It was a chilly morning in June when I arrived at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst for the annual Tastes of the World Chef Culinary Conference. Inside Berkshire Grill, a seven-month-old renovated marketplace-style dining facility, conference participants were working alongside toque-wearing chef-instructors from Johnson & Wales University at food-themed concept stations. Each group was preparing 13 dishes that the chef-instructors would later critique in front of all the participants in preparation for the conference’s final event, an American Culinary Federation competition. The dishes also were displayed in quantity and served during lunch in the servery.
At the far side of the servery, Ken Toong, director of dining and retail services at UMass-Amherst and the nonprofit conference’s founder, waved as he walked briskly toward me to offer a warm welcome. He could see that I was impressed with the number of participants and the new theater in which they were practicing their culinary skills.
“When we started 12 years ago, 22 chefs, cooks and other professionals interested in culinary arts attended,” he said. “This year, we have 175 participants. Berkshire Grill was designed to showcase chefs’ work, so it’s an ideal venue for the conference.”
Earlier in the week, participants worked in small groups with guest celebrity chefs and heard presentations on a variety of topics related to this year’s conference theme, “Healthy Food and Flavor.”
Toong speaks about the conference like a proud father. He started the conference because he was convinced that chefs and other staff members needed an opportunity to work with professionals outside of their institutions to improve their skills in order to better serve their customers. Despite naysayers who said there were already enough conferences and chefs’ competitions, Toong persevered. His vision proved to be prescient. Never before have chefs’ talents been in such great demand in on-site operations.
As a result, never before have on-site chefs felt a greater need to stay current on trends and at least one step ahead of customers who want the “best” of whatever chefs can prepare, whether it be an authentic osso buco or the juiciest hamburger in town. In order for chefs to keep raising the bar to meet their customers’ increasingly sophisticated tastes, they must have opportunities to learn and test their mettle. Yet taking advantage of these opportunities will require ongoing and serious commitments from chefs and aspiring chefs, as well as from their employers.
“I’m taking the time to be at this conference because I need to get out and see what my colleagues are doing and the environments they’re working in,” said conference attendee Marc Foley, executive chef for Bon Appetit, the foodservice management contractor for Washington University in St. Louis. He said he is not only concerned about his own career progression, but is also very concerned with succession planning. He said the only way to attract the next generation of chefs into on-site foodservice would be to keep raising the bar of excellence.
To the credit of on-site foodservice, other events in addition to the Chef Culinary Conference also support on-site chefs’ efforts to become more involved in their profession. For example, culinary competitions are sponsored by the National Association of College and University Foodservices, or NACUFS, and the Society for Healthcare Foodservice Management, or HFM. Many foodservice departments, such as those at Princeton, Cornell and Harvard universities, bring visiting chefs into their kitchens to work with staff to create memorable dining experiences.
Though making such a commitment requires a dedication on the part of both chefs and their employers of valuable time and tight resources, on-site foodservice could not be in a more enviable position. There was a time when nearly anything chefs brought to on-site foodservice was far superior to what currently existed. They raised the standards of excellence, which raised their customers’ expectations. Customers also became more interested in food as they watched television shows featuring celebrity chefs, food preparation and the good, bad and ugly details of life in a restaurant. In response, foodservices had to become even more creative.
In what seems like the blink of an eye, on-site chefs were not only expected to be masters of taste, presentation and entertainment, but also leaders in carrying out moral imperatives to produce food that is healthful, nutritious, authentic and, now, ecofriendly. Influencing millions of customers’ perceptions about food and dining is an enormous responsibility, yet such efforts offer unprecedented potential to help customers improve their quality of life. What a powerful possibility—one that is well worth chefs’ and employers’ investment.
