators get out of Digital Summer Institutes?

A: Learn new skills that will impact your classroom this fall!  It might be about videotaping, or how to make a vinaigrette, mayo or learn how to breakdown a fish.  Each person you interact with from faculty to other attendees have resources you might need in the classroom.  If you need something for the classroom, ask. A recipe, a technique, video that was produced or a word document can be shared so you don’t have to rebuild something from scratch. Everyone can network and become more powerful in the classroom!

Kevin McGuinnis

Culinary Instructor

Madison College, Madison Wisconsin

Courses Taught: Professional Cooking I & II, Advanced Skills Lab, Americana Cuisine, Breakfast, Catering, Garde Manger, Sanitation

Kitchen tools/ingredients you can’t live without: I always find myself going to my 25-year-old Wustoff Trident 10" Chef knife and my favorite fry pan is made of rolled blue steel. You can season it just like cast iron and it performs nearly as well at about half the weight.

Favorite Industry Job you’ve held: Executive Chef at Parlor American in Chicago.

Q: Why do you teach Summer Institutes?

A: I am a big believer in the NRAEF ProStart program. Some of our best students have come from ProStart classrooms. I had the opportunity to mentor one of our Regional school's programs and from there developed relationships with many of the FCE teachers in our area and I think they are doing an amazing job! I am more than happy to try and pass on some of my skills and knowledge to anyone who is interested.

Attending Summer Institutes is a great way to fulfill professional development requirements while also being able to meet new people or to see friends from other places, while at the same time learning something new that will truly be useful in the classroom.

Mark Molinaro

Associate Executive Director, Senior Chef Lecturer

Northern Arizona University

Courses Taught: Foundations in Kitchen Operations, Sustainable Gastronomy, Restaurant Design

Kitchen tools/ingredients you can’t live without: Salt, olive oil, fresh black peppercorns, herb garden and a sharp chef’s knife!

Favorite Industry Job you’ve held: My current job!

Q: Why should CTE and ProStart educators sign up for the Summer Institutes course? 

A:  For me this is one of the most condensed and potent weeks of learning for a chef educator.  The combination of new people, new place, and new mindset allows for an impactful learning experience that can power you through the year ahead with passion and confidence! This has been a challenging year with hopefully lots of lessons learned and we as teachers should constantly be seeking ways to better connect with each other and our students for the betterment of the hospitality industry.

Sara Johannes

Culinary Arts Instructor / Culinary Department Chair

Saint Paul College

Courses Taught: Restaurant Operations, Menu Composition and Analysis, Contemporary Dining Room Service, Event Based Dining, Food, Beverage, and Labor Cost Control 

Kitchen tools/ingredients you can’t live without: A sharp, well-maintained knife is essential. Learn the difference between honing a knife and sharpening a knife. Learn to use a whetstone. That knife will touch just about everything you serve in your kitchen.  

Favorite Industry Job you’ve held: Executive Chef for Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group

Q: How has COVID-19 changed the way you approach teaching? 

A:   The pandemic has changed our industry quite a bit.  As a culinary arts program, we have had to respond to that by updating our practices. Food safety and sanitation was an obvious first step, as it was for so many restaurants. We pivoted to “to go” options in our student-run restaurants, and installed shields and screens. Even learning to smell and taste while wearing a mask became a new skill. But all this change has made us more flexible. It has made us more creative with our problem solving. Likewise, the need to help others has been a focus of the foodservice community in the Twin Cities as well.  Food insecurity has increase exponentially due to the pandemic. We have been able to help provide meals to those in need through a partnership with Minnesota Central Kitchen. This has shown another side of foodservice to our students – the non-profit sector.  

George Hendry, Ed.D., CCE,CEC

Director of the McCutchen House and Marriott Lab, University of South Carolina

McCutchen House and Marriott Lab, University of South Carolina

Courses Taught: Hospitality and Culinary Arts

Kitchen tools/ingredients you can’t live without: My knives, and good working equipment.

Favorite Industry Job you’ve held: This one!

Q: Why should CTE and ProStart educators sign up for the Summer Institutes course? 

A: It is a great way to network with other individuals who are experiencing what they are experiencing. By being able to have a venue with others, problems can be solved from within your classroom and not through an administrative perspective which sometimes can be hindered by budgets or lack of understanding.

Robby Lybrand

Chef Instructor

University of South Carolina

Courses Taught: Quantity Food Production, Purchasing and Controls, ServSafe, Craft Beer, Breads, Pastas and Sauces, Tailgating 101

Kitchen tools/ingredients you can’t live without: A good Chef Knife, a good paring knife, garlic, and bacon. Do you really need anything else?

Favorite Industry Job you’ve held: Owner of a catering company and bistro

Q: What do you hope educators get out of Summer Institutes?

A:  Confidence. All we are doing is cooking, it’s that simple. I hope they gain problem solving skills, ways to be creative and ways to help their students be successful. I think that by teaching these courses it empowers the teachers to teach better and with more confidence while in the Prostart classroom. Having a digital course allows teachers the opportunity to go back and refresh themselves anytime they need to. They can always pull on the resources to help them in the classroom.

2021 Summer Institutes registration is open now through May 18 - learn more here.  For questions about registration or 2021 courses, email [email protected] 

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Celebrating International Women’s Day at ProStart®

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “I am Generation Equality: Realizing Women’s Rights.” At ProStart®, we strive to empower, enrich and improve representation in the restaurant industry so every generation sees growth and development. Our mission is to continue making strides so the students of the future will experience a new meaning of diversity in the classroom and workplace.

Each year on March 8th, we recognize the women who have made an influential change in our kitchens, and continue to inspire girls in following their passions to become chefs, restaurant executives, and so on. We are proud to be part of an industry that employs more women in higher-up positions than any other economy.

Want to learn more about how programs like ProStart and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation are empowering women in the restaurant industry? Check out these stats: 

+ 60% of ProStart® students are female

+ 66% of qualified scholarship applicants identified as female for NRAEF’s 2017 scholarship application. 

+ In 2019, entry-level positions held by women in the restaurant industry reached 58%.  

+ In 2019, managerial positions held by women in the restaurant industry reached 47%.  

+ Between 2014 and 2019, the number of women-owned businesses reached 21% to a total  of nearly 13 million. 

+ In 2019, the growth in the share of total revenue by women-owned businesses increased by 27% in the food industry. 

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Building Leaders in Memory of Joe Fassler

Joe Fassler Memorial Fund Scholarship 2018

Joe Fassler served as Chairman of the Board for the National Restaurant Association and board member of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) for over 20 years.  In December 2017, Joe passed away after a valiant cancer battle. To honor his memory and legacy in the foodservice industry, Dawn Sweeney, President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association and NRAEF, and the NRAEF’s Board of Directors established the Joe Fassler Memorial Scholarship. Hundreds of applications were considered, but Jose Suarez’s application showed his passion for becoming a leader in the restaurant and hospitality industry.

Scholarship recipient Jose Suarez

"I want to teach either high school or college students in the future.  I enjoy helping people, and I don't see a point in learning or bettering myself if I'm not going to pass it on," Jose said.    

From his earliest memories, Jose recalls his mother and grandmother teaching him everything they could about cooking. His family would also carry on a tradition of cooking for church and community events, and as Jose got older, he would begin to use the skills he learned from his elders to teach his younger cousins. "When I'm in the kitchen with others I enjoy sharing what I've learned and seeing them grow."  

Jose is in his senior year studying Hospitality Management at Monroe College in Bronx, New York.  Over 2,300 miles away from his family in Arizona, Jose credits the important people in his life for his success and drive to be a successful leader in the restaurant industry.  "Growing up, my family struggled, but we always managed to pull through and in the process my parents pushed me to do my best. My father specifically taught me the importance of my name, and that when I do something, I should be proud to put my name on it."

Heeding his father's advice, Jose put forth his best efforts in his passion for culinary arts starting in high school where he joined the ProStart class at his school as a freshman. In his junior year, Jose and his ProStart team won second place in the management competition at the Arizona Restaurant Association’s ProStart Invitational. By his senior year, his team surpassed their state-level notoriety to become National ProStart Invitational competitors.  

Jose's approach to his education and career is exemplary of a leader and embodies the qualities of Joe Fassler's memory and the impact he's left on the foodservice industry.  

Today, Jose is completing his senior year internship at a restaurant in New York.  Upon graduating, he plans to return home to Arizona and obtain a job in either restaurant or hospitality management.  His advice to fellow students working their way up in the industry, "don't worry how many times you mess up, fail, or you don’t know something – there's always something to learn and more that you can do.  Everyone has to keep working and be the best you can be."

Click here to apply for an NRAEF scholarship. Applications are open through March 15, 2019.

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NRAEF Celebrates National Scholarship Month

November is National Scholarship Month and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is celebrating giving $800K in scholarships in 2018.

Here’s a look at who we were able to award scholarships to this year:

First-generation college students - One quarter of recipients

Self-identified ethnic minority students - Two in five recipients

Women - Over 70% of recipients

Students in 41 U.S. states and territories -  including Puerto Rico, Guam and the Northern Marianas Islands

Students representing 100 colleges and universities - from all across the country

This month we’ll be celebrating the students behind the scholarships - who they are, what they want to do, and what their scholarships have and will help them achieve.

Here are some quotes from our 2018 scholars on what receiving an NRAEF scholarship means to them:

“Receiving a scholarship means that another door has opened for me to succeed and to maximize my potential. I try to take every opportunity that comes my way and this scholarship will get me to where I want to be: working in the culinary industry and learning from experienced chefs.” Bettina Bautista

“Receiving a scholarship would mean a lot to myself and my family. First, it would off set my costs for the future. My goal is to earn several scholarships to cover my Associate's Degree for Culinary Arts. Second, earning the scholarship will be a source of pride. I have worked hard throughout my high school career, with academics and extracurriculars, and being awarded with a scholarship would be an honor.” Saba Mangla

“With this scholarship I would be able to learn about the things I don't know, resolve problems I couldn't figure out by myself and gain the assurance that what I know is the real deal...I know that through higher levels of knowledge I will be able to achieve anything I desire in this industry.” Corey Coleman

“I plan on helping other students in the future; this scholarship would simply allow me to give back quicker and more generously.” Justin Wood

“A scholarship will allow for some relief from a financial challenge that adds nothing but hardship for an education that is very much wanted and needed but appears to be so out of reach. A scholarship would add more purpose to my dream because of those that also believed in and took a chance on me.” Milan Simmons

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2018 NRAEF Summer Institutes

Meet some of the hosts of our 2018 Summer Institutes and learn what each unique location has to offer this year! If you haven’t yet, register here for the 2018 NRAEF Summer Institutes today. 

Brightwater

Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food, a division of NorthWest Arkansas Community College, is located in Bentonville, Arkansas. Brightwater is truly the start of something new - approaching food as art, food as wellness, and food as business to offer an entirely unique methodology to the culinary arts. Brightwater boasts a state-of-the art facility with advanced technology in and out of the classroom. It is home to a sophisticated hydroponic greenhouse, top-notch culinary equipment, and a theater-style demonstration kitchen with live streaming capabilities, just to name a few high-tech features. Brightwater's community has a sense of place, being rooted and contributing to the cultural life of Northwest Arkansas. Brightwater's goal is to develop leaders who combine culinary skills with the ability to recognize and address complex food issues. In addition to baking, beverage, and culinary arts, Brightwater offers exclusive programming focused on culinary nutrition, entrepreneurship, food waste reduction, butchery, and food security-all aimed at creating a better food system.  

The University of South Carolina

The University of South Carolina is the longest running NRAEF host site and will be celebrating its 12th consecutive year of training this summer. Attendees of this summer’s level 3 institute at USC will learn from world-renowned faculty and enjoy a trip to Charleston, SC for a day of education, culture, food and fun!

Madison College

The facility at Madison College is just one year old and culinary guests are calling it the “Disneyland for Culinary!” It has 20 individual cooking stations so you can practice the skills needed in your classroo. It hosted the USA Culinary Olympic Team practice and fundraiser in October 2017 and hosted the ACF Central Region Championships in February 2018. Simply fly into Madison and the hotel will pick you up (no rental car needed!) and the hotel will bring you to school each morning and pick you up at the end of the day. ProStart I has a Farm to Table field trip experience with the Wisconsin Beef Council. ProStart II has Sushi/nigiri and Ramen field trip experience with Shinji Muramoto.

Northern Arizona University

You will love cooking and learning in North Arizona University’s state of the art kitchen and facilities.  Come feel what it’s like to have fun and work at 7000 feet in the largest ponderosa pine forest in the world.  Close to both the Grand Canyon and Sedona, you can explore not only your culinary craft but also the beauty of the west.  They look forward to learning more about you and how they can help you teach the art and science of cooking!

Saint Paul College

Saint Paul College is located on beautiful Cathedral Hill overlooking downtown Saint Paul. Theye are minutes from hundreds of esteemed restaurants and situated very close to public transit. Downtown Minneapolis is only a 10 minute drive from campus and also boasts countless entertainment and dining opportunities. Students enrolled in the course will learn in their new, state of the art kitchen lab with sweeping views of the Saint Paul skyline and the Capital Plaza. Students will learn from a former Wolfgang Puck and Ritz Carlton Los Angeles executive chef, Sara Johannes. Chef Sara was also a competitor on Bravo’s Top Chef season 11. She’s studied cuisine across the globe; most recently identifying international best practices in culinary education in Taipei, Taiwan. For a more comprehensive look at their culinary program and facility, please visit their Facebook page @SPCulinary, or on Instagram @spc_culinary_arts.

Daytona State College

The Daytona State College facility is very new with the latest equipment in the industry. They have added a new Hospitality Beverage Science lab, the only one of its kind in the state of Florida. Tours will include The Daytona International Speedway and a large food supply distributor.  

New England Culinary Institute

A key feature of New England Culinary Institute’s educational model is their location in Vermont, the epicenter of the Farm to Table movement. As co-founders of the Vermont Fresh Network, they have a number of partnerships with local farms and food producers. One such producer is Vermont Creamery, an award winning producer of goats milk and cows milk cheeses. Vermont Creamery will be participating in wine and cheese paring during their Summer Institute as well as a tour of their goat dairy.

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Sarah Partch, from ProStart to Chili’s to Management

To read more about Sarah and her decision to grow in the restaurant industry with a career at #TodaysChilis, click here.

Sarah Partch, a former Michigan ProStart student, is doing big things at her young age and successfully moving on up in the restaurant industry. During high school in 2009, she earned the chance to compete in two ProStart competitions and has been working in the restaurant industry ever since. After high school, Sarah earned her culinary degree and then a bachelor's degree in dietetics.

After being a line cook at Chili's for a little over six years, she decided after college graduation to continue working with the company and move into management. She explains, “I am very passionate about the restaurant industry and I'm looking forward to starting a rewarding career! I love ProStart and I know the program was a huge part in the start of my journey. I even return to my former high school to watch practices, give feedback, and help teams prepare for their competitions.”

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Shannon Ma: From ProStart to marketing to food trucks

ProStart Program: Murray High School in Murray, UT

Graduated: 2009

The ProStart Program expanded my interest in the culinary industry and propelled me into opportunities I never would have imagined. I never thought I would work for a food truck company in my life and I never thought I would be running a restaurant either. Nonetheless, It's been such a fun and exciting journey. Here is a little sneak peek at my adventure book:

I started working for Cupbop - Korean BBQ in a Cup - as a part time crew member while still working my marketing office job, which I realized wasn't right for me. My ProStart roots from high school kept popping up in my mind from time to time and I couldn't work another day at the office without knowing what it would be like to work in the restaurant industry. My curiosity lead me to following the Cupbop food truck scene and I saw that they were hiring. I knew immediately that I wanted to apply.

At Cupbop I have been able to participate in managing and driving the ACTUAL food truck. Wow! What an incredible experience to be able to serve food in a small, mobile kitchen. One year later of learning the food truck ways and doing special events along the way, I was given the opportunity to manage a brick and mortar location for Cupbop. 

It's been a long journey and the pages for my adventure book continue to be written. Who knows what will happen next week, next month or next year. Nonetheless, I'm going to embrace it with an open mind and an empty stomach!

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Robert E. Rich Scholarship Winner: Olivia Meadows

Meet Olivia, one of the four recipients of the 2015 Robert E. Rich Academic Scholarship.

Cornell University, Class of 2017

Major:  Hotel Administration

Area of Specialty: Entrepreneurship and Food and Beverage Management

Extracurricular Activities: Volunteer for Meals on Wheels, Hotel Ezra Cornell, Greek life, cooking, trying out new restaurants, and exploring new cities.

Career Plans: Owning and operating my own fine dining restaurant.  

My inspiration to enter the restaurant/hospitality industry: My passion for food and cooking.

What I hope to gain from my post-secondary education: A strong business background geared toward the restaurant industry.

The person who has had the most profound impact on my vision of the future: Chef Christopher Kostow, due to his talent and leadership style.

Favorite dish to eat: Pasta

Favorite recipe to cook/bake: Bucatini Cacio e Pepe