Companies mine academia for culinary lessons, operations solutions from the heads of the class

Nation's Restaurant News, March 19, 2007 by Dina Berta

MINNEAPOLIS -- To enhance the menus in the restaurants of its 161 domestic Radisson Hotels & Resorts, Carlson Hotels Worldwide, based here, went back to school.

Because there is no corporate chef for the Radisson chain, which is 95-percent franchised, Carlson sought out the expertise of chef instructors in the Industry Solutions Group at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.

Carlson is not the only operator returning to the classroom for guidance. More and more restaurateurs are seeking help on everything from menus and design to accounting and human resource practices from instructors and students at culinary and hospitality management schools--at prices that can be as low as free.

Among the recipes the CIA chefs created for Radisson's Tasteful Choices menu were a salad with poached lobster, sweet mango and spicy lime vinaigrette and a marinated, grilled flank steak served with spiced greens, caramelized onions and blue cheese.

"We did it to build credibility in our menus," said Martha Bader, director of food and beverage procurement for Carlson Hotels, the parent of 920 hotels and resorts, including the Radisson chain, which has another 239 locations around the globe. "We needed a quality organization that is respected by customers and has some name-driven identity ... Their perception would be that the food offering would be of value and quality."

The New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, Vt., offers the services of students enrolled in its bachelor's and associate's degree programs in hospitality management. Students, as a class, are assigned to work with companies on a variety of issues, from retooling menus to redesigning a restaurant's look.

The students recently helped the foodservice operation at National Life Insurance Co. in Montpelier better incorporate technology to serve diners as well as improve the layout and traffic flow of the facility. The students also did a nutritional analysis of its menu.

The service is free to operators, but the school does not accept every request, said Julie Hendrickson, chief operating officer for NECI.

"We look for what accessibility the [students] will have to the management," Hendrickson said. "Management has to be committed to work with the students, sit down with them and discuss the problems. The projects also have to have enough breadth to give students a wide range of experience."

Some culinary school instructors offer their counsel to restaurateurs as a side business.

Pedro Fortun and Stephen Hornstein, both of whom teach restaurant management at the Art Institute of New York City, formed their own consulting firm, the Stone Group, to formally assist operators looking for help. They also started their own restaurant, Broncas Restaurant and Tapas Bar, in the West Village last year. Nonetheless, they continue to assist operators with business plans, menu development and personnel issues.

Companies pay a customized fee to work with the CIA's Industry Solutions Group. Its team of five certified master chefs, led by Victor Gielisse, has worked with such clients as Red Lobster, Heinz, Coca-Cola and ConAgra as well as the chefs from the Radisson hotel restaurants.

No two assignments are the same, said chef instructor Rudy Speckamp, who joined the team more than a year ago after running his own restaurant for 23 years.

"Two heads are better than one, and four heads are better than one for new ideas," Speckamp said. "It's always good to seek the advice of other people, and it's up to you to decide if the advice is something for you or not for you."