Main Dish Magazine - Student Edition - Summer 2014 final

WANT MORE?YEARBOOKComing Soon

Class of 2015 and beyond... Be a part of your class.

Be a part of your history.

be a part of your Yearbook.

The Yearbook Club and Committee will be forming in the Fall of 2014.

What to look forward to...

Chef & Student RecipesClass Pictures

“Best Of ” Your Year Design & Artwork

PhotographyStudent Stories

and much much more...Be a part of it and YOU can make the

yearbook come to life!

Please see Mrs. Snisarenko for more information on how you can get involved.

Committee Chair: James Carbone

A Note From

PRESIDENT LIBERATOSCIOLI The art of being a brand has never been more im-

portant for students and graduates. In this day and age it’s not just entrepreneurs and large companies who are concerned about creating (and protecting) a brand – today, anyone with an idea, proper train-ing and drive can become a brand. So, what is a brand? Many of you will learn about the Principles of Marketing while earning your degree, but, how much will you know about branding?

According to Tronvig Group, a marketing firm in New York, “Branding is not push, but pull. Brand-ing is the expression of the essential truth or value of an organization, product, or service. A brand will help encourage someone to buy a product… it says ‘This is what I am. This why I exist. If you agree, if

you like me, you can buy me, support me, and recommend me to your friends.’”1

So, will you be a successful brand? For many of you, the question is difficult to answer. Being a brand is something that takes full dedication. It requires you to know exactly who you are, what you are passionate about and being able to convey your love and enthusiasm to your customers in such a way, that ultimately they believe you…and buy into your brand of course!

For this issue of the Main Dish Magazine, we spoke with Chef Brian Duffy, an accomplished TV personality, Chef, consultant, visionary and branding guru. Like Chef Duffy, each one of you has the ability to brand yourself and become a recognized name in your chosen field. With the power of social media, the internet, the exploding food and hospitality culture here in Phil-adelphia, and the ease of access to a worldwide audience, you too can inspire people to support YOU and recommend YOU to their friends.

Marketing and branding are essential to your overall success. Creating a brand, protecting it and sticking with your vision are vital if you dream big for any profession you choose. We hope that you enjoy the interview with Chef Brian Duffy, as well as the number of alumni we spoke to for this issue, for their advice, their journey and their guidance on how all of you can benefit in your career path.

I personally wish you a bright and successful voyage into both creating a brand for your product (and remember a “product” is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a need or a want!) as well as protecting and growing the brand that you have. And remember, our doors are always open for you to stop by and chat with any of our faculty or staff regarding your visions.

We are always here to help!

Issue04 THE FLYING DEUTSCHMAN Alum Spotlight On A Food Truck Venture 06 ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT Josh Winokur, CJC FPM One of two youngest recipients of the ACF National Presidential Medallion

STUDENT COMPETITIONS 08 NO GUTS, NO GLORY. More than 10 students compete and win medals at the ACF Competition

11 CHOPPED COMPETITION 2014 The Restaurant School at Walnut HIll College hosts a battle royale right here in our kitchens.

12 THE ART OF BEING A BRAND Lessons learned from Alum and celebrated Chef Brian Duffy

14 STUDENT ACTIVITY REVIEW Photos From Past Events & Activities

15 HOTEL MANAGEMENT Tips and Tricks from Ms. Akita Brooks, M.S.

16 HELLO SUMMER! Spring and Summer Events, Ideas & Fun! A look at festivals, events and concerts around the Philadelphia area.

18 FOOD SCIENCE: FEAST ON THIS What would our world be like without science?

WRITERS

DANNY ADDICE Culinary Arts

JENNIFER BORTZRestaurant Management

TYLER GLOVERCulinary Arts

TAJ GRANTCulinary Arts

DANIEL GREGGCulinary Arts

CONTRIBUTORS

CHIEF EDITOR & PUBLISHER VALERY SNISARENKO Director of Marketing EDITOR & STAFF WRITER AKITA BROOKS Hospitality Instructor

PHOTOGRAPHY RALPH ROFOLS VALERY SNISARENKO

To Submit A News Story:Contact [email protected]

CAITLIN HARGRAVESCulinary Arts

CAROLINE HATHAWAYCulinary Arts

HEATHER LAYMANRestaurant Management

STEVEN SIENKEWICZRestaurant Management

CHEF MARIE STECHERPastry Arts Instructor

Danny Liberatoscioli

YEARBOOKComing Soon

Cover Photo Credit Paula C. Eytcheson1 http://www.tronviggroup.com/the-difference-between-marketing-and-branding/

A Note From

ALUMNI

The Flying DeutschmanBy: Caitlin HargravesPhotography by: Ralph Rofols

Sail ho! There is a ship unlike any other docking in the Phila-delphia area. Proudly waving the American and the German flags, this unique food service vehicle should surely be on your radar.With an interior of nearly 200 square feet, this beauty finally made its way to shore in March.

If you enjoy authentic German food then you have truly hit the motherload. The extensive menu offers up German classics: schnitzels, assorted wursts, kraut salad, and various other dishes. As I eagerly approached The Flying Deutschman for the first time, the aroma coming from the kitchen left me in a daze. It became clear that I would not be satisfied unless I could consume as many of the menu items as humanly possible.

By recommendation, I first ordered the currywurst and kraut salad; both did not disappoint. The wurst, imported from Wisconsin, exploded with flavor and was incredibly juicy on it’s own but when smothered with the house-made curry sauce it skyrocketed to a whole new level of deliciousness.Soaked in the chef ’s specialty brine, the kraut salad followed suit with another burst of flavor. Afterward I downed a classic German Bratwurst with mustard. Yes, another wurst, you will understand the second once you have your first! Then came the jaeger schnitzel; boy did they break out the cannons for this one! The pork tenderloin was fried to perfection and married beautifully with the rich, creamy mushroom sauce. I can’t even fathom a way to accurately explain how much I enjoyed that dish.What I can say is that it was by far the best schnitzel I have ever had the pleasure of eating. Lastly I grabbed a cup of Hungarian Goulash which was being featured as the soup special and just so happens is one of my favorites from childhood. The broth was as aromatic as it was tasty. After finishing, I found myself with a full tummy and an empty cup wishing I could have yet another helping.Growing up with German in my blood, my expectations were very high and Stirling’s food, as well as his down-to-earth personality, did not fail to exceed them.

This venture is quite a change in pace for the captain of the ship, Stirling Sowerby. The man behind the wheel packs as much punch as the dishes he’s putting out. Back in Germany, Sowerby’s endeavors included owning a bar, a pennylane, and even a pizzeria. Through these experiences, Stirling learned a very important

lesson about the business, “You must listen to those around you,” Stirling shared, “even if sometimes what they say is wrong, a lot of times they will be right.” Needless to say he was ahead of the game. Upon arriving in America 18 years ago, he enrolled in the Culinary Arts program at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. Although many years have come and gone since then, Sowerby still holds fond memories of his days in Chef Everrett’s class.

After completing the program, Sowerby went on to work at the Dilworthtown Inn in West Chester, Pennsylvania where he stayed for many years and later received a Bachelor of Science in hospitality from Widener University. After adding all of these accomplishments to his belt, it was time for a change. As it came time for Sowerby to make his next step, it was clear that he must make one that would be best for not only himself, but for his family as well.

When tossing around ideas, his sister-in-law said, “You could be the flying deutschman!” Sowerby said that the image of a real-life pirate ship immediately popped into his head. Ten months ago, that idea sprouted into reality. Sowerby successfully created a one of a kind restaurant on wheels. Unlike many food trucks, The Flying Deutschman is dishing out full-fledged meals without sacrificing quality. “If we want to do chateaubriand with hollandaise and haricot verts, we can do that. We can even cater large dinner parties with glassware and

china,” Sowerby explained.

With his many years of experience, Chef Sowerby is undoubtedly changing the food truck world as we know it. He claims the biggest difference from working in a traditional kitchen is the amount of space. “Everything must be tied down and very organized” Sowerby adds. Needless to say he is running a tight ship. Currently you can find him in the Navy Yard on Tuesdays, Love Park, and our very own Clark Park in University City on Saturdays and Sundays. Keep your eye out for a day The Flying Deutschman sails your way!

SPOTLIGHT

Where to find: The Flying Deutschman Food Truck

Clark ParkNavy Yard

Special Event LocationsCheck out the Facebook page for

updates on locations!

www.FlyingDeutschman.com

Facebook:www.facebook.com/flyingdeutschman

Please check Facebook For Schedule.

Sowerby, an Alum of The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College has hired several current student from the College, namely, Bridgit Kessler (above).

SUMMER 2014 5

RESTAURANT

All Photos courtesy of Michael Kocher Photography

Passion Leads To drive“I have a quote at the bottom of my email signature that says ‘Passion Leads To Drive’ - that is my mot-to in work and life,” says Josh Wi-nokur. Winokur has just achieved what some Chef ’s would call an Award of a Lifetime; the ACF National Presidential Medallion.

With a confident and determined look on his face, minutes before this months’ American Culinary Federation (ACF) meeting, being held at the International Bistro at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, alum Josh Winokur sits down to tell me about his recent accomplishment in the world of culinary excellence.

Josh Winokur has recently be-come one of the two youngest chefs to ever receive the ACF National Presidential Medallion. “There are some chefs who have been in the industry for 50 years and do not have this honor,” he says with an air of confidence and genuine pride. Bravo Chef. The National Award was giv-en out at the President’s Ball on March 10, 2014 at the White Manor Country Club in front of National, Philadelphia, and South Jersey Chapters of the American Culinary Federation (ACF). The Presidential Medal-lion is given out annually to a cer-tified and active member of the ACF who epitomizes the utmost professionalism and dedication to the culinary arts profession.

Winokur knows this is more than just an honor; this is now a chal-lenge and a commitment to his future. He knows that to exhibit pride, respect, and appreciation for this award, Winokur must ex-emplify the medal in all its glory for a lifetime.

Winokur is young; at 22 years of age, he has just graduated (2013) with a Bachelor of Science de-gree in Culinary Arts from The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. But, don’t let his age fool you; his demeanor and professionalism reflect a much more sophisticated and mature Chef who has been a member of the ACF since the ripe age of 16 - a time when most teenagers are worried about everything but their future profession.

Josh doesn’t credit fate or luck in his success - he shares with us his wisdom and strategy for getting to where he is today.

The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), a professional, organization for chefs and cooks, was founded in 1929 in New York City by three chefs’ organizations: the Société Culinaire Philanthropique, the Vatel Club and the Chefs de Cuisine Association of America. Since our inception, little has changed in our principal goals. We are an organization based on promoting the professional image of American chefs worldwide through education of culinarians at all levels. (from www.acfchefs.org)

6 www.walnuthillcollege.edu

The National President of the ACF, Thomas J. Mac-rina, CEC, CCA, HGT, AAC has watched Josh Wi-nokur grow up both as a member within the ACF as well as an active member within the culinary com-munity. Enough so, that along with the awards com-mittee, he selected Winokur as the recipient of the coveted ACF National Presidential Medallion.

Post award, Winokur enjoys recognition from other chefs, including Master Chefs, who he may see at re-gional, national or local chapter meetings. They now congratulate him on the award, show respect, and more importantly know his name.

Currently, Josh Winokur works as a Rounds Chef at the Foulkeways at Gwynedd, a 500+ senior living community where he has enjoyed working for over 7 months. Josh says that he prefers working in the corporate world because it provides him with a much more stable schedule and the benefits of having a “normal” lifestyle.

As a current or prospective student, you may be won-dering how Josh Winokur has been able to achieve so much during his school years and post graduation. “I have a quote at the bottom of my email signature that says ‘Passion Leads To Drive’ - that is my mot-to in work and life,” says Josh. “When getting into the industry everyone says you need to have passion, well, if you have the passion then the drive (the want) to continue will come along...because the greater your passion, the greater your drive to succeed.”

Josh’s approach to success is rather methodical and strategic. He explains to us that there are certain steps that he has taken before and during college that have allowed him to receive accolades from the industry and his fellow chefs. Here, he shares some of the fundamental guidelines that have helped him and continue to aid in the pursuit of his goal.

PUT SCHOOL FIRSTPlease emphasize that, please! I know there are people who are working insane hours and are full-time students. Just put school first. Employers may not look at your GPA when you graduate, but they will look to see that you completed school. College is where you learn your fundamentals. People don’t want to know if you can sous-vide a chicken breast or put together a cold food platter; they look for your

knife skills. They look to see if you can sear a piece of meat or sear a scallop perfectly. Put that molecular gastronomy aside, they don’t care about all of that. Employers just care about your fundamentals.

If you put your job ahead of school, you will always learn the shortcuts and not the correct technique or basic skills. When I am looking to hire someone, I look to see if they have their basic skills perfected. In a restaurant setting, they won’t have the time to teach you the basics: how to hold a knife or what knife goes with what job, how to sharpen your knife or even how to keep your things organized. These things are all basics. When you go for a job, just know that they will test you on your basic skills.

GET OUT INTO THE COMMUNITYGet out into the community. Get your name out. Get into the ACF. Participate anywhere you can to get your name out - do it and help out - volunteer programs, networking events, community service, etc. People in the culinary world see my face, they see me compete; the more they see you, the more recog-nition you are going to get. You just have to show up. The ACF encourages its members to network with other great chefs through programming and events.

Also, stay connected through social me-dia and especially LinkedIn. I use these forms of media to stay in touch with people in my community, keep on top of trends, and follow companies that I re-spect, like Sodexo, Compass, US Foods, etc. I’ve connected with chefs on Linke-dIn that I didn’t even know and now they know me possibly from my medal or my work, but the point is that we are now “linked.” The chef world is a small world and you need to connect.

FIND YOURSELF & BRAND YOURSELFSince hashtags are a big deal now in the world of social media, I came up with my own hashtag; #ChefImage. Every chef has their “image” whether you are a back of the house chef, a corporate chef, a pastry chef, you have tattoos or you wear a clean, pressed chef jacket. I read an article that said that chef images are

changing; they are not the pressed white jackets, with creases so fine that you can brunoise a carrot. Now, they wear bandanas, jeans, t-shirt and kitchen clogs - that is the image now. My image is still a clean, white, pressed jacket, black pants; I am traditional. I have every tool laid out in front of me and my mise en place is perfect, that’s my image. I spent my time in college finding out who I am and where I want to be. I worked in restaurants, country clubs, bars, fine dining, and then I jumped into corporate where I don’t work later than 7:30 at night. I have many hol-idays and weekends off and that’s what I like. So, its all about finding who you are and branding it.

BE A SPONGEPut all of the skills that you use in culinary school to use and never stay in any place for too long. Get a year or so under your belt until you can’t learn much more, or until you’re not being challenged. Drop it and move on. That was one of the best pieces of ad-vice a chef has ever given me. Be like a sponge; soak up all you can and move on. Try new things as much as possible until you find you. Find a job that match-es what you want and learn as much as possible.

Also, use your connections and social media to stay up to date on what others are doing. For example, Ross Scofield (alum of TRSatWHC and owner of The Farmacy), posted a picture of a plate he did at “The Farm” and I got inspired. It got my creative juices flowing. Don’t ever stop learning! Don’t think that just because you are out of school that you are done learning. Always stay on top of trends in the industry and become a part of organizations and associations.

Winokur is not your ordinary young chef; at his young age, he has already accomplished what some veteran chefs can only dream of and he is still hungry for more. He is on a mission.

ALUMNI

josh winokur, CJC, FPMa young alum chef is recognized by the american culinary fedaration (ACF)

By: Valery Snisarenko

SUMMER 2014 7

“ Keep pushing, don’t give up as hard as it is and follow your dream. Follow it. Have a goal because that will get you further. “

It’s an award of a lifetime. Once others [in the culinary community] see that you have the medal, it says something. “ “

ACF

On a busy night, stepping foot into a profes-sional kitchen may send someone spiraling into an epic universe all its own. It’s like a theater production; everyone’s actions flow into a larger picture causing onlookers to stare in awe. When something does happen to fall out of place, it is quickly corrected and everyone moves right along. And as you may have heard, not all as-pects of working the frenzied line are glamor-ous - urgency takes precedent over all else.

Things will inevitably be dropped or burned and choice words will be tossed around. There most cer-tainly is heat; and it only source isn’t the cooking elements. Through all of the hustle and bustle, one thing is sure to remain static: the ever-present hu-man nature of survival of the fittest. After all, we live in a dog-eat-dog society and in the underbelly of the culinary world, chefs are often insatiable.

Thus, the natural desire to compete lies within the soul of nearly every professional; especially the Chef. With a seemingly never-ending list of adversaries, words of reassurance never hurt the ego or your re-sume. Chefs must skillfully build up their network with fellow culinarians who have the same mind-set and quality standards in order to set themselves above the rest.

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) was founded in 1929 to make it possible for chefs across America to make these vital connections. To this day, the organization remains number one among profes-sional chefs’ organizations in North America with a whopping 20, 000 members and counting2. Being in close company with some of the most elite chefs in the country is only one perk of the ACF; in an effort to ensure that members’ knives aren’t the only things sharp in the kitchen, regular competitions are held for various skill levels.

By competing, novice students and experienced chefs alike have a chance to receive critique from the

crème de la crème of the culinary world. Upon sign-ing up, competitors must chose from a small list of recipes, which they must expertly execute on game day. Since there are only 10 minutes to set up, 1 hour to cook, 10 minutes to plate, and 10 minutes to clean, it is vital to have a plan of action set in place long be-fore they step foot on to the competition floor.

“Practice is very important! You can easily make adjustments in the kitchen, but not in competition” says Chef Christopher Ferretti, a Chef Instructor at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. Some competitors realized this a bit too late at the recent competition sponsored by The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College.

On the sunny morning of May 17, 2014, Allison Mansion was full of eager, uniformed men and women, armed, and ready for action. There was an eerie silence cast over each kitchen as the competi-tors “mise’d” their ingredients and began to enter the zone; this was indeed the calm before the storm.

Blades were sharpened. Recipes were double and

triple checked. The clock was on.

All that was left to do was sit in anticipation… and avoid the girl who was interviewing them for the Main Dish magazine. Of course, once the agonizing hour and a half was over, the mood shifted entirely. Some of our very own students who were competing for the first time could finally breathe a sigh of relief. No matter what the results would be, medal or no medal, they had done it. “Competing equals success; no matter what the results on paper may show” says Chef Timothy McLean, the organizer of today’s ACF Competition. When opening yourself to the cri-tique of gold medal winners, you are sure to grow in knowledge time and time again.

Nick Raggio, a first term sophomore in the Culinary Arts program, competed in the culinary division with his “Rabbit Fricassee.” He chose to challenge himself by working with a game protein that was

Eleven students and one Chef Instructor from Walnut Hill College compete in the annual ACF Spring Food Competition... and win big!

The 2014 ACF Competition The American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF), a professional, organization for chefs and cooks, was founded in 1929 in New York City by three chefs’ orga-nizations: the Société Culinaire Philan-thropique, the Vatel Club and the Chefs de Cuisine Association of America. Since our inception, little has changed in our prin-cipal goals. We are an organization based on promoting the professional image of American chefs worldwide through edu-cation of culinarians at all levels.

In 1976, ACF forever changed the culi-nary industry by elevating the position of the executive chef from service status to the professional category in the U.S. De-partment of Labor’s Dictionary of Official Titles. Since this change, the culinary in-dustry and our organization have grown tremendously. Today, ACF is the largest professional chefs organization in North America. We are made up of more than 20,000 members who belong to more than 200 chapters in four regions across the United States1.


No Guts, No Glory.

Story By: Caitlin HargravesPhotography: Ralph Rafols Cover Photo: http://www.acfchefsdecuisinestlouis.org/

Competitors & Medals

Chef Ferretti | Bronze Medal | DiplomaBrianna Pellegrino | Bronze MedalGiovanni Pirraglia | DiplomaOlivia Moretti | Bronze MedalMalika Sharpe | Bronze MedalNick Raggio | Bronze MedalDave Anthony | DiplomaCamari Mick | Silver MedalAdam Sosnowik | Bronze MedalSeamus Nealon | DiplomaAlexis Tellez | Bronze MedalLauren Dattlo | Bronze MedalBridget Keesler | Silver Medal

COMPETITIONunfamiliar to him. “The cook times came naturally but keeping everything timed right for the plating window and staying organized remained a constant struggle throughout the competition”, stated Raggio. After playing around with just about every aspect of the dish during his practices, the end result looked spectacular. Although tasting was left for the ACF judges, Raggio’s plating alone stimulated onlooker’s taste buds.

A lot of sleep was lost and hours upon hours were dedicated to training alongside Chef McLean, but Nick could honestly say that it was all worth it. When asked what aspect of the competition he valued most Raggio added, “Anytime you can get input from chefs you aren’t familiar with on a daily basis, it helps you excel because they notice things that you might not get criticized for by others [with whom] you work on a regular basis.” A humble man, Raggio came into the competition expecting to leave with a certificate of participation and a list of things to improve on, but left with a bronze medal and a smile from ear to ear instead.

Malika Sharpe, also a first term sophomore studying Culinary Arts, competed in the “Rabbit Fricassee” culinary division as well. Sharpe admitted that she was beyond nervous to compete for her first time. “It was very nerve-racking”, Sharpe explained, “If I could go back I would have chosen a protein that I am more familiar with, such as fish.” Although she does not plan on competing again in the future, Malika was happy that she went for it and proved to herself that she really does belong in this field. “If you don’t have confidence, it’s a good test for your-self ”, said Sharpe. With a bronze medal to show for her performance, Malika surely left brimming with self-assurance.

“Through this experience I learned how to roll out gum paste to incredibly thin levels and make beau-tiful flowers out of it”, shared Bridget Kessler, a first term sophomore in the Pastry Arts program. Kessler wowed the judges with an intricately decorated four-tear wedding cake. Between school and working full-time, Kessler was left with only a few short days to decorate the cake for the competition. Thanks to the wonderful humidity in the kitchen, the time crunch was only met by an even bigger challenge. Ah, the wonderful late spring air! What every pastry chef LOVES to experience when working with fondant and detailing. But, despite the muggy air, Kessler was

able to overcome the obstacles and received a silver medal for her exemplary work.

Dave Anthony, a first term sophomore studying Pastry Arts, received a bronze medal in the plated dessert category. Anthony admittedly underestimat-ed the competition and did not imagine the level of stress that would come with competing. “My advice to students looking to compete would be to just do your best and have fun. Always push the boundaries instead of playing it safe” suggested Anthony.

It is indeed important to come into such an event with a positive attitude, and all of our fellow students who competed definitely did so. “I am very excited to see so many students from the school compete, it’s fun and the school sponsors it so there is really noth-ing to lose!” admitted Chef Ferretti excitedly.

As a matter of fact, all of the Chef Instructors at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College are dedi-cated to helping their students advance in the Culi-nary and Pastry Arts fields. Chef McLean dedicates his time to helping students train and organize the competition months prior to the event. “You have to learn how to keep learning. Even as an organiz-er I learn things through competitions that help me to become a better instructor,” McLean explained. “Students are challenged to work in a project driven environment outside of the classroom.”

In order to stay on top in the industry, one must constantly strive to learn more. As the number of culinary students graduating increases each year, it is vital to distinguish yourself and show an employer how dedicated you truly are. The American Culinary Federation not only sets you apart from the compe-tition on paper, but also through the lasting relation-ships made with professionals at chapter meetings and other events. Get your edge on the competition, learn, and prosper. Join the leading organization of culinary professionals; band in the effort to contin-ue to mold the food service industry. Learn more at www.acfchefs.org

SUMMER 2014 9

“You have to learn how to keep on

learing...”- Chef Tim McLean

1-2 http://www.acfchefs.org/ACF/About/ACF/About/

Nick Raggio, Culinary Arts

Bridget Kessler, Pastry Arts

Malika SharpeCulinary Arts


STUDENT TRIPS From France to Floridaand the Bahamas

a student travel log

On the road from Dijon to Auxerre, in the French country-side, before the sun has had a chance to shine its rays, magical hills are beginning to see signs of pristine snowflakes cover their fertile ground.

As a group of forty-three drive down the deserted road, trying not to make a sound, I can hear the music of French angels in the background. Louis, the bus driver (although, magician would be more fitting), has turned on one of his “surprise” songs for us to FEEL the place that we are seeing.

In this moment…life is remark-able. In this moment, the world stands still and we, a gathering of forty-three curious culinary minds, are the only ones who exist - in this space and at this time.

In the corner of my mind, I can see Chef Esther smiling at the large window beside her to the hills that she has seen for over 27 years. She still smiles because there is nothing else to say. And her smile illumi-nates the reason we are all here. We are artists. We appreciate the beauty in the world around us and we can feel it. This is the place to feel it. This is France.

A Diary From France

- A Traveler

I really can’t believe that I had to wait almost 18 months for this trip. It seems like everything makes sense now! From being able to step “behind-the-scenes” in Walt Disney World, to touring and dining at a 5-diamond restaurant, visiting a golf resort, to peering through a galley tour on a cruise ship...my eyes are finally open to all the career options that await me. My finest moment is when one of our hosts explained his career path. Being a maître’ +d of a world-class restaurant, it was impressive to learn his management style. I KNOW I can do this!

A Diary From Paradise

- A Traveler

All Photography By: Brian Salley, Brittney Anderson-Wenger, Valery Snisarenko

The intensity. The passion. The uknown. That clock. Palms sweating. Butterflies in your stomach. A knot in your throat. Yep, you are ready for competition.

Undoubtedly, there’s a reason that the Food Net-work “Chopped” show, and even the show’s judges, have become household names in the past twenty seasons; the reason is that competition is addictive. Food Network has figured out the perfect formula for great television - reality tv with the intensity of competition and delcious food...what else can you ask for?

Naturally, culinary and pastry students are a com-petitive bunch. They yearn for that look; that satis-fying smile from a person who has just tasted their food and enoyed it. But, more importantly, they thrive off being better than their competition. Chefs of all backgrounds and specialities all want to be the best. This is fact. This is why they work on their techniques every single day of their career, why they work crazy hours and why they dream about food. And, of course, they all know that famous motto: “you are only as good as your last dish.”

So, with all of that in mind, Chef Delcamp, Vice President of The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College, put together a TRSatWHC version of the famous competition show and asked our students to sign-up... and sign-up they did.

This year, fourteen competitors in total signed up to

partake in the “Chopped Competition.” They spent over four hours in the kitchens, over the course of 4 weeks, working on a meal that wouldn’t get them on Television, or win them $10,000 or even get them published in a local newspapar...they did it all for the love of their craft.

The rules of the competition were simple: 4 weeks, 2 students to a team, 2 rounds per session plus a third round for pastry in the final week, for a total of 9 elimination sessions, 4 mystery box ingredients and 4 plating’s per round under the ticking clock. The students had to come up with dishes that would im-press on factors such as creativity, taste, product uti-lization, culinary skills, and of course presentation. Similarly, Chef Delcamp didn’t take it easy on the students with respect to the ingredients, offering up delicacies like frog legs, chicken livers, pork hocks, pearl onions, raisins, cooked corned beef, and more.

Additionally, this year, Chef Delcamp spiced up the competition by bringing in Chef judges from out-side of our College, including Chef Olivier Desaint-martin, past winner of the Food Network Chopped show and Owner of Caribou Cafe in Philadelphia, PA, Chef Isaac Frerichs, Senior Chef at the Camp-bell’s Culinary & Baking Institute and Chef Christi-na Pirello, celebrated author and TV host of Chris-tina Cooks. These Chefs were also joined by our rock-star chefs and staff, including, Chef Thomas Tirendi, Chef Marie Stecher, Chef Richard Pepino, Chef Greg Slonaker, Chef Nick Dandelias, Peg-gy Liberatoscioli, Valery Snisarenko, Robin Todd, Dean Boccia and Dean Morrow. Being one of the

judges (in the chicken liver round), I can attest from first hand experience, that these students took this compeittion as seriously as if they were competitng for the $10 grand! They came ready for battle.

The battle lasted 4 weeks, but as in all competitions, there can only be one winner (or winning team in this case). The winners, after a grueling ninth elim-inaton round, from appetizers to entree to dessert, were Martin Fay and Michael Matarese - both of whom started at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College in the Fall of 2013.

The 2014 Chopped Competition was one for the record books, both with the largest number of com-petitors as well as the youngest winners. We can’t wait for next year’s event!

This year’s “Chopped Competition” drew a large showing of seasoned students and eager freshmen who definitely made their mark on the competition!

SUMMER 2014 11


CHOPPED

List Of All Competitors

Winners: Martin Fay & Michael Matarese

1st Place Runners Up:Madison Butt & Dan Dougherty

LIST OF COMPETITORS

Madison ButtDan DoughertyMartin Fay Daniel GuzmanJohn KentLaith KhalilHeather Layman

Matthew LenrowMichael MatereseJohn OhAlyssa RossDerrick SantiagoJoseph SeltzAndre Summerville

CHEF DUFFYWorst Job? I’ve had bad jobs, but I have learned from them. I take them all as experiences that got me to where I am today. Best Job? The job I have right now. I get to deal with dif-ferent people on a daily basis. I get to create food all over the world. I get to touch food everywhere. Favorite city to chow down other than Philly?Gotta be New York, Chicago or L.A. Favorite restaurant in Philly? Definitely Zahav. I think Michael Solomonov is a genius. The food that he pre-pares is exciting, it’s fresh, it’s cool, innovative and cre-ative. He incorporates history in all of his dishes, so it’s not just him cooking it, it’s him putting his whole body into it. It’s his soul and that is good food. Favorite restaurants nationwide? Meat & Potatoes in Pittsburgh and Waterloo and City in L.A. Favorite cooking shows to watch?I like Dines, Drive-Ins and Dives. Guy Fieri is a riot! He is a genius; he directs, produces, executes, he shows up and he’s on fire. Favorite chef on TV? Eric RipertFavorite thing to cook? Peasant FoodFavorite ingredient? Smoked Salt How do you feel about the cheesesteak? It’s a blast be-cause Philly has so many personalities and ideas of what it is, but around the country it’s an absolute disgrace. Favorite place for cheesesteak? Tony Luke’s and Mama’s Cheesesteaks.



Can you recall your experience at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College? I was very fond of my time at the school [The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College]. I use it on a daily basis, no matter what. Like today, I just got done with costing out a recipe. I use what I learned every single day, no matter what it is. This is so unheard of for most people who go to school. Not just for Culinary Arts, but for anything. Whether it’s costing out a recipe or putting flavors together, whatever it is, I learned all of that. So, it’s cool for me. I remember I was young; about 20 years old and I wasn’t 100% sure of what I wanted to do yet. I remember thinking that it was a good opportunity. Our graduating class had 24 people when I started. The school was smaller then, we had photocopied and stapled pages as text books!

Where you a good student? Funny story…I almost didn’t graduate! I was a good culinary student; I just wasn’t a great student. I used to get kicked out of class because I used to ask a lot of questions. For one final project, all of us were confused, and I stood up (it was Chef Gary Trevisani teaching) and I said “look, we are all very confused, we don’t understand what it is you need from us.” And he said “get out of my class; I am done with you.” So, I was always the guy asking the questions. But, I also finished my apprenticeship (internship) early because I was finished with class-es before anyone else. I did my apprenticeship at the Four Seasons as well as a place called “San Marco” on City Line Avenue. I had double the hours that any-one else had. Everyone wanted to start a softball team

while I

was in school, and I said “go ahead.” While you guys are at practice, I’m going to be working and learning. I was very aggressive.

I have read that your culinary inspirations were your parents; can you tell me about them? Yeah, they are amazing. They were not in the food industry. My fa-ther was an educator and my mother was a nurse. My father worked during the day and my mother worked at night. So, my mother made great lunches and my father made amazing dinners. They are both amazing cooks because they were always very exper-imental. They had no fear of anything – always doing cool s***! My father would bring home live eels and octopus. I learned how to clean a crab by watching my father. I learned a lot from my parents and now, I have turned the tables when we do dinners; I am trying to improvise and tell them how to do it best. What made you decide to go to culinary school? I used to cook for friends, girlfriends and dates. So, the passion wasn’t so much about the food at that point as it was about the instant gratification. You know, when you make a meal for someone, it’s auto-matic. I didn’t think about going to culinary school until I was about 19 years old. I was working in a restaurant when I was younger and I would look at the guys in the kitchen and just think “those guys are just having so much fun.” This small tiny little restau-rant and there were just two guys in the kitchen, but they always just had so much fun back there. One day, my buddy Jeff, told me that I should go to culi-nary school because I was so good at it. I didn’t think

it was for me at the time; but, I decided to give it a chance. Karl Becker was my Admissions Rep (he’s a great guy!). I remember being so happy because it was cool, it wasn’t vague and it wasn’t boring. I was happy because it was so directed and I enjoyed that.

When you graduated college, did you have a plan or an idea about where you wanted to go in your career?No, not at all! I was working two jobs for free and going to school full time. I would work from 7 am – 3 pm at the Four Seasons, then at 4 pm go to my other job until 9 pm and then leave that job and go bounce at a bar. My first job was when I worked for a place in Key Largo, Florida and I made $425 a week. I worked there for about a year for a chef who was the biggest a******! I learned everything NOT to do from him. You learn more from those kinds of guys anyway. Like me, I made mistakes, and I was a tough and egotistical chef the first 10 years of my career. The reason is that I didn’t really come out and work for someone. I came out of school and I was the Chef. I worked for this guy in Key Largo, but when I finished with him, I never worked for anyone else after that. I came back and boom, I was the Chef at restaurants. I developed my own style; I did all of my own stuff; my own methods of running kitchens, organizational tools and standards. When I wanted to get ideas from other chefs, I worked at places like Striped Bass, but me and the Chef cursed each other out and I never saw her again. Did you ever envision becoming a brand? No, I had no idea what I was going to do.

The Art of Being A Brand Q&A with Chef Brian Duffy

So, when did that change? What was the big break-through or opportunity? Well, I’ve always worked at independent restaurants, and then I left those places and went to McCormick and Schmick, where I was the Executive Chef and was thrown into the world of food costs. I mean, I worked with food costing be-fore, but I was literally just launched into a pile of food costs and now, I was working with $5.5 million in food. So, the opportunity I was given was huge, but I hated it. I couldn’t stand it. The corporate atmo-sphere was one that I knew I didn’t want. So, I left and I went on to do Irish pubs, seafood restaurants, or-ganic, and Mexican through the McGrogran Group. But, even then, I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew that I wanted to teach people about food, that I wanted to cook and that I was going to make a mark in it somehow. So, I became friends with a woman on FOX and she contacted me about doing a segment for them. I remember it was Memorial Day weekend in Philadelphia and no one was around. I borrowed my buddy’s truck, drove to my parents’ house, took their grill, and put it in the back of the truck. I drove to Market Street [in Philadelphia] and unloaded ev-erything by myself; the huge grill and the coolers! That was the first experience I had on TV. Right after that, I did CN8 with Paul Dillon where I killed a live lobster on camera and got death threats because of it! After that, I did some local stuff on NBC. I did seg-ments for about 8 years on NBC’s morning show and I loved it. It wasn’t even about the fame. Everything I did was on the fly. I never used a script. You have to know what you are talking about because everything is live and there is no second take and I did really well with it. I was taking it easy for a while and a show called me and asked if could send them my tapes, the show was called “Date Plate” on the Food Network. So, I did that show for three seasons and then went back to NBC. Then came Bar Rescue…

How did you get started on Bar Rescue? My broth-er was the Senior Vice President of Programming at Spike TV. He called and said that he was looking for a Chef who has some good TV experience. I am a straight shooter so I said “You’re an a*****. I’ve been doing TV for 10 years!” He wasn’t sure if the show was for me, so I asked for more details. He said “I need an Irish chef ” and I said “I was voted best Irish Chef two years in a row!” Then he just hung up on me. About five minutes later, someone from a casting company called me and said that Spike asked for my tapes. So, I went through the same process as every-one else [to get onto the show] and my brother and I never spoke about Bar Rescue again (the business end of it).

So, what was your journey into becoming a brand?I worked my ass off. I did all of my own marketing and I did all my own PR… I still do. I do all of my own social media, and that’s what I think people like about me. Also, chefs are blue collar workers; chefs are regular guys and girls. We work our asses off for the money – there is nothing wrong with that. For chefs, it’s a blue collar and approachable way of be-ing. There is that 1% percent out of a 100 where it does just happen. But, it’s far and few between. It’s hard work. Look at Rachel Ray; she was never a restaurant chef. But, she became a brand and she had the personality to do it. She got onto Oprah, she did her thing, and she was a personality that had some-thing to talk about. Emeril was the forefront for all

of this and people like Julia Child, Jacques Pepin and Martin Yan. But, the one thing people don’t realize is that it usually doesn’t just happen. You have to work your way into it.

Advice you can give to those who want to be on TV?Don’t plan on becoming a chef on TV…just do your thing. If you are lucky to get spots then do them. Rule #1 – unless you are the best known chef, if you are a d*** you’re done. People don’t want to work with you. I am lucky enough because I love production crews. They are my kind of people. I feel that I have a good reputation with the media and production crews and have a lot of repeat business because of it.

Can you tell us about being a brand? I have the brand of Chef Brian Duffy. Which is not just a person, it’s a brand. To be a brand, you have to stick to what you know and what you do. If I am going to go out there and say, “hey you, I want you to buy this bra” – peo-ple will say “wait, who are you?” So, I have always tried to stick to what I know and what it is that I am. I am a Chef, I love to cook and to have fun. That’s the way it works. So, I try to keep things in the same realm. Now, it has changed over the years because I went from being a bachelor to now being a dad. I have two little girls; they are 13 and 10. But, they are a part of my brand: a part of who I am. Being a brand is weird. You have to be very careful of what you do because you have to protect the brand. It’s not you, it’s the brand. Look at Chick-fill-A, Abercrombie and Paula Deen - all from a moment of mistake. You have to be careful of what you do because the idea of a brand is that it’s not just a personality, it’s a business.

Out of all of your businesses (CBD Solutions, Duffi-fied Spices, Endorsements, TV), which is your abso-lute favorite? My favorite is my business - which is CBD Solutions. I have clients all over North America and Hawaii. I am actually going to NY tomorrow for a consultation, and then I come home and leave for Canada. So, I go into established or not established businesses and I do training, concept development, motivational speaking, conversations about up-selling, provide knowledge and education, and work directly with chefs to pull them back on track. I also work with food costs, menu and concept develop-ment, and design - basically, every single part of it.

What kind of experience would a chef need before thinking of creating a brand? Well, it took me 10 years just to have an understanding of food costs and the workings of a line. I just had a conversation with a friend from LA who had an issue with food costs and she has been a chef for years. She said “I’m not tracking right or not doing something right” and I spent an hour and half on the phone with her edu-cating her on the way that food costs work. It took me 20 years to get to this point and I still learn every single day new ways to do things. I spend 3-4 hours a day on social media because I don’t want anyone else doing it for me - and your followers know! To give you an idea, I had 3k followers last year and I had a conversation with a media expert who said that you have to interact and engage. So many people will just post and sit back and wonder why no one is respond-ing to them. Well, when I post something like “where am I a going” while I am at the airport, I am engaging them. I am creating a relationship that they are going to respond to. And now, I hit 15K people last night!

I didn’t spend any money on it; I wasn’t promoting (ads), it’s all from me just engaging and communi-cating. It’s part of creating a brand.

What would you say to students who are graduat-ing or just graduated and maybe aren’t getting that instant gratification right way? You have to work through it. Take your time and learn your craft. I al-ways tell people - find your desire, fuel your passion and share it. That’s a massive thing. If you really love what you do, it’s not going to come to you overnight. You have got to hone your craft. You have to get in there and wash dishes; you have to wash the entire kitchen’s knives and wrap them individually in tow-els and lay them down on the table when you are an apprentice. You have to get in and you have to make mistakes. You can’t be scared to ask people for help. Ask “what do you mean?” It doesn’t matter if you have been in the business for 10 days or 10 years. So ask questions and don’t forget to make mistakes, and every day try to make a new dish, and everyday try to present that dish to your chef. Say “hey Chef, I made this for you today,” because there will be that one dish out of a hundred that the Chef will go “hey, that’s pretty good, well run that as a special today.” As chefs, educate your staff. Take time every single day to pick one guy/girl in your kitchen and just spend an hour with them. Show them how to make the dish. Show them what they are doing wrong. Take a dishwasher and show them how to hold a knife or how to peel an onion. I had restaurants where the waiters couldn’t wait to finish their shift so that they can come into the kitchen and learn. I always wanted one cohesive unit. I try to educate every step of the way - it took a long time to realize that. I think that TV has made it more of a novelty to become a chef and not so much a career. That’s why we have restau-rants like Outback that pay guys $10-15 dollars per hour, when a great restaurant pays minimum wage! Why? Because at these places you are learning the craft; and that’s what it is… it’s a craft and it’s a pas-sion. I can teach you how to cook but I can’t teach you how to love to cook. My true motto is that it’s the art of the preparation. I love a great meal but it’s the art of the preparation of putting that meal together that I LOVE.

What are you working on currently? Currently, I am working on seven restaurants that are getting ready to open (not my own but my clients) in the next couple of months. I have a lot going on in the media sense (TV and commercials) that I can’t really talk about. But, I can say that there will be some big things coming out this year. I just signed a deal with a writer for my own cookbook which will be coming out in about a year.

If there is anything I want people to get out of this interview, it’s that being a chef and becomig a brand is a business that you have to work at to be good. It doesn’t just happen!

SUMMER 2014 13

“Find your desire, fuel your passion and share it.”

STUDENT ACTIVITIES

student success is not just about learning and good grades - success is also measured by the amount of fun you can have and doing good for others...and our students sure know how to have a good time! here are some highlights of events and activities that our students have participated in this past term...

Sports Night 2014

Philly Cooks 2014

Chopped Competition 2014

Project Sweet Pea 2014

Western Night 2014

Our Rising Star 2014

The Gift of Life House 2014

From Left to Right: Our dorm residents play in the Whiflle Ball Tournament in May; Nominated “Rising Star Chef ” Leah Crompton interviewed at the Philly Cooks 2014 event; Student volunteers at Philly Cooks 2014; Students enjoying Line Dancing during our Western Night in March; Two competitors are strategizing during our 2nd Annual Chopped competition; Student volunteers take time to make baked good at the Gift of Life House for those awaitng organ transplants; Students donate PJ’s for preemie babies as part of Poject Sweet Pea through March and April. 14

As an Alumni Member and Hospitality Leader, you may have hopes to continue the momentum you’ve built in your career and personal successes. Cer-tainly, the faculty here at the college often receive calls from Alumni asking for any “tips” for navigat-ing their life. Well, there are plenty of tips to offer! The problem is, the tips alone may not have the im-pact on your life as you’d like to see them. John C. Maxwell, says in his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, that we need to be intentional and work growth in, little by little. Therefore, I’d like to share with you, not only my favorite four tips for hospital-ity leaders…and believe me the TIPS are great…but the TRICK to work them into your life.

THE TIP: Fall In Love, Stay in Love. Ah, Amour. When we fall in love with something or someone, it’s always beautiful in the beginning. That shiny new car! That attractive person! It’s like Heaven on Earth. We feel like we’ve arrived and our life is now com-plete. However, as the fluffy white clouds move on to another person’s dream, we begin to see that not ev-erything is as it seems. That car no longer completes us and a person can let us down. As anyone knows, however, love takes work. The same goes for the hos-pitality business. We have all fallen in love with the business because of the “high” that it gives us. That wonderful space in time we feel when a guest is hap-py to have stayed at our hotel, for instance. We are lured by the freedom of creative expression, merged with the happiness we provide others through lodg-ing, service, food, and drink. How could anyone not be in love? Alas, this love of ours can be brutal - borderline abusive - to the heart, body, and soul! Working on the love of your life means evaluating yourself and what you can offer TO your love, along with what you GET from it. I’ve coached many de-partment managers who complain that things are “just not the same.” Yes, organizations and people do change. Oftentimes, with further examination, these managers realize that it’s not their hospitality busi-nesses that changed, it was them. The energy that they used to put into their “love” is lacking.

THE TRICK: Give-in to your love daily. Each day, ensure that there is one specific task that you do in service to your work for the sheer joy and love of it. It may take you a moment to evaluate what those things are. Perhaps it is taking the time to call up a sales client, service a guest, or talk to one of your em-ployees. Remember that you will do this with the in-tention of enjoyment, not out of obligation. You’ll be surprised that the more you practice this, the more the business will give love to you in return.

THE TIP: Stay Relevant. Keeping yourself up-to-date with the latest trends and ideas related to the hospitality industry is a savvy professional develop-ment strategy. Of course, none of us would intend for our business or departments to be behind the ball when it comes to service, financial success, and innovation. Who wants to sit in a meeting and be told by their Director that they’re no longer relevant? But many miss the opportunities to stay ahead by not keeping a pulse on what is going on in the industry. If you have not reached for the opportunity to con-nect with other leaders at a conference, convention, or local organization event, now is a good time to look at your calendar and search for one. In addi-tion, there are a plethora of trade publications, either online or print, in any niche or segment of the hospi-tality industry that you can think of, that are waiting to share insights and trends with you!

THE TRICK: Find one magazine or event per month. Honestly, finding something to read is easy, the real trick is to sit yourself down and actually read it! My favorite way to do this is to schedule the time in my planner, as part of the chosen work day, and read an article or two from a trade magazine. This is NOT done during what might be considered break time. Start with twenty minutes for the month. You can build up from there. As for trade events, you can look ahead at events of interest and schedule them in your calendar well in advance.

THE TIP: Prioritize Like Your Life Depends On It. Because it does. Our perceptions of life are fascinat-ing. You can go through weeks or maybe months be-lieving that all of the work, issues, and projects that you do are of great importance. However, you will experience an epiphany that tells you, “at the end of the day, they’re not ALL important right now.” One of our instructors, widely known as “Mr. Bill” Sartor, reminded me of this tip just the other day. (Yes, even I need reminding!) He said, “Ensure that you prior-itize, but not everything is priority #1.” This is not to say that the numerous guest calls you need to fol-low-up on, emails, and financial reports are not im-portant. However, they are not ALL important at the same time. Evaluate your time and the priorities that you try to fit in your life. Are there any tasks or proj-ects that can be delegated to your team? Could some items be scheduled for another day so that you may work on more important issues? This tip is equally important for both your work and personal life. THE TRICK: Do a mental evaluation every day or night. I know people that plan out their day and eval-uate their to-do lists in the morning. I too review my lists, but the real trick for me is to evaluate my prior-ities at night. For me, there is something about look-ing back at my day and asking if I was on the right track. Then, I’m able to evaluate what is most im-portant in my life and have a game plan for the next day. BONUS TRICK: Delegate. It is a helpful way of spreading the weight of priorities with your team members. If you’ve really got a lot on your plate, leveraging your time and com-mitments will do wonders.

HOTEL4 Tips and Tricks forHospitality Leaders

Akita Brooks is the founder of Highly Spirited Hospitality, LLC, a leadership development company for the hospitality industry. She also teaches hospitality management at The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College.

Career Builder www.hcareers.com Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association www.hoteljobs.com Hcareers www.hoteljobresource.com Hotel Job Resource www.philadelphiahotelassoc.org HotelJobs.com hospitality.careerbuilder.com ResortJobs.com www.wineandhospitalityjobs.com Wine & Hospitality Jobs www.resortjobs.com

Looking for a Hospitality Job? Check out these top employment sites:

By: Akita Brooks, M.S. HBA

continued on page 19

SUMMER 2014 15


helloSummer!

All TRSatWHC sponsored events are chaperoned by a staff member and offer free transportation.

June 2 | 1:30 PM Day Trip to Tyler ParkActivities Include: Hiking, Fishing & Canoe-ing. Free Transportation. Contact Maria Young to Sign Up

June 8 | 9:00 AMTrip to Seaside HeightsActivities Include: Swimming, GamesCost: $10.00 | Free Transportation Contact Maria Young to Sign Up

June 11 | 11:00 AMSummer Carnival 2014Activities Include: Carnival-Themed Games, Food & Fun! Join Us at Allison Mansion

June 13 | 6:00 PMPhillies vs. Cubs Game Cost: $15.00 | Free Transportation Contact Maria Young to Sign Up

June 18 | 5:30 PMPicnic at Penn Park BYOB - Bring Your Own BlanketContact Maria Young to Sign Up

June 19 | 5:30 PM Food Truck Trip to 30th Street StationFree To AttendContact Maria Young to Sign Up

June 20 | 3:30 PM Trip to Linvilla OrchardsActivities Include: Pick Your Own FruitFree Transportation Contact Maria Young to Sign Up

June 30 | 7:30 AM Trip to the Summer Fancy Food ShowSpecial Industry Only Event in NYCCost: $35.00 plus transportationContact Valery Snisarenko to Sign Up

July 8 | 5:00 PM Soiree Event for July 2014 GraduatesOnly Open to Graduating Class Please Contact Sarah McLaughlin for all graduation questions & requests

July 14 | 5:30 PM July 2014 Commencement CeremonyThe Ritz Carlton Philadelphia Please Contact Meghan Bloome for all Commencement questions.

TRS at WHC EVENTS

C’mon - get out there and live a little...

June 7 | Linvilla Orchards, PA Strawberry Festival Activities Include: Pick Your Own Fruit & see DelVal’s largest Strawberry Shortcake!Free | www.linvilla.com

June 13 | Philadelphia, PAThe Awesomefest Activities Include: Outdoor movie screeningsat public spaces throughout the cityFree | Check www.uwishunu.com for details

June 14 | Philadelphia, PAStripes and Stars Festival Activities Include: Historic sites around the city honoring Flag DayFree | Check www.uwishunu.com for details

June 14 | Philadelphia, PAPhilly VegFest

Activities Include: Sample Veggie Food and learn about Veggie options in the cityFree | Check www.uwishunu.com for details

June 19 | Philadelphia, PABaltimore Avenue Dollar StrollActivities Include: Vendor Options for just $1Pay As You Go | www.universitycity.org

June 19 | West Oak Lane, PANight Market at West Oak LaneActivities Include: Sample food from vendorsPay As You Go | thefoodtrust.org/night-market

June 21 | University City, PAClark Park Music & Arts FestivalActivities Include: Local bands & vendorsFree | www.universitycity.org

June 21 | Philadelphia, PA

Urban Beach PartyActivities Include: games, music, food and more at the steps of Eastern State PennFree | http://fespp.com/

June 21-22 | Manayunk, PAManayunk Arts FestivalActivities Include: Artwork, crafts & foodFree | http://manayunk.com/signa-ture-events/manayunk-arts-festival/

June- Aug 2014 | Susquehanna Bank Center

June- Aug 2014 | Festival Pier Penn’s Landing

June- Aug 2014 | Tower Theatre

June- Aug 2014 | TLA

June- Aug 2014 | Wells Fargo, Lincoln Financial & Citizen’s Bank Park

SUMMER 2014 17

helloSummer!

Spring and Summer time is particuraly exciting in places like the Northeast where the weather is as unpredictable as .... well, the weather.

This past winter being especially brutal and unforgiving, we, at the Main Dish Magazine thought what better time than now to give you some well-deserved ideas for things to do in the great outdoors! And yes, we realize that many of you, as the high achievers that you are, will be working during the summer months - but, if you can, give yourselves a break and try to get to one of these events, festivals, parks, concerts, retreats, etc.

You’re in luck! Some of these are even sponsored by TRSatWHC and you know what that means... free transportation!

So, what are you waiting for?

EVENTS & FESTIVALS

CONCERT DATES:

MMRBQ 2014 ft. Rob Zombie, Volbeat, etc. Radio 104.5 Birthday Show ft. Foster the People & MoreBrad PaisleyRay LaMontagneDave Matthews BandTim McGrawZac Brown BandBackstreet BoysJourney and Steve Miller BandFall Out BoyOneRepublicStyxWarped TourBruno Mars

Lynyrd Skynyrd & Bad CompanyJames TaylorLionel RichieWiz KhalifaXPoNential Festival ft. Ryan AdamsXPoNential Festival ft. BeckNine Inch NailsMayhem Festival ft. Avenged Sevenfold & KORNKiss & Def LeppardLinkin ParkGoo Goo DollsJimmy BuffettMotley Crue

Wired Fest ft. Calvin Harris7th Annual Roots Pic-nic ft. Snoop DoggRebelutionThe Fray

OARSlightly StoopidMad Decent Block PartyPanic! At the Disco

Boys II MenMOVEPeter Frampton & The

Doobie BrothersYES311

Danity KaneKing Khan & The ShrinesKishi BashiScreeching WeaselRobert Earl KeenThe NotwistDevil DriverAlex B & The BurgeoningSkinny Lister

Dead KennedysAlice SmithBlack Star RidersMan OverboardBetween the BurriedPhilly Summer FestLogicPuss N BootsTurnpike TroubadoursVeruca SaltFive Iron Frenzy

Queen and Adam Lambert Miley Cyrus One Direction

Luke BryanJay Z & Beyonce Jason Aldean Billy Joel

Top Outdoor Sites in Philadelphia

(via Tripadvisor.com)

Independence National Historic Park

Morris Arboretum

Fairmount Park

Kelly Drive

Schuylkill River Trail

Wissahickon Valley Park

Washington Square Park

John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge

Bartram’s Garden

LOVE Park

Penn’s Landing

Smith Memorial Park

Pennypack Park

Longwood Gardens

Did you know?Philadelphia ranks as one of

the TOP 10 Cities in theWORLD for Parks!

C’mon - get out there and live a little...

OUTDOORSThe

SCIENCE Feast on ThisTake a look inside a worldwhere food science (and safety) is not an option.

Photo from: Unknown Author. Accessed January 14, 2014


Ever wonder how everything in a grocery store is so manicured and utterly identical? Even walking through the produce section in Phila-delphia during the dead of winter, you can stumble upon a pile of perfectly plump, bright red tomatoes. After closer examination one can even conclude that this anomaly only further defies nature in that they are all within a fraction of an ounce away from each other in weight. To an average American consumer, this has become the norm.

So, how has this standard become the comfortable norm in our lives? With the number of consumers increasing and the earth’s resources declining, daily action is taken to maintain our food availability. Here in the United States, we can still find a grocery store every few miles that contains specialty foods, produce, and meats presented in safe packaging and an organized manner. There is no question about whether or not the food we are purchasing contains harmful microorgan-isms that could potentially make us ill- or worse, result in our death. How can we be so certain that we are receiving the freshest food at the most affordable price you ask? As culinary professionals, this inquiry should act as a giant weight upon our shoulders. Everyone wants to offer the highest quality product at an afford-able rate and still make a profit.

Imagine living where that common goal is utterly unattainable; where food is not preserved and cannot be guaranteed fresh to the public, there are no nutrition labels, and for those with food allergies; every meal is a guessing game. The warm months of the year are spent gathering meats, and October is reserved for curing the food for winter. When the cured meat is not being used, one must venture to the local market where meats hang above counters for an unknown amount of time, unpackaged, waiting to be sold. If you are lucky enough to have a market in close proximity, the effort to feed your family safely is not made easier- rice is

kept in bulk bins and sifted through by customers; meats are mixed together and thrown into unrefrigerated cases to be examined and tossed around like DVDs. This semblance I have created for you is what day-to-day life in China is like.

Without food science, our trip to the grocery store may not be so far off. The simple things we take for granted as consumers require thousands of scientists working around the country. Each day ad-vances are being made to revolutionize our food products and pack-aging. Culinarians are but one work force in white standing behind the food system. Science is one of the oldest tools of the trade. When nouvelle cuisine was developed in the 18th century, chefs were seen as chemists; they were responsible for learning what each of their ingredients was composed of in order to transform flavors and create new compounds. Since then, science has only gained more power than ever in the kitchen, all boiling down to a chemical reaction. But, technologists have gone far beyond a simple compound making it not only possible for new creations to be made, but also efficiently stored.

As chefs across the country work to perfect dishes to stimulate their customers’ palettes, scientists toil away in the effort to ensure that ingredients on each and every plate are safe and in sufficient supply. If it weren’t for the ever present efforts of these researchers, average shoppers would be forced to take a shot in the dark when shopping for their family; never knowing if an item they pick up off of the shelf could potentially contain harmful microorganisms that cause illness. Old age preservation methods would still be in place, making it near-ly impossible for a present-day grocery store to even exist.

Story & Illustration By: Caitlin Hargraves


A Bite of China. Documentary. Xiaoqing, Chen. 2012. China. China Central Television. (DVD)

James P. Smith, Hosahalli S. Ramaswamy, Benjamin K. SimpsonDevelopments in food packaging technology. Part II. Storage aspects

Trends in Food Science & Technology, Volume 1, July 1990, Pages 111–118

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Have You Heard?

We are now on Instagram! Follow us at @trsatwhc or search for The Restaurant School at Walnut Hill College. Use hashtags #walnuthillcollege, #trs#therestaurantschool & #restaurantschool or simply tag the College in your post. Let us see your best creations!

THE TIP: Take a Break for Goodness Sake. I’ve saved the best tip for last…If you’re a fan of Stephen Cov-ey’s book, 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, like I am, you’ll know that his 7th Habit is Sharpen the Saw. This habit never gets old, but it always needs reminding. As mentioned in the beginning of this article, the industry, let alone life, can be brutal. To get the most out of life, you’ve got to ensure that the greatest tool for enjoying your life, that’s YOU, stays sharp. Scheduling time for yourself to rest, renew, and reconnect is important. Rejuvenation does wonders for the heart, body, and soul, which as you’ll remember, are components you need to stay in love with this industry. I’m baffled by how many hospi-tality leaders work themselves into illnesses just be-cause their jobs are demanding and they don’t call to

attention the breaks they need. I used to be a “vic-tim” too; subscribing to the mantra that all work and no play or rest was the way to go. It doesn’t need to be this way.

THE TRICK: Schedule at least 15 minutes of ME time. If you’re a work junkie and glutton for indus-try-oriented punishment every day, this one is going to be a real challenge to intentionally practice. Make a commitment to spend at least 15 minutes doing something for yourself. This can be done before, during, or after work, depending on the setting that you need. Thinking of the key personal areas: (phys-ical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual), you can do it. Perhaps plan to take a walk or eat a meal with-out rushing (physical). Play a mental game or read a

book. Make plans to catch-up with a friend (social/emotional). Pray or mediate and just appreciate life (spiritual). By taking time to “sharpen the saw,” you take care of you. Career wise, a better you means a person who is ready to return back to those phone calls, guest inquiries, and employee requests.

There you have them, my favorite four tips and tricks for leaders in this industry. These are great for ev-eryone, and I encourage you to work on practicing them, not only for yourself, but as a model for others. Over time, you will build on them and acquire ad-ditional actions for career and personal growth. To your continued success!

continued from page 15

Avance, headed by Executive Chef and Alum Justin Bogle, has been named one Americas BEST NEW RESTAURANTS byGQ Magazine! Avance is the new concept in the old Le Bec-Fin restaurant in CenterCity, Philadelphia. We are so proud of Bogle and happy about his return to Philly.

Former Flock of Seagulls lead guitarist Eddie Berner (Think “I Ran (So Far Away)”) is an alum of The Restaurant School at Wal-nut Hill College. How Rockin’ Cool is that?

Two alumni run food trucks “The Flying Deutschman” and “Chewy’s” are nominated for the Philly Vendy Awards. So very proud.

4 out of the 6 places on Philadelphia Mag-azine’s “Six Places to Indulge with Foie Gras” list are either owned, run or managed by our Alumni (Ela, Avance, Will, Bibou)!!!!

SUMMER 2014 19

The Restaurant School atWalnut Hill College4207 Walnut StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19104

Now?Where Are They

Want To Tell Us Where You Are Now?

E-mail Us: [email protected]

We would love to hear your story and feature you in an upcoming issue

of the Main Dish Magazine!

Ryan Bloome ‘10Sous ChefTerrain at Styer’s (URBN Corp.)Glen Mills, PA

Justin Bogle ‘02Executive ChefAvancePhiladelphia, PA

Brian Duffy ‘94Consultant and TV PersonalityCBD ConsultingPhiladelphia, PA

Kim Osinski ‘98Chef/OwnerChef Kim’s KitchenSomerdale, NJ

Victor Kendlehart ‘13Restaurant SupervisorStreamsong ResortBowling Green, Florida

Christopher Nguyen ‘95Chef/OwnerFire & Ice RestaurantPhiladelphia, PA

Eric Rosen ‘82Chef/OwnerThe St. Michaels Crab & Steak HouseSt. Michael’s, MD

Tish Smith ‘09Owner/Pastry ChefFoam FloaterieGreater Philadelphia, PA

Jon Walsh ‘13General ManagerAnthony’s at Paxon HollowBroomall, PA

Jennifer Yasaitis ‘12Chef/OwnerCreperie BéchamelWayne, PA

Adriana Piper ‘05Executive Pastry ChefBarclay PrimePhiladelphia, PA

Brenda Board ‘08Tea & French Wine SommelierOliver & Company Tea RoomPhiladelphia, PA

Brenda Wolf ‘06 Executive Pastry Chef Master BakerWest Chester, PA

Natalie Stone ‘91Pastry Chef/Baker Bella’s Biscotti Medford, NJ

Joseph Polito ‘88 Group Director/ Food and Beverage Dusit InternationalBangkok, Thailand

Marshay M. Wallace ‘09Banquet Manager Hyatt Hotels Reston, VA

www.WalnutHillCollege.edu215.222.4200 ext. 3011

Follow Us: Facebook.com/TheRestaurantSchoolatWalnutHillCollegeTwitter.com/TRSatWHCInstagram.com/TRSatWHC

Documents

Main Dish Magazine - Student Edition - Summer 2014 final