Investing in staffers' skills
To highlight chefs’ talents, Skidmore College will host an American Culinary Federation-sanctioned culinary conference and competition in January, along with 11 colleges and universities from three states, Miller says.
Meanwhile, Northwestern is eyeing a long-term overhaul by rewriting and implementing its culinary training and development plan, which will encompass all culinary staff, from entry-level workers to executive chefs, Studtmann says. “The trainings will include onboarding plans for each position, defined training that will need to be completed for each position, core competencies, culinary competitions, chef demos, on- and off-site learning, guest chef experiences, ACF involvement, community outreach, charitable events, authentic ethnic foods training” and more.
At North Carolina State University, the recent integration of new foodservice software and campus-wide digital menu boards means additional training for managers and supervisors, says Lisa Eberhart, director of nutrition and wellness. “The outcome is a completely integrated system where all nutrition, ingredient list, pricing and calorie information are housed in one database,” she says. “The labels, menu boards, mobile app, touchscreens and website can be changed simultaneously in real time if there is a menu or ingredient change.”