Most of you reading this have a presence on the Internet personally or through your program at both the secondary and post secondary levels. Some may even be teaching Internet marketing.
Whichever the case there are a couple of resources online that may be of interest to you personally or for your classroom or program. The two websites below can assist you and your internet marketing efforts along the lines of search and pay-per-click marketing, social networks, mobile marketing, yellow pages online, and more.
Check them out at:
http://wilsonweb.com/
http://www.marketingprofs.com/
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
Coffee Talk
I get a periodical entitled, Coffee Talk that I just love to read. Each and every issue has great commentary and information on all aspects of coffee. I agree with the slogan on the front cover of the periodical that says, "The most trusted source in coffee from crop to cup."
In this latest issue (2009, V22, No.6) I learned about various water filtration techniques for great coffee making, the existence of the Women's Coffee Alliance (to empower women in the coffee industry), business tools for success, an investigation on caffeine in coffee, marketing tips, and more. I also find the ads informative as it gives one a great perspective on what it takes to equip and run a retail coffee service.
To learn more about the periodical, visit www.CoffeeTalk.com. A one year subscription for for 10 issues, is only $47.50 and may be able to get for free if an administrator of a culinary arts or hospitality education program. You can subscribe by visiting www.HospNews.com or calling 206-686-7378, ext. 51. I cannot wait to read each new issue and hope you will feel the same.
If you follow this blog and have other resources on coffee please post them to this blog or e-mail them to me at mlalopa@fooded.org and I will post them for you giving you credit for the source.
In this latest issue (2009, V22, No.6) I learned about various water filtration techniques for great coffee making, the existence of the Women's Coffee Alliance (to empower women in the coffee industry), business tools for success, an investigation on caffeine in coffee, marketing tips, and more. I also find the ads informative as it gives one a great perspective on what it takes to equip and run a retail coffee service.
To learn more about the periodical, visit www.CoffeeTalk.com. A one year subscription for for 10 issues, is only $47.50 and may be able to get for free if an administrator of a culinary arts or hospitality education program. You can subscribe by visiting www.HospNews.com or calling 206-686-7378, ext. 51. I cannot wait to read each new issue and hope you will feel the same.
If you follow this blog and have other resources on coffee please post them to this blog or e-mail them to me at mlalopa@fooded.org and I will post them for you giving you credit for the source.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Call for Papers: Climate Change and Simulation/Gaming
All you culinary arts and hospitality educators that have gone green here is your chance to get your first or next publication. A special edition of Simulation & Gaming, an international journal of theory, practice and research (Sage Publications), will focus on the numerous pedagogical and investigative methods employed to examine climate change methods that cross disciplines, from the natural and geo sciences, through the social sciences, to education. Climate change is a quintessential issue requiring rigorous analysis and careful understanding by scientists, educators, policy makes and global citizens.
Submissions are being requested from multiple disciplines and perspectives, employing a variety of methods to understand and teach a broad variety of climate change dimensions - process, causes, consequences and responses - social, economic and geopolitical impacts such as international migration, reconfiguration of states, poverty, trade wars, etc. Authors are being asked to submit articles that relate to climate change utilizing such methods as games, role-plays, simulations, experiential learning exercises, case studies; internet-based and digital games; modeling, game theory, computer simulation, etc.; virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual environments.
Proposals may submitted now through the end of 2009. Proposal will be reviewed within one month. Manuscripts will be published on line as articles are accepted. A printed symposium will be available after all articles are printed online, which is good news for those that may not want a publication but interested in the thoughts and research of others.
Proposals of one to two pages may be submitted electronically (.doc, not .docx). Proposals should contain your name, email, phone, fax, address, etc.; working title for proposed paper; and a set of objectives, an abstract and/or working plan. Proposals may be submitted to the Guest editors: Klaus Eisenack, University of Oldenburg, Germany, klaus.eisenack@uni-oldenburg.de, Mary Pettenger, Western Oregon University, USA, pettengm@wou.edu, Diana Reckien, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany, reckien@pik-potsdam.de, Richard Warrick, International Climate Change Exchange, New Zealand, cearsr@waikato.ac.nz, Niki Young, Western Oregon University, USA, youngn@wou.edu.
Editor of Simulation and Gaming: A Sage Journal:
David Crookall, simulation.gaming@gmail.com
Submissions are being requested from multiple disciplines and perspectives, employing a variety of methods to understand and teach a broad variety of climate change dimensions - process, causes, consequences and responses - social, economic and geopolitical impacts such as international migration, reconfiguration of states, poverty, trade wars, etc. Authors are being asked to submit articles that relate to climate change utilizing such methods as games, role-plays, simulations, experiential learning exercises, case studies; internet-based and digital games; modeling, game theory, computer simulation, etc.; virtual reality, augmented reality, virtual environments.
Proposals may submitted now through the end of 2009. Proposal will be reviewed within one month. Manuscripts will be published on line as articles are accepted. A printed symposium will be available after all articles are printed online, which is good news for those that may not want a publication but interested in the thoughts and research of others.
Proposals of one to two pages may be submitted electronically (.doc, not .docx). Proposals should contain your name, email, phone, fax, address, etc.; working title for proposed paper; and a set of objectives, an abstract and/or working plan. Proposals may be submitted to the Guest editors: Klaus Eisenack, University of Oldenburg, Germany, klaus.eisenack@uni-oldenburg.de, Mary Pettenger, Western Oregon University, USA, pettengm@wou.edu, Diana Reckien, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany, reckien@pik-potsdam.de, Richard Warrick, International Climate Change Exchange, New Zealand, cearsr@waikato.ac.nz, Niki Young, Western Oregon University, USA, youngn@wou.edu.
Editor of Simulation and Gaming: A Sage Journal:
David Crookall, simulation.gaming@gmail.com
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Watch Out Google, Here Comes Bing?
For those like me who routinely use Google to do searches for everything from A to Z, you might want to add a new wrinkle to your searching habits. Microsoft, of course not wanting to play second fiddle to the ultra popular Google, has launched a new browser Bing (www.bing.com).
I have been playing around with it and so far I find that I like it as a second source! Similar to Google, you can type keywords into a search window and hit the go button and sort through the resulting hits. Or you can type in keywords such as "teaching strategies" and then click on the categories listed at the top left-hand portion of the page, such as web, images, videos, etc., similar to Google. I do think that Bing has the edge on the way the resulting information is organized and did like that when searching under Videos all you had to do was put the cursor over a selected video and it would begin to play. Not sure if there were other advantages on Bings side when searching via categories.
I will play around with Bing some more to learn its advantages of Google and report back if find more true advantages to assist those teaching culinary arts and hospitality. In the meantime, spend some time with Bing and see what you think of the new search engine. Feel free to share your thoughts in response to this post or send me an e-mail (mlalopa@fooded.org) and I will share them later in a post for you.
I have been playing around with it and so far I find that I like it as a second source! Similar to Google, you can type keywords into a search window and hit the go button and sort through the resulting hits. Or you can type in keywords such as "teaching strategies" and then click on the categories listed at the top left-hand portion of the page, such as web, images, videos, etc., similar to Google. I do think that Bing has the edge on the way the resulting information is organized and did like that when searching under Videos all you had to do was put the cursor over a selected video and it would begin to play. Not sure if there were other advantages on Bings side when searching via categories.
I will play around with Bing some more to learn its advantages of Google and report back if find more true advantages to assist those teaching culinary arts and hospitality. In the meantime, spend some time with Bing and see what you think of the new search engine. Feel free to share your thoughts in response to this post or send me an e-mail (mlalopa@fooded.org) and I will share them later in a post for you.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Pastry Camp - All Chocolate
Are you in the Chicagoland area? On June 29-July 3, 2009 (8am - 1pm), Food Enthusiast John Kraus, The French Pastry School Faculty, Chef de Cuisine is offering a Chocolate Pastry Camp. The Camp is open to students 15 and up and adults of all ages, who would like the chance to explore the world of chocolate French pastries!
During the week-long hands-on Chocolate Pastry Camp, participants will create classic French recipes like chocolate croissants, chocolate brioche, cakes and tarts, plated desserts, chocolate candies, and sugar candies, all made with the best milk, white, and dark chocolate. Chef John Kraus will guide participants through the fundamentals of each of these areas of pastries. Participants will learn many classic recipes including chocolate caramels, chocolate macarons, chocolate tarts, and ice cream! Chef Kraus will also teach the Dark Chocolate Gâteau de Voyage (a delicious chocolate pound cake), and and homemade "Nutella"! Participants will also taste and discuss the product made as they go, so be prepared to eat, and still have plenty of goodies to take home to enjoy with your friends and family! For more information on The French Pastry School visit www.frenchpastryschool.com or call 312.726.2419.
Chef Kraus' bio can be found at www.frenchpastryschool.com/about_us/john_kraus.html.
During the week-long hands-on Chocolate Pastry Camp, participants will create classic French recipes like chocolate croissants, chocolate brioche, cakes and tarts, plated desserts, chocolate candies, and sugar candies, all made with the best milk, white, and dark chocolate. Chef John Kraus will guide participants through the fundamentals of each of these areas of pastries. Participants will learn many classic recipes including chocolate caramels, chocolate macarons, chocolate tarts, and ice cream! Chef Kraus will also teach the Dark Chocolate Gâteau de Voyage (a delicious chocolate pound cake), and and homemade "Nutella"! Participants will also taste and discuss the product made as they go, so be prepared to eat, and still have plenty of goodies to take home to enjoy with your friends and family! For more information on The French Pastry School visit www.frenchpastryschool.com or call 312.726.2419.
Chef Kraus' bio can be found at www.frenchpastryschool.com/about_us/john_kraus.html.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monitoring and Nurturing Student Teams
I have to agree with Bruffee who said that “education is not a process of assimilating the truth but a process of learning to take in hand what is going on by joining the conversation of humankind...collaborative learning is an arena in which students can negotiate their way into the conversation.” I use student teams as a means by which to get students involved in a conversation with each other and myself so that we can successfully tackle the course objectives together over the period of a semester. I have also learned that student teams must be monitored and nurtured so that the conversation between them and me does not turn sour.
One of the main reasons that I monitor and nurture student teams is due to my awareness of the team learning curve (developed by Katzenback & Smith, in their book the Wisdom of Teams). The team learning curve looks very much like a 4-ounce ladle from the side, with the handle pointing at a 45-degree handle to the right. The learning curve illustrates that teams go through the stages of working group, to a pseudo-team, to a potential team, to a real team, and on to a high performing team. As teams move from one stage to the next there is a corresponding level of performance in that team performance actually gets worse before it gets better. At the working group stage (the left hand lip of the ladle), there is a basic level of performance as people begin to work together to accomplish tasks. The performance of the team actually gets worse at the pseudo-team stage (the bottom of the ladle) as members begin to trust more in each other and shape a common purpose. At the potential team stage there is a growing harmony among the team and their performance equals that of when they were at the working group stage. When members truly begin to trust in each other and genuinely care about the success or failure of teammates, they move to real team status (halfway up on the handle of the ladle) and find that their performance is consistently better than at any other time in the past. The final transition is to that of a high performance team; this stage is depicted at the high end of the curve (or tip of handle) and is when the team is at its peak performance. A high performing team is one that consists of members who are deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success, they not only outperform their previous efforts but those of other teams who are in the early stages of the team learning curve.
One of the ways in which I monitor and nurture student teams to make the transition to high performing teams is through regularly scheduled meetings with team leaders. I conduct these meetings with 15 minutes remaining in the class after I have dismissed the rest of the students. These meetings are important because I have found that teams do not necessarily move in a neat and logical sequence from one stage to the next along the team learning curve; it is important to determine where the teams may be on the learning curve and find ways to get (and then keep) them at the level of a high performing team. For example, some teams make the transition to a high performing team in no time at all--the challenge for them and me is to keep them at that stage. Some teams make it to a pseudo-team and get frustrated because their performance gets worse the harder they try to work together--the challenge is to find ways to help them make the transition to a real, or high performing team so that their conversation and performance will improve. Oddly enough, each class also has the mystery team; this is the team that never evolves to even the working group stage and lags behind the rest of the class the entire semester (this is also the team that keeps me awake at night trying to figure ways to move them along the curve).
In conclusion, teams are like people, they all do not learn at the same rate. This also holds true for teams, some come together quickly and become high performing teams overnight, others do not. Having regularly scheduled meetings with team leaders will help to identify where a team is on the learning curve and get them to make the transition to high performing teams. In this way, the students and the instructor can work together so that all are successful in mastering the course materials over the course of the semester.
One of the main reasons that I monitor and nurture student teams is due to my awareness of the team learning curve (developed by Katzenback & Smith, in their book the Wisdom of Teams). The team learning curve looks very much like a 4-ounce ladle from the side, with the handle pointing at a 45-degree handle to the right. The learning curve illustrates that teams go through the stages of working group, to a pseudo-team, to a potential team, to a real team, and on to a high performing team. As teams move from one stage to the next there is a corresponding level of performance in that team performance actually gets worse before it gets better. At the working group stage (the left hand lip of the ladle), there is a basic level of performance as people begin to work together to accomplish tasks. The performance of the team actually gets worse at the pseudo-team stage (the bottom of the ladle) as members begin to trust more in each other and shape a common purpose. At the potential team stage there is a growing harmony among the team and their performance equals that of when they were at the working group stage. When members truly begin to trust in each other and genuinely care about the success or failure of teammates, they move to real team status (halfway up on the handle of the ladle) and find that their performance is consistently better than at any other time in the past. The final transition is to that of a high performance team; this stage is depicted at the high end of the curve (or tip of handle) and is when the team is at its peak performance. A high performing team is one that consists of members who are deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success, they not only outperform their previous efforts but those of other teams who are in the early stages of the team learning curve.
One of the ways in which I monitor and nurture student teams to make the transition to high performing teams is through regularly scheduled meetings with team leaders. I conduct these meetings with 15 minutes remaining in the class after I have dismissed the rest of the students. These meetings are important because I have found that teams do not necessarily move in a neat and logical sequence from one stage to the next along the team learning curve; it is important to determine where the teams may be on the learning curve and find ways to get (and then keep) them at the level of a high performing team. For example, some teams make the transition to a high performing team in no time at all--the challenge for them and me is to keep them at that stage. Some teams make it to a pseudo-team and get frustrated because their performance gets worse the harder they try to work together--the challenge is to find ways to help them make the transition to a real, or high performing team so that their conversation and performance will improve. Oddly enough, each class also has the mystery team; this is the team that never evolves to even the working group stage and lags behind the rest of the class the entire semester (this is also the team that keeps me awake at night trying to figure ways to move them along the curve).
In conclusion, teams are like people, they all do not learn at the same rate. This also holds true for teams, some come together quickly and become high performing teams overnight, others do not. Having regularly scheduled meetings with team leaders will help to identify where a team is on the learning curve and get them to make the transition to high performing teams. In this way, the students and the instructor can work together so that all are successful in mastering the course materials over the course of the semester.
Monday, June 22, 2009
You Must Be Crazy!
As you know, yesterday was Father's Day. This means that my wife, three kids, and I go out to the restaurant of our choice to celebrate such occasions. So, I chose a popular national casual dining chain restaurant over a local option -- for a change -- that we have tended to go to as long as I can remember because you can always count on very good service and a meal and if something goes wrong they are renowned for their service recovery so a visit is never a bad bet.
We got off to a late start due to daughters now starting to have a life of their own in their late teen years so there was no wait on getting seated when we arrived at 8:30 pm. We actually got to sit in our favorite booth, too. We were met quickly by our server since there were few parties dining at that time and this is when the meal took a quick departure for the worst. We were given the "new menus" that just came out this past week. The first bad news is that this chain actually had the balls to raise menu prices (beyond those we thought were too high the last time we visited) in the midst of a recession. Furthermore, the menu has now change so much that we were not even sure we were in the same restaurant anymore.
So restaurant management tip #1 for students; an ill-advised price increase in times of recession and drastic menu change will NOT turn on the bread-n-butter customers. So if looking to leave them behind and attempt to cater to an upscale clientele then that would do the trick.
We ordered our starters and they arrived after a long wait. When we looked at what we had just been served it became apparent that even though they raised menu prices they have cut back on the quality and quantity of the ingredients. One starter was so badly cooked, and such a poor product compared to other restaurants in the area, that it was just about inedible. My wife and I got a salad with our meal and I cannot recall a more lifeless and boring salad in my life. I elected not to bring either of these to the attention of our server because it was now well after 9 pm and we were pretty much attending the last supper for this chain anyway based on the disappointment in our faces.
The entrees arrived soon thereafter but much later than expected given there were only 5 other parties in the entire restaurant. I guess they let some of the line cooks go early to "save money." The entrees were at best "okay!" Nothing to rave about along the lines of "ooooh, taste this" or "can I try a bite of that!" So, now an okay meal is worse than usual because we had a hard time picking entrees to begin with due to the new menu and sky high prices.
All in all, the server did a good job of attending to our table by refilling drinks and asking if we needed anything, which was expected as she only had one other table than ours. However, it did not matter as the final die has been cast by our family. We can honestly say that we will never set foot in that chain ever again now that they ruined our special occasion. Don't get me wrong. I am no cheapskate and more than happy to pay $17 to $30 for an entree in restaurants serving a similar menu in cities like Chicago or Indianapolis, I will never pay them again at this chain, and they have lost a customer for life.
So congratulations once again to someone at the top of this chain who no doubt graduated from a business school and used his or her MBA accounting techniques to increase the bottom line by creating a limited menu that sounds tasty but isn't, raises prices, and purchases supplies at the lowest price possible! That formula has now lost this family for life and sure others will soon follow if they do not right the ship.
I would mention the name of the chain that was such a disappointment to my family and I but they are a good friend of our program at Purdue. I will indeed share this story with them when they are on campus in the fall and then they can do with the information as they like. I doubt it will make a difference to the pencil pushers at the top anyways! You know, the same ones who were taught the same ill-advised accounting strategies by their clueless B school profs to give us the recession we have in the first place.
We got off to a late start due to daughters now starting to have a life of their own in their late teen years so there was no wait on getting seated when we arrived at 8:30 pm. We actually got to sit in our favorite booth, too. We were met quickly by our server since there were few parties dining at that time and this is when the meal took a quick departure for the worst. We were given the "new menus" that just came out this past week. The first bad news is that this chain actually had the balls to raise menu prices (beyond those we thought were too high the last time we visited) in the midst of a recession. Furthermore, the menu has now change so much that we were not even sure we were in the same restaurant anymore.
So restaurant management tip #1 for students; an ill-advised price increase in times of recession and drastic menu change will NOT turn on the bread-n-butter customers. So if looking to leave them behind and attempt to cater to an upscale clientele then that would do the trick.
We ordered our starters and they arrived after a long wait. When we looked at what we had just been served it became apparent that even though they raised menu prices they have cut back on the quality and quantity of the ingredients. One starter was so badly cooked, and such a poor product compared to other restaurants in the area, that it was just about inedible. My wife and I got a salad with our meal and I cannot recall a more lifeless and boring salad in my life. I elected not to bring either of these to the attention of our server because it was now well after 9 pm and we were pretty much attending the last supper for this chain anyway based on the disappointment in our faces.
The entrees arrived soon thereafter but much later than expected given there were only 5 other parties in the entire restaurant. I guess they let some of the line cooks go early to "save money." The entrees were at best "okay!" Nothing to rave about along the lines of "ooooh, taste this" or "can I try a bite of that!" So, now an okay meal is worse than usual because we had a hard time picking entrees to begin with due to the new menu and sky high prices.
All in all, the server did a good job of attending to our table by refilling drinks and asking if we needed anything, which was expected as she only had one other table than ours. However, it did not matter as the final die has been cast by our family. We can honestly say that we will never set foot in that chain ever again now that they ruined our special occasion. Don't get me wrong. I am no cheapskate and more than happy to pay $17 to $30 for an entree in restaurants serving a similar menu in cities like Chicago or Indianapolis, I will never pay them again at this chain, and they have lost a customer for life.
So congratulations once again to someone at the top of this chain who no doubt graduated from a business school and used his or her MBA accounting techniques to increase the bottom line by creating a limited menu that sounds tasty but isn't, raises prices, and purchases supplies at the lowest price possible! That formula has now lost this family for life and sure others will soon follow if they do not right the ship.
I would mention the name of the chain that was such a disappointment to my family and I but they are a good friend of our program at Purdue. I will indeed share this story with them when they are on campus in the fall and then they can do with the information as they like. I doubt it will make a difference to the pencil pushers at the top anyways! You know, the same ones who were taught the same ill-advised accounting strategies by their clueless B school profs to give us the recession we have in the first place.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Select, Store, Prepare Fresh Produce 101
Given that local, fresh, sustainable produce is in the mainstream the information on handling it is in great demand. For those who are looking for reference materials to share with students on how to hare information on handling fresh produce in climates similar to that of Indiana the Purdue Extension folks have put togehter a handy website for use free of charge.
The site is quite informational beyond that of handling fresh produce and worth visiting at the following URL: http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/extension/food_health/nutrition/produce.html
Also, Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there!
The site is quite informational beyond that of handling fresh produce and worth visiting at the following URL: http://www.cfs.purdue.edu/extension/food_health/nutrition/produce.html
Also, Happy Father's Day to all you dad's out there!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Sustainable Restaurant Design
If teaching a course on restaurant layout and design, or a course where students have to come up with a restaurant concept and flesh it out as a means to synthesize all they have learned about restaurant management do them a favor and require them to do one using a completely sustainable building made from recycled materials (trash) learning from a cutting edge architect, Michael Reynolds, who formed Earthship Biotecture, http://www.earthship.net/.
Indeed this form of architecture is so advanced some of the structures are able to generate their own power, or collect their own water. Reynolds is currently working on a project that is building homes that will cost about $100/year from the standard electrical grid without sacrificing modern toys like flatscreen tv's and computers.
Check out some videos explaining the sustainable building technology at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TbxhpG-Y4Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDRstVYF7wA
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/videos/earthshipvideos.htm
If you find yourself fast becoming a friend, join them on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/earthship
Indeed this form of architecture is so advanced some of the structures are able to generate their own power, or collect their own water. Reynolds is currently working on a project that is building homes that will cost about $100/year from the standard electrical grid without sacrificing modern toys like flatscreen tv's and computers.
Check out some videos explaining the sustainable building technology at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TbxhpG-Y4Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDRstVYF7wA
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/videos/earthshipvideos.htm
If you find yourself fast becoming a friend, join them on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/earthship
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Please Buy Fairtrade
Having spent many years in the UK doing tourism research I am quite familiar with Fair Trade. Travelling through Wales you will even pass through places that have earned the distinction of being a Fair Trade town or city. Yet, when I ask my American students about Fair Trade they give me a blank stare in response which is deplorable.What is Fair Trade? According to the book, 50 Reasons to Buy Fair Trade, by Litvinoff and Madelely and published in 2007 in the UK (available at http://www.plutobooks.com/), 'it is trade with a difference.' In short, fair trade was launched in response to the fact that when consumers in "developed nations" buy food and clothing at ridiculously low prices it means that the person that ultimately produced them is living in some third world country and barely making a living all so others can (to my way of thinking) selfishly get their bananas, for example, at $.39 a pound (which you better enjoy now because that crop is being wiped out a virus that is sweeping around the world). In effect, Fair Trade is a way for the person to earn a fair price for the fruits of their labor to do things we Americans take for granted like education, health services, clean drinking water, and so forth.
As the authors describe it: Fair trade is a way for us to help the world's poor every time we shop. With fair trade, producers in poor countries recieve a decent return -- a fair and stable price or wage for their products. And also in many cases they get extra money - a premium - to invest in their business community. Buying fair trade products is a way to bring about a better, more generous world. It can help to make poverty history (which the UN pledged to end, by the way by 2014 and not doing so well on that goal). Many fair trade products carry the fair Fairtrade Mark...which is awarded by an organisation called Fairtrade Labelling Organisations (FLO) International to products that meet internationally agreed fair trade standards.
So please look at the products you purchase for your school's kitchen/labs or your home and choose those with the Fairtrade Mark and do your part to help those who are at the mercy of literally three to five food conglomerates on our planet who purchase from those who are powerless on a "take it or let it rot in the fields or dock" basis. Yes, you will pay a little bit more but you can feel good consuming those products knowing someone was not kept in poverty so you can enjoy you cheap cup of coffee, chocolate bar, t-shirt, and so forth. You will also improve your health because the Fairtrade Mark indicates the food and animals were raised in a responsible manner. Besides, as educators you have a responsibility to educate your students about Fairtrade because it helps you and them become better stewards of the people, animals, and plants on the planet that is our home in the context of the the teaching, research, and service we do in our respective culinary arts and tourism programs.
For a great online source regarding Fairtrade, visit the Fairtrade Foundation's website at: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/
Monday, June 15, 2009
Model Commencement Address!
If you ever have to give a commencement address, consider giving this one. It was offered up by a friend of mine who would like to give it, Louis Schmier, in the Department of History at Valdosta State, GA. Perhaps someone out there can give it for him one day. If you did, I am sure it would be talked about for years to come.
"Okay, folks. I know you've got your degrees because you're sitting there crowded together wearing those sweaty medieval robes and silly looking hats. You don't really want to hear me, do you? You're not really interested in reflecting, are you? And, you've had your fill of advice, haven't you? You just want to go out and celebrate your survival.
So, I'm going to make sure that you will have had to put up with me for about a minute. Literally! Clock me! I'm just going to say this: the most important aspect of your education is not what happened in the classroom, in the dorm or apartment, in the sorority or fraternity house, in the field house, in the theater wing, or in any campus or off-campus nook and cranny. Your education really has been all about what happened inside you. These years of getting an education are really about experiencing the growing pains of growing up. In fact, you're about to find out that is what your life, and all life, will always be about."
"That's it. Didn't believe me, did you? Now let's get out of here and party. "Make it a good day.
"Okay, folks. I know you've got your degrees because you're sitting there crowded together wearing those sweaty medieval robes and silly looking hats. You don't really want to hear me, do you? You're not really interested in reflecting, are you? And, you've had your fill of advice, haven't you? You just want to go out and celebrate your survival.
So, I'm going to make sure that you will have had to put up with me for about a minute. Literally! Clock me! I'm just going to say this: the most important aspect of your education is not what happened in the classroom, in the dorm or apartment, in the sorority or fraternity house, in the field house, in the theater wing, or in any campus or off-campus nook and cranny. Your education really has been all about what happened inside you. These years of getting an education are really about experiencing the growing pains of growing up. In fact, you're about to find out that is what your life, and all life, will always be about."
"That's it. Didn't believe me, did you? Now let's get out of here and party. "Make it a good day.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Sumptuous Sandwich Images
I love reading Wired Magazine. It is a must read for any educator wanting to keep in touch with the rapidly changing world of technology. The June issue brought a new blog to my attention that may be of interest to culinary arts and hospitality educators that is managed by a Jon Chonko and his girlfriend who use an HP Scanjet to take "food-gasmic" snapshots of sumptuous sandwich halves. Jon describes the blog as "scans of sandwiches for education and delight."
It is worth visiting the blog because there are lots and lots of great sandwich images that may very well find their way into your teaching toolkit, so check out http://scanwiches.com/ to see the mouthwatering images!
It is worth visiting the blog because there are lots and lots of great sandwich images that may very well find their way into your teaching toolkit, so check out http://scanwiches.com/ to see the mouthwatering images!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Scholarship Available for ProStart HS Seniors!
High school seniors are now eligible for the 2009 ProStart National Certificate of Achievement Scholarship. The $2,500 scholarship is designed exclusively for high school seniors who have earned their ProStart National Certificate of Achievement.
Students must plan to enroll in a foodservice-related program at an accredited college or university to qualify. If you have a student who wishes to apply for the scholarship or needs more information please visit www.nraef.org/scholarships
You may also send an e-mail concerning the NRAEF Scholarship Program to scholars@nraef.org or call 800-765-2122 ext 6738.
Applications MUST be postmarked no later than AUGUST 15, 2009
Students must plan to enroll in a foodservice-related program at an accredited college or university to qualify. If you have a student who wishes to apply for the scholarship or needs more information please visit www.nraef.org/scholarships
You may also send an e-mail concerning the NRAEF Scholarship Program to scholars@nraef.org or call 800-765-2122 ext 6738.
Applications MUST be postmarked no later than AUGUST 15, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
NRA Initiative to Conserve Energy
Green is red hot and there is no stopping what has become not so much a trend but a transition for the foodservice industry. To assist foodservice operations wanting to be more Green, the National Restaurant Association has launched Conserve at http://conserve.restaurant.org/. The website has useful information on resources and energy saving tips for restaurateurs to use to make their business more Green. There is even a Conserve / EPA Energy Star Challenge that is a pledge to conserve energy along with a free brochure on energy saving tips. Perhaps you might be able to sign your foodservice outlet on to the pledge and show your students yet another way to be more Green.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
No More Fish Bowl-Sized Wine Glasses
I guess I am not a so-called "wine snob" and have no particular bent when it comes to the type of glassware that my wine is poured into. Hell, I am someone who used to enjoy MD 20/20 and Boone's Farm right out of the bottle with my high school chums. More recently I am a pragmatist and do not fancy fish-bowl sized wine glasses, which was what my wine was served in when dining at a pretty good Italian restaurant in Chicago on Sunday.
The primary reason I do not fancy the huge wine glasses is the initial cost associated with the glass itself. They do cost more and they are easier to break, especially if select a very nice brand. The other problem I have is that people percieve value based on how tall something is and not how horizontal it is. For example, if you give someone a 8-ounce beverage portion in a tall slender glass and then give them an 8-ounce portion in a rocks glass, the customer is going to percieve that they are getting less of a pour in the shorter glass even though the amount poured is the same.
And THAT is why restaurants have had to purchase a small carafe to accompany every glass of wine ordered so that the customer will see that they did get what they paid for when ordering and can then "serve themselves" and pour the wine they ordered into their own glass to perceive "value." This is wasteful because another purchase has had to be made to convince customers they are not getting screwed when their gigantic wine glass comes to the table with what appears to be a coating of wine at the bottom. Eegads!
So, I am going to go out on a limb today and suggest that the only people who fancy huge wine glasses are precocious wine snobs who are hung up on "size matters" and get turned on by tall, erect, hard glassware and get to order them for wine service. I do not think it matters to the average customer! That is why I love drinking a glass of wine in pubs in the UK as each glass has a standardized line that is used to measure out how much wine is to be poured so that customers know they are not getting "short poured."
So for me and my money, and that of the typical customer, stop ordering the fish-bowl size wine glass for wine service. They are expensive and twice as much so when ordering the sidekick carafe. Order a standard glass that can be poured almost to the rim and let me believe I am getting value for my wine dollar.
What do you think?!
The primary reason I do not fancy the huge wine glasses is the initial cost associated with the glass itself. They do cost more and they are easier to break, especially if select a very nice brand. The other problem I have is that people percieve value based on how tall something is and not how horizontal it is. For example, if you give someone a 8-ounce beverage portion in a tall slender glass and then give them an 8-ounce portion in a rocks glass, the customer is going to percieve that they are getting less of a pour in the shorter glass even though the amount poured is the same.
And THAT is why restaurants have had to purchase a small carafe to accompany every glass of wine ordered so that the customer will see that they did get what they paid for when ordering and can then "serve themselves" and pour the wine they ordered into their own glass to perceive "value." This is wasteful because another purchase has had to be made to convince customers they are not getting screwed when their gigantic wine glass comes to the table with what appears to be a coating of wine at the bottom. Eegads!
So, I am going to go out on a limb today and suggest that the only people who fancy huge wine glasses are precocious wine snobs who are hung up on "size matters" and get turned on by tall, erect, hard glassware and get to order them for wine service. I do not think it matters to the average customer! That is why I love drinking a glass of wine in pubs in the UK as each glass has a standardized line that is used to measure out how much wine is to be poured so that customers know they are not getting "short poured."
So for me and my money, and that of the typical customer, stop ordering the fish-bowl size wine glass for wine service. They are expensive and twice as much so when ordering the sidekick carafe. Order a standard glass that can be poured almost to the rim and let me believe I am getting value for my wine dollar.
What do you think?!
Friday, June 5, 2009
The Downside of Discovery Learning
I have long been a proponent and practitioner of discovery learning teaching methods such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL). With my continued reading of the Willingham book, that I recommended a few weeks ago and the subject of yesterday's blog post, I am learning to re-examine the theory and practice of PBL. Reason being, according to cognitive psychologists, students will remember what they think about. During the course of PBL if they find information that is erroneous or flat wrong and think about it, without proper judgement or evaluation as to its authenticity or relatedness to the problem being solved, students will remember it. This is not good because it means that a well intentioned student-centered pedagogy could do potential harm when students are remembering the wrong things that may impact their performance in the kitchen or boardroom later in life. So, the message today is to do guided discovery where the materials are selected ahead of time by the instructor so that when students search them and think about whether or not that information will help them solve the problem or complete the assignment it will be information that will be worth remembering.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Why Don't Students Remember What I Teach Them?
You have probably asked yourself that question over the years in response to assessing the efforts of students on assignments in the classroom, lab, or field. One of the many things I have been learning from reading the Willingham book, "Why Don't Students Like School?" is the cognitive principle that "memory is a residue of thought" (p. 41). The statement that the author made which totally grabbed my attention was, "to teach well, you should pay careful attention to what an assignment will actually make students think about (not what you hope they will think), because that is what they will remember." In other words, the things you make students think about is that which they will remember because memory is the residue of thought!"
The resulting teaching tip from this cognitive principle from the author was to "review each lesson plan in terms of what the student is likely to think about." Case in point, if having them do a presentation on some aspect of baking using PowerPoint, will they have thought more about making an interesting presentation using the bells and whistles available in the software or the baking technique they are supposed to present to you and the class?" If it is the latter well no wonder they forget the baking principle because that was not what they were thinking about when preparing their presentation!
So, double-check your lesson plans this summer and determine what students will actually thinking about when the lesson is underway. Now that I am reading the Willingham book I am starting to understand why it is my honors class is one that students remember because they are constantly being asked by me to think (inside and outside of class) how the readings apply to the world in which we live and jot down those thoughts and discuss them in class when compared to my HR class that has them do worksheets from the chapters in the principle text (leading to poor performance on quizzes and exams). I will definitely give that more thought over the summer.
If you are reading the Willingham book this summer, please send your thoughts to me so that I may post them on the http://www.fooded.org/ website or as a post in response to this one.
The resulting teaching tip from this cognitive principle from the author was to "review each lesson plan in terms of what the student is likely to think about." Case in point, if having them do a presentation on some aspect of baking using PowerPoint, will they have thought more about making an interesting presentation using the bells and whistles available in the software or the baking technique they are supposed to present to you and the class?" If it is the latter well no wonder they forget the baking principle because that was not what they were thinking about when preparing their presentation!
So, double-check your lesson plans this summer and determine what students will actually thinking about when the lesson is underway. Now that I am reading the Willingham book I am starting to understand why it is my honors class is one that students remember because they are constantly being asked by me to think (inside and outside of class) how the readings apply to the world in which we live and jot down those thoughts and discuss them in class when compared to my HR class that has them do worksheets from the chapters in the principle text (leading to poor performance on quizzes and exams). I will definitely give that more thought over the summer.
If you are reading the Willingham book this summer, please send your thoughts to me so that I may post them on the http://www.fooded.org/ website or as a post in response to this one.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Get Inspired!
I have known Michael Cheatham for over 10 years. Many of you may have known him through I-CHRIE when he was director of sales recruiting for Hyatt. He has moved on from Hyatt and now runs his own company, Inspired Solutions (www.inspiredbyISA.com), which according to the website..."is a dedicated group of individuals who do nothing more than motivate...they INSPIRE!" I have had him speak to my students on numerous occasions and also invited him to speak at various conferences and he is EXCELLENT.
Among the many topics he can speak to is the one he just did for the Mulitcultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance on developing a Sustainable Competitive Advantage, defined as, "A Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) is a unique offering that is valued by your customer and is not available from the competition. It is not what you think it is or what you want it to be. It is what your customer believes and that is what counts. This perception is everything."
So if planning a faculty, staff, or administrative retreat or interested in speaking to Michael about presenting to your students, industry groups, or associations you are a part of please give him a call at 773.754.7081, or send an e-mail to mike@inspiredbymike.com.
Among the many topics he can speak to is the one he just did for the Mulitcultural Foodservice & Hospitality Alliance on developing a Sustainable Competitive Advantage, defined as, "A Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA) is a unique offering that is valued by your customer and is not available from the competition. It is not what you think it is or what you want it to be. It is what your customer believes and that is what counts. This perception is everything."
So if planning a faculty, staff, or administrative retreat or interested in speaking to Michael about presenting to your students, industry groups, or associations you are a part of please give him a call at 773.754.7081, or send an e-mail to mike@inspiredbymike.com.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Free Videos on Teacing
The Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching at Central Michigan University has a collection of five minute downloads on several relevant faculty topics that have some good tips on various aspects of teaching, such as Guidelines for Writing & Grading Essay Tests, Tips for Writing True/False questions, Engaging Students in Large Classes and more. When wanting to view a video click on the box in the left-hand column next to the topic of interest. The arrow will not change into the "pointing finger" but click on it anyway and wait a few seconds for the video to download. Although the video is a small window it is easy to view especially with the audio that is part of each one. View videos here:
http://www.facit.cmich.edu/whats-on/archive.html
http://www.facit.cmich.edu/whats-on/archive.html
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