My fellow culinarians:

    Once more ACF Rochester has held a spectacular event. Once more the presentation of Chef of the Year has been as prestigious as the award. With all the pomp and ceremony and some great food Lisa Cunliffe, CEC has begun her year as our Chef of the Year. Congratulations Lisa.

      Thanks to Paula Vullo, owner of the Hospitality House, for hosting our dinner. Thanks also to her chef Randy Smathers for his help during the day. The wait and dish staff also did a great job. I was proud to read the names of the brigade after the dinner on Sunday night. Those who helped were Victor Alverez, Brad Butler, Van Laughlin, Mike Macri, Justin Maurinus, Earnie Miller, Jim Neuman, Mike Redmond, Jan Streeter, Rose Vasile, Sharon Wood and Brad Yearwood. Thanks to all for your help and dedication. Major kudos go to this year's Chef de cuisine Mike Vasile for his menu and execution. It was a wonderful dinner.

      From the Ravioli to the dessert table and flaming coffees it was a showcase of what the best chefs in Rochester can do. We, as a chapter did ourselves proud. If there is regret it is that too many of our members could not participate. Those who chose family commitment over our organization; I fully understand. Those who had to work; I respect your responsibilities. Those who stayed home to watch TV or did not attend because they did not remember the date; you I pity, you missed a great day with friends, a wonderful meal and a chance to advance the history of our chapter.   

      The next two months we will have a pair of the most important and interesting meetings of the year. First at the October meeting we will hold the cooking requirement of the Chef of the Year competition. At this time Stuart Slutzkey, CEC, CCE has been verified as a candidate and Earnie Miller, CCE is in the final stages of that process. Even with one nominee we hold the individual to prove his ability to cook. We have done this for the last four years. We were the first ACF chapter to require our members to cook before being named Chef of the Year. It has now been expanded that the national Chef of the Year is determined that way. Be proud Rochester!
At the November meeting we will elect a trustee to the board. Two fine members and culinarians have stepped forward to offer their time to the chapter. They are Mike Macri, CCC and Brad Yearwood.  We owe it to them to be there to and cast a vote for one of them. Both are qualified, either will do a great job I'm sure.  Set aside these dates.

      While you are marking your calendar, note the date of Monday January 9, 2006. On that night we will again hold a joint meeting with the New York State Restaurant Association, Rochester Chapter. The dinner will be held at the Genesee Valley Club, home to several of our members. More details will follow. Please note that we will also hold a general meeting later in the month.

      Since we are honored with two culinary educators as our candidates for Chef of the Year I would like to say a word or two about culinary education. There are two routs taken by most young cooks to be. They either find a job in a restaurant or go to a culinary school. You have heard stories about the cook who found a job in a restaurant because he liked to eat, or the one who took the job because he could walk there from home or school. Some took the job because a friend worked there and they need help right away. This type of culinary training involves learning a skill or technique and repeating it then adding new skills and perfecting them.  By doing this you are then given the opportunity to learn other stations and advance through the brigade.
If a person chooses a culinary school the continued repetition of skills may not be present but a lot of other good can come from a formal education. First any program that leads to a diploma rather than a certificate is probably the preferred route. If a young culinarian claims no need or desire to learn math or English because he just want to run a restaurant he is fooling himself. "A business plan is nothing but a math project wrapped up in an English project. If you don't have a good narrative, if there are spelling errors, or poor thinking, you're not going to get the money. It doesn't matter how good a cook you are."
says  Peter Lehmuller, dean of culinary education at J&W's Charlotte campus. "To limit a culinary education to just the job skills limits the program and the student"
As chefs in our kitchens are we also guilty of this shortsightedness? Do we only want our cooks to "shut up and do your job"? Do we show them how and why we do a monthly inventory? How about purchasing?  Do we let lead cooks or sous chefs in on the hiring procedures? Do we encourage cooks to develop specials that could be part of the menu? If you do, do you give them credit? Do the discussions in your kitchen center around food or sports, or the love life of the wait staff or the current movies? Have you suggested a good book or a continuing education course to an employee?  Better yet can you hold your own mini-courses before service? As a chef we have a responsibility to our guests and our employer but also to our brigade. We should all be culinary educators. We should all be grateful to the men and women who give our cooks a firm foundation in life and in cooking. That's a lot of questions, think on them for a while.


Chef Paul

"Happy and successful cooking doesn't rely only on know-how; it comes from the heart, makes great demands on the palate and needs enthusiasm and a deep love of food to bring it to life."
Georges Blanc, Ma Cuisine des Saisons