The National Culinary Review

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE By Michael Ty, CEC, AAC

The FOUNDATION of Our Future

Over the past 10½ months, I have had the opportunity to visit many secondary and postsecondary institutions and events. During these visits, we have talked about the importance of these fine students and the fact that they are our future. And we discussed how vital it is to maintain our youth membership.

ACF has begun to invest in our students by forming two ad hoc committees: Youth Movement and Student Culinarian. We will also be inviting the Senior Chefs Committee, which has the ability to help us find a solution to maintaining youth membership, to join us as we work on forging a foundation for our future.

As I have traveled over the past 35 years, there has been a common denominator among all the groups and individuals I have met: How do we build on the foundation of our profession by nurturing the men and women who will one day take our places in the kitchen and in leadership roles? Along with that, we all see a need to stress the importance of mentors. I can attest, as I know many of you can, to the importance of mentors in any professional career.

with many key individuals with the National Restaurant Association (NRA) Educational Foundation and NRA President Dawn Sweeney. We discussed the importance of developing these young culinarians, and how vital it is for our organizations to work together. This month, I am a guest of SKillsUSA for the second year. Last year, as with the ProStart competition, I saw various skills levels among the state champions. Why is this, and is there anything we can do to help students be more prepared when they enter the competition arena? Mentoring could play a big part.

Since the announcement of the Be Like “Mike” contest, I have received several calls and e-mails about this opportunity for a student to shadow me during the national convention and see what it takes to be a leader. I have been encouraged to hear about a number of students who are engaged and interested in learning about the importance of good leadership in their careers. Do they have mentors? There are opportunities for all of us to make a difference.

of our profession by networking with members we don’t know well and making visitors feel welcome. Imagine what this would mean to a student or anyone else who might be unsure of his or her place in the organization.

At the national convention, we will find out some of the meanings of “the power of connection,” and at the end of the day, it is my hope that we all have a great time developing relationships. Reach out to all culinarians when you see them in Anaheim, and network with them. Also, our national convention is the perfect opportunity for us to start mentoring our future culinarians. Encourage your students and apprentices to come to Anaheim. Ask your chapter to sponsor at least one of them to attend and be exposed to our organization.

The fact remains that as professionals, leaders and members of this great federation, we all need to be engaged with mentoring our future. Let’s all set a goal to walk away from this year’s national convention as a mentor to one or two students.

So, how can we encourage each other to get engaged and mentor young culinarians and guide them in their careers? I know that in many of our culinary programs, we have dedicated chefs who teach the basics and help students on their career paths. Some of you have developed and nurtured many fine students who have made you proud. But what does it take to continue this when they leave the educational system?

It’s understandable that when we attend chapter events and regional conferences or national convention, we enjoy catching up with friends and colleagues. But what about those we might not know or who are new to our organization? We could all be better stewards

The Lorain County JVS ProStart Management Team, representing Ohio, placed 4th at the 2010 National ProStart Invitational in Overland Park, Kan., April 30-May 2. Left to right: Maurina Driscoll, instructor, Cara Wingard, Amanda Smith, Michael Ty, Sierra Hammel, Megan Whitman and Michele Resek, mentor.