Executive Chefs: Cooking Up Change
In segments where chefs were once an oddity, they now are legion, and they’re making a difference. No longer are chefs in non-commercial foodservice an anomaly, labeled as freaks or burnouts from the restaurant business. Now, they are a sought-after commodity. They have a value far beyond simply the celebrity status many chefs enjoy today. They are hel
June 2, 2013
No longer are chefs in non-commercial foodservice an anomaly, labeled as freaks or burnouts from the restaurant business. Now, they are a sought-after commodity. They have a value far beyond simply the celebrity status many chefs enjoy today. They are helping to change the face of non-commercial foodservice—even in colleges and universities, where chefs have been a dining service staple for years.
When David Martin, director of food and nutrition at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center, in Phoenix, started with Saga Corp. 30 years ago, he was “only the third chef in all of healthcare.”
When Sam Austin accepted the job as director of foodservice for Claridge Court, a retirement community, in Prairie Village, Kan., 11 years ago, his colleagues chided him for “working in an old folks’ home.”
And when Tim Cipriano, foodservice director for the Guilford School District, in Connecticut, applied for his first position in school foodservice 10 years ago, the interviewer asked him, “You’re way overqualified for this position. Why do you want to do this?”
Oh, how the times have changed. No longer are chefs in non-commercial foodservice an anomaly, labeled as freaks or burnouts from the restaurant business. Now, they are a sought-after commodity. They have a value far beyond simply the celebrity status many chefs enjoy today. They are helping to change the face of non-commercial foodservice—even in colleges and universities, where chefs have been a dining service staple for years.
Satisfying culinary challenges
“I think most definitely that chefs are making a difference these days,” says Gail Finan, director of dining and retail services at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y. “First, they are bringing the awareness of ingredients that we need because of allergens. That is becoming a bigger issue on campus, and parents want the knowledge that their children will be protected. Chefs can make sure that recipes and procedures are being followed.”
More than that, chefs are valued for their creativity, adds Finan, who has 13 chefs on staff at the 21,000-student Ivy League school. Whether it’s making sure that international cuisines are presented authentically, coming up with new items for vegetarian and vegan diners or advising staff on how to improve the flavor profile of a dish while reducing fat and sodium, “chefs are making invaluable contributions to our programs.”
Camp Howard, director of dining at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tenn., knows better than many directors how valuable chefs have become—because he is a chef himself. Howard is one of the new breed of chef managers, who bring with them both culinary skills and a management background.
“I think what chefs bring to the equation is the understanding of how to control costs and get the most bang for the buck,” says Howard, who was Vandy Dining’s executive chef before becoming its director. “They can help with purchasing, they know what quality is and, with sustainability so important on college campuses, they can work with farmers to help them understand what we are looking for.”
Retirement communities are often compared to college campuses, albeit with a much older clientele. But the value of chefs to this market is equal. Like college students, seniors have become more educated about food, are more worldly and bring with them more demands than ever for high quality and diversity.
“The demands of a retirement community are far above that of a restaurant,” says Claridge Court’s Austin, who came to the community nearly 12 years ago after working in several restaurants, country clubs and resorts. “We feed our customers every day, and so it’s very easy for them to nitpick. My job is to make sure the residents are happy.”
Claridge Court offers on-demand dining at two restaurants between 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. In addition to a menu that changes daily, Austin offers a 20-item
alternative menu with everyday items like chicken salad, tuna salad, burgers and the like, because “sometimes you just feel like having a bowl of tomato soup.”
“We look at dining as the most important activity the residents engage in,” he adds. “This property asks for top-quality food and gives me the staff and budget to do that.”
Like many non-commercial chefs, Austin got his start at Claridge after tiring of the restaurant regimen. He notes that his colleagues at first would make fun of him, “but that was usually on a Saturday night, while I was eating in their restaurants, and I would say, ‘What are you doing working? I’m off this weekend.’”
Valuable commodity
Today, there may be no market segment that values chefs more than school foodservice. Fueled in large measure by first lady Michelle Obama’s Chefs Move To School program, school districts are working hard to bring chefs into their operations, either on a full-time basis or in a consulting role. The new USDA meal regulations have only upped the ante, Guilford’s Cipriano says.
“The major value of having chefs in schools, especially with the new USDA guidelines, is to find the flavor of food,” says Cipriano, who is a celebrated chef in his own right, known in Connecticut as the Local Food Dude. “Over the next few years, sodium levels are going to decrease to basically nothing, so we’re going to have to be very creative with our seasonings and how we can keep the flavor profile and get kids to eat. Our No. 1 goal is always participation.”
Cipriano is considered one of the pioneer chefs in school foodservice, beginning his school career in 2004 as a chef at Dodd Middle School, in Cheshire, Conn. He admits he is the stereotypical non-commercial chef: a restaurant chef who became burned out by the long hours and stress of restaurant life.
“I was married, kids were on the way,” he recalls. “The ability to get into schools and make a difference for my family life, that was the only thing I was thinking about. And then when I got into schools and saw how school food was slowly but surely getting better, I saw how I could make a difference.”
Cipriano became involved in the farm-to-school movement and garnered national attention while working as executive director of foodservice for New Haven (Conn.) Public Schools. He was one of 10 chefs selected to help Michelle Obama and Sam Kass, assistant chef and Food Initiative Coordinator at the White House, create Chefs Move To Schools. The program seeks the help of chefs around the country to promote healthful eating among children, as a way to help stem the childhood obesity epidemic.
The story of Steven Burke, foodservice chef for the Austin (Texas) Independent School District, is similar to Cipriano’s. Coming from a fine-dining background, Burke was working in product development for a gourmet grocery store chain, but he desired something with saner working hours and a better quality of life. Burke’s wife was a teacher, and so he “took the dive” into school foodservice.
“My expectations were really low, and I didn’t expect to stay very long,” Burke recalls. “I never ate in the cafeteria when I was in school. I always brought my lunch. But when I started here I was amazed at how far school foodservice had come, and now I’m pleased at how far we’ve come since I got here.”
He also notes that similar changes have taken place in districts all over Texas. For example, when he started he knew of only two other chefs in Texas schools. Now, he says, there are at least six chefs in the Austin area alone, and the area has a state-funded regional chef, Kelly Waldron, who aids smaller districts that can’t afford a full-time chef.
Burke has been able to improve foodservice most by bringing more from-scratch cooking into the mix. But he believes his biggest contribution has been “giving a face to this entity called school food. I do a lot of PR on behalf of foodservice. I go out there and explain what’s going on.”
Burke’s biggest challenge, as might be expected, is dealing with the new USDA rules.
“We’ve worked so hard to create this great quality food, and then they throw us this curve ball,” he says.
Because a full-time chef is a luxury many districts can’t afford, the School Nutrition Association (SNA) has embraced Chefs Move To Schools, creating the Chef’s Table, a committee tasked with establishing “a network of partnerships and resources that school foodservice professionals can utilize when working with volunteer chefs and the greater community.” Danny Seymour, dean of education for SNA, says the Chef’s Table has been folded into Chefs Move To Schools. Through their combined efforts, chefs are being made available to schools that may not be able to hire a chef to work on staff.
Examples of the movement’s outreach are plentiful and impressive. The Idaho Department of Education hired a chef to create recipes for use in all Idaho districts. The chef is now offering web-based culinary training for school nutrition professionals. Similarly, the Maryland DOE has taken funds from the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act to hire chefs to run culinary boot camps for school foodservice staff.
Individual schools districts also have worked to bring chefs in to develop recipes, train staff and talk with students about healthy foods—particularly fresh produce. Cipriano wholeheartedly supports such efforts.