Meeting of the minds

One of my favorite cartoons shows a commander whose soldiers are in the midst of fighting a war with bows and arrows. Without turning around, he tells a man who has come up behind him, “I’m sorry, I’m too busy to talk to you.” The man was a rifle salesman.

In today’s time-pressed world, we are all too busy. So, it can be difficult to find time to reach out to others for ideas, solutions and best practices. But as that cartoon illustrates, it’s critical to being successful. The sharing of knowledge is a pillar of FoodService Director. Through our magazine and events, we have been showcasing peer-to-peer information and success stories from the beginning.

Our exclusive Chefs’ Council, which we launched two years ago, was an evolution of idea-sharing at FSD. While foodservice encompasses many things—customer service, management, design, technology and more—at the end of the day, it’s all about the food. That’s why it’s important to get the chefs’ perspective. Because when you share knowledge throughout an organization and outside of it, everybody wins.

This issue marks the debut of our new Chefs’ Council panel of 50 chefs from all segments of noncommercial. With enormous appreciation and thanks to the members of our inaugural Chefs’ Council, we pass the baton on to the next class. A few familiar faces return, and we have brought in many new voices to share their insights in FSD’s monthly Chefs’ Council column, in twice-yearly features and onstage at MenuDirections.

Related:13 tips we won’t forget from MenuDirections 2016

This month also brings the launch of our first-ever FSD Chefs’ Council Summit, which will be held at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. We’re bringing together a dozen members of our Chefs’ Council for this two-day event to share ideas, cook and collaborate. They’ll learn about menu trends and the future of purchasing, tour Detroit’s open-air Eastern Market and more. And we’ll also get the chefs in the kitchen to roll up their sleeves and cook together in teams.

Getting back to MenuDirections, registration is now open for our conference, March 4-6, 2018. It is the only food-, culinary- and business-focused event for noncommercial foodservice, and we are thrilled to be in New Orleans next year—a great food town. You’ll experience six general sessions and more than a dozen workshops, plus segment-specific sessions where like-minded operators gather to discuss challenges and solutions.

It’s yet another opportunity to exchange information with peers. And without question, it’s time well spent.