A familiar part timer re-

cently became a full time

face at Culinary Arts, Hos-

pitality, and Horticulture.

Derek Peterson is now

the CHH Inventory Man-

agement System Specialist.

Peterson has been acting

as interim specialist since

last fall.

Born in Green Bay, Wis-

consin, Derek grew up in

hurricane territory – liter-

ally. He was raised in Hurri-

cane, West Virginia, a city

some 15 miles west of

Charleston. It’s like Papil-

lion is to Omaha, says Pe-

terson.

Peterson first attended

college at University of

Kentucky. He then ven-

tured to North Dakota,

where he studied aviation.

Along with his commercial

pilot’s license, he walked

away with a degree in

business man-

agement – and

a reason to

move to

Omaha. It was

while attend-

ing the Univer-

sity of North

Dakota that he

met his future

wife, April,

who just hap-

pened to be a

native of

Papillion.

When April returned to

the Omaha area, Peterson

followed, and took a job at

one of Eppley Airfield’s

Fixed Base Operations. The

position had a wide range

of responsibilities, includ-

ing not only customer ser-

vice, but fueling private

and commercial airplanes.

But then the economy

turned. Hours were cut.

Former PT Temp now FT Inventory Management Specialist

The newsletter for Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Horticulture

Inside this issue:

The deadline is ap-

proaching for the

Omaha Restaurant As-

sociation Foundation

scholarships. Applica-

tions must be POST-

MARKED no later than

March 12, 2012. The

ORA Foundation offers

seven financial need-

based scholarships

worth $700 each. There

are also five academic

scholarships worth

$1,000 each. The schol-

arships can be used for

tuition, books, and culi-

nary tools. Instructors

have copies of the ap-

plications for inter-

ested students.

February 2012

Volume 2, Issue 2

Sage Grow. Cook. Serve.

Community Spotlight: Derek Peterson

Management programs

disappeared.

Facing an uncertain fu-

ture at the FBO, Peterson

decided to go back to

school. In the spring of

2009, he enrolled in the

Institute for Culinary Arts.

It wasn’t long before he

Derek Peterson

MCC’s ‘Secret’ Garden 3

Behind the scenes: Bistro 4

Scholarship opportuni-ties

4

HS Invitational Photos 5 Continued on page 2

also picked up part time

work in the Brick Hearth

Café. He was also there

to help move into the

new ICA building, and

served as one the build-

ing’s first lab assistants.

He has worked part time

as interim E-Tech since

last summer.

He applied for the FT

position in late fall, and

moved into his new office

in January.

In his ‘new’ position,

From page 1

P a g e 2 S a g e V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 2

One MCC student

currently enrolled in the

Culinary Arts or

Hospitality programs has

the chance to win a

$3,000 scholarship

sponsored by Omaha

Steaks. It will be

administered as part of

the 2012 James Beard

Foundation. Full

information and

application forms will be

available at the beginning

of April at

jamesbeard.org.

Editorial Review: Dean Jim Trebbien, Culinary Arts, Hospitality, & Horticulture Editor: Christine Kasel Please email story ideas, comments, and event information to : clkasel@mccneb.edu.

Culinary Arts, Hospitality & Horticulture

Vision

To be the benchmark in Culinary Arts, Hospitality & Horticulture

Mission Statement

We create, design, and deliver educational experiences in

Culinary Arts, Hospitality and Horticulture in order to develop knowledge

from basic skills to artistic mastery for employment and enrichment.

Value Statements

We believe and commit to:

Excellence Exceeding expectations

Stewardship Being respectful and responsible

Teamwork Working together to achieve goals

Learning Encouraging discovery, rigor & innovation

Mission Statement, Vision & Value Statements

Peterson will focus on

areas impacting inventory

management, such as

cost controls, and effi-

ciency.

He will also work with

catering chefs and in-

structors on determining

the costs associated with

menu development, and

help with ordering prod-

uct.

Derek and his wife have

been married for 2 ½

years. April works in IT at

Children’s Hospital. They

currently live in Ashland

but plan to build in the

Omaha/Sarpy County area.

The couple has two dogs,

Ullie and Arya. The latter, a

female, was adopted Dec.

7, just in time for Christ-

mas.

In his spare time, Derek

likes to spend time on his

bike – lot of time. A fan of

‘century rides’, Peterson

soon plans to pedal 100

miles in a single ride.

Derek Peterson: Inventory Management System Specialist

Men’s Garden Club. (The membership isn’t limited

to men. The club officially welcomed women into the fold in 1990.)

All-America Selections® (AAS) Display Gardens provide a valuable service to the gardening public. Annual flowers and vege-tables that win the pres-

tigious award are chosen

after rigorous testing at trial gardens located

throughout the US and Canada.

Criteria used to select the winners include early bloom or harvest; novel color or flavor; disease or pest resistance; novel

The (well-known) secret garden at CHH

“To promote new garden seed

varieties with superior garden

performance judged in impartial

trials in North America.”

That’s the philosophy

behind the Omaha Men’s Garden Club All-America Selections® Display Gar-den.

But chances are you’ve

walked by this hidden gem and didn’t even know it.

You may have walked by the white-picketed garden

several times during the summer, admiring the lush flowers and plump toma-toes. You may have as-sumed it was a horticulture department project. But, it’s not. It’s actually planted and maintained by volunteers from the Omaha

P a g e 3 Sage V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 2

All-America Selection® Display Garden a hidden gem

Photos courtesy of All-America Selection®

Below: Some of the 2012

AAS Selections that you

may see in the Men’s Club

Garden. From left: Orna-

mental Pepper ’Black

Olive; Salvia ‘Summer

Jewel Pink’; Vinca ‘Jams

‘N‘ Jellies Blackberry’; and

Watermelon ‘Faerie’ F1. Continued on page 6

Above is a not-to-scale, approximate rendition of the Men’s

Club Garden in relation to the Greenhouse and surround-

ing structures.

Imagine opening a new

restaurant and your wait

staff has received only one

or two days training. That’s

what they do at The Bistro

– every 11 weeks.

The staff has only one or

two classes in which to

prepare for the Bistro

opening. “The students

learn on the job,” says Zuk.

“It’s a common practice in

the industry.”

The Bistro is a living lab.

It’s a functioning restau-

rant, staffed by students

getting real time, on the

job training. Like most res-

taurants, it is divided into

two houses: Front and

Back of House (FOH, BOH).

Unlike most restaurants,

FOH positions are filled by

culinary ‘staff’.

“Traditionally, chefs …

don’t spend much time

there,” says Hospitality

Instructor Joellen Zuk, who

also manages the FOH stu-

dent operations, “But this

is a requirement in our

curriculum.

By putting the culinary

students in this position,

says, Zuk “they come to

understand the value of

FOH operations.”

“Chefs are accustomed

to delivering incredible

food,” she adds. “But they

are dependent upon

(quality) customer service”

in providing an out-

standing dining experi-

ence. And the people who

staff FOH provide the cus-

tomer contact.

For most culinary stu-

dents, this is their first op-

portunity to work in FOH.

“It captures what real life

is like in their chosen ca-

reer.”

The FOH management

includes expediters (expos)

and a Maitre d. The expo

communicates between

the BOH and wait staff,

and coordinates the final

delivery of plates to the

guests. They ensure the

plates come out at the

proper time, are at the

correct temperature, and

are garnished and pre-

sented properly. It re-

quires constant, quality

communication.

In addition to greeting

and seating the diners, the

Maitre d oversees the din-

ing room set-up, and as-

signs wait staff. They also

help train wait staff, and

complete paperwork for

weekly operations.

Zuk says it’s gratifying to

Behind the Scenes : The Bistro

Maple Leaf Farms is

running a student

recipe contest that

calls for three original

recipes for appetizers

or small plates that

showcase duck in

creative ways. The top

two prizes are worth

$2,500 and $1,500,

respectively.

The contest begins

March 1 and runs

through June 8, 2012.

More information can

be found at

mapleleaffarms.com/

chefcontest.

Page 4 Sage Volume 2, I ssue 2

Next month we

return with Behind

the Scenes: Part II. In

the next installment,

we’ll venture to the

Back of the House to

check in with the

students who

prepare the food for

The Bistro.

Part I: Front of

the House at

The Bistro

Continued on page 6

Page 5 Sage Volume 2, I ssue 2

SNAPSHOTS 2012 ICA High School

Invitational (more photos page 6)

From page 5

flower forms; total yield; and length of flowering. Some entries may require improvement in at least two categories.

Winners are announced in late winter, and become

available in spring at gar-den shops and nurseries.

But for a gardener, there’s nothing like seeing a plant in a garden setting. That’s where the Display Garden

comes in.

The Men’s Club Garden grows the winners for public viewing. It not only showcases the winners in

an attractive setting, it also shows the public how

those winners perform in the local environment. The

Men’s Club Garden fea-tures not only the latest winners, but others from years past.

There are only two AAS Display Gardens® in Ne-braska. The other garden is located at the Nebraska State Fair Park Arboretum in Lincoln.

Visitors to the Men’s

Club Display Garden may

find a guest book and in-

formation on AAS win-

ners in the garden mail-

box. It’s located at the

entrance, on the west side

of the garden.

Men’s Club AAS® Display Garden

P a g e 6 S a g e V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 2

The Bistro Front

of the House

Sage is the voice of Culinary Arts, Hospitality, and Horti-

culture at MCC. It connects our community through sto-

ries, news, and information. Sage is for us, and all that

we do: Grow. Cook. Serve.

Editorial Review: Jim Trebbien, Dean of Culinary Arts,

Hospitality and Horticulture

Editor: Christine Kasel

Please email story ideas, comments, and calendar items

to: clkasel@mccneb.edu

see the students take per-

sonal responsibility in the

Bistro operations, no mat-

ter what their role. “They

want to learn to succeed,”

she says.

“When they take it to

heart like that, we just

can’t lose.”

SNAPSHOTS 2012 ICA High School Invitational

From page 3

From page 4