Mr. Escoffier

Food & Beverage

When a Chef is a Culinarian; and Why We May Want That Designation

By Marcel Escoffier, Associate Professor, FIU School of Hospitality Management

What is a "Culinarian"?

When you don't know a word, the advice of your teachers is to "look it up in the Dictionary." The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a Culinarian simply: "cook, chef." The popular online reference; Wikipedia simply redirects the inquiry to the topic of "Chef".

These definitions are a bit simplistic. In our ever-evolving world of F+B, we know that the term implies more than a mere cook. The implication is that this is a special kind of cook, one more highly trained than the simple "cook". And, indeed, at least one professional organization recognizes that fact.

Who is a "Certified Culinarian"?

The American Culinary Federation (the ACF), the association of professional chefs here in America, has established a formal certification program that recognizes the Certified Culinarian as, "an entry level culinary professional within a commercial foodservice operation responsible for preparing and cooking sauces, cold foods, fish, soups and stocks, meats, vegetables, eggs and other food items; possesses a basic knowledge of food safety and sanitation, culinary nutrition, and supervisory management."

In order to achieve this certification, the cook must have minimal job experience and education (High School degree or equivalent), and pass a written and practical exam. In other words, a Certified Culinarian is someone who has expressed a dedication to the profession beyond that of a mere "warm body" passing through the kitchens while they get a "real job."

The American Culinary Federation has been conferring this Certification since 1974. This entry level certification begins a "certification ladder" leading up through various certifications to the top rung, the Certified Master Chef (there is a parallel certification ladder for those working on the pastry side of the kitchen.)

Many studies done by management professors in many industries have shown that, regardless of the company or industry, employees who have certifications are more engaged, more loyal to their profession and their employers who recognize the importance of certification, and generally are better, longer tenured and more productive than employees without the drive to get certified.

An Alternative: Just a Culinarian?

Over the past few years, a plethora of schools have opened nation-wide offering a Culinary Degree. Many programs are accredited to give out an Associates or Bachelors degree. ("Associates" degrees are 2 year degrees, the Bachelors degrees are usually a four year college degree.) The ShawGuides Guide to Cooking Schools 2005ed. Lists about 450 cooking schools in the United States. There are many more schools overseas as well. Mr. Tim Ryan at the Culinary Institute of America told the New York Times that he estimates that 62,000 students are currently enrolled in such academic programs.

Like anything in life, the quality of these schools varies from excellent (like at the Culinary Institute of America or Johnson & Wales) to poor. Some programs graduate people with less commercial kitchen preparation knowledge than with a good grounding in home cooking. This is important. Cooking at home or using home-style equipment is very different than cooking using commercial equipment. The gourmet home cook is not, necessarily, going to make a good employee in a commercial kitchen.

I recommend that your Human Resources department look for graduates of accredited programs only. The quality of what gets taught diminishes greatly in programs without some formal accreditation.

As with certification, but to a lesser extent, people who have graduated from culinary arts programs are more dedicated to the profession and generally more willing to do the hard work required of those who labor in the kitchen. Their large monetary investment in their education usually is an enormous motivation to succeed professionally.

The Importance of the Culinarian Designation to a Hotel

Those who have been reading my columns know that I rarely bring up an issue that has no commercial (read: "profitable") appeal. The Culinarian designation offers the hotel operation several benefits.

From a Human Resources perspective, the benefits are at the front end. Hiring a person with known job skills always beats hiring the unknown. While orientation is always required, further job training should be minimal. Given the large numbers of people graduating from such programs, the demand for pay is not significantly greater than from an applicant without such an education. Finally, when we interview the applicant, we can at least be assured that he or she is interested in the job and motivated to work in the position being offered.

Management can reap the benefits of a highly motivated workforce. The Culinarian has demonstrated their interest in the profession by incurring a significant monetary debt (some students incur up to a $50,000 debt at these schools.) The motivating "carrot" of a job in the field of their choice is coupled with the "stick" of having to work hard to pay off the loans they took out. This provides the F+B manager with the tools to motivate!

The Federal Government has stepped in to sweeten the deal. Reforms contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act in 2004 included a more inclusive definition of employees who are exempt from the overtime provisions of the Act. Since the inception of the Act in the 1930's, employers have not been required to pay overtime pay to certain qualifying professionals. Usually these are salaried individuals who are in the traditional professions such as accounting, the law, and architects.

Changes made in 2004 widen the exemptions to include culinary professionals. As with all laws enacted by congress, there are provisions, complications, and obscurities which require legal advice before you act to take advantage of this significant cost savings, but the bottom line is that those employees who qualify for exemption can work over the 40 hour per week threshold without the employer having to pay time and a half. The potential cost sayings should be obvious.

The Federal Government, in the form of the Immigration officials have, for many years, acknowledged that professional chefs, through their years of experience, qualify as having the equivalent of a college degree. This complicates things just a bit. It means that employers may be able to hire foreign workers who qualify for immigration status, but it also means that workers without at least a GED may qualify for exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act while not qualifying for participation in the American Culinary Federation's certificate ladder.

This is why I have not coupled the Certified Culinarian designation of the ACF with graduation from a cooking school. The school provides the minimal requirements for exemption from overtime while the Certification is a sort of added bonus.

Where do I Hire Culinarians?

I personally shy away from placing want ads in the newspaper. My experience has been that many people apply for jobs who do not meet even the minimal requirements. I much prefer referrals as a recruitment source. One way of establishing a hiring network that relies on referrals is by initiating a program of working with local culinary arts schools. Most require a few hundred hours of on-the-job work experience, so having trainees work in your hotel represents both a desire to support your local community and an excellent way of establishing an informal probationary period where you can observe the trainees' skills and motivation and at the end offer full time positions to those most likely to meet your hiring criteria. This association, in and of itself, does not establish a referral program, but the alumni of these programs who you employee then become excellent sources of referrals.

High schools throughout the country are now offering culinary arts programs. These can produce many high school graduates who you should consider hiring for your foodservice operation. These kids can take the ACF Certification exams and begin their career toward professionalism right at your hotel. They save themselves thousands of dollars in education loans they would otherwise have incurred at a culinary arts school. This career path should produce employees who are even more loyal to you and your operation. You are offering them full time employment right out of high school with a clearly established career path through advancement in the ACF's certification program.

The Executive Chef: More than a Manager?

In a well thought out article, Wayne Guyette examined the question of whether an Executive Chef should be a Manager or a Culinarian(3). If the American Culinary Federation and Webster's Dictionary are correct, the question is really, should the Executive Chef be a Teacher? I believe that the Executive Chef should be an instructor, as well as a manager.

Using the ACF's definition, everyone in the kitchen should be a Culinarian. That is, everyone should have the rudimentary skills required for work in the kitchen. Assuming that the dozens of management studies conducted over the years are also correct, then we should be hiring only people who have displayed their commitment to the culinary profession. If your community has a Culinary Arts program, than the solution may be as simple as hiring graduates from that program. But if your hotel is very large, or very remote, and does not have a school nearby, then the solution is for your kitchen to become a working School of Culinary Arts. Let's forget about accreditation, but let's make sure that those who train your workers are qualified.

Naturally, I recommend that your senior kitchen staff have ACF certification. In addition to the reasons cited above, the higher positions in the kitchen need more highly skilled people working in them. Similarly, in order to take full advantage of the various government programs mentioned previously, in addition to several others that revolve around the issue of training, you need to have a cadre of professionals who meet the requirements of the law. Having your own in-house training program nicely addresses these issues.

The process of becoming a Certified Executive Chef, the certificate that your Executive Chef should posses, is not that onerous. It is quite reasonable to suppose that the Executive Chef of even modest hotel food and beverage operations should have such a certification. It most certainly would be a good public relations tool to be able to boast that your food area is run by a Certified Executive Chef.

It's a Wrap!

So if we buy into the public's perception of what is a Culinarian, we would have a kitchen staffed by highly professional, highly motivated people eager to learn and eager to show off their talent. Managerially, this could be some kind of nirvana; Heaven on Earth.

But, wait, there's more. The opportunity to garner significant positive press for our hotel. If we go into this "whole hog", we would have a cooking school (in reality if not in name) staffed by local talent working hard to climb the certification ladder. Certainly, every time one of them reaches the next level of certification, that would be cause for celebration. The ensuing press photos of the local boy making good is a public relations windfall. So much so that the general public should be invited to participate in the congratulatory spirit. Perhaps a special dish in honor of the event on the menu, or a party for the local city commission and Chamber of Commerce. (Politicians love handing out proclamations.)

It is not a very big leap of faith to assume the hotel will take a prominent place in the food and beverage activities of the community. I recall some years ago (too many to count) a very small community in Colorado having a harvest festival. The tiny hotel there (fewer than 75 rooms) sold 10,000 cups of beer and soda in three days. A darn good revenue maker as well as a very good source of free publicity. Of course, being the destination of choice for all family celebrations would be expected, as well.

So there you have it; a plan that is inexpensive to implement, could cut labor costs, eases the turnover and motivation problem, and could result in very positive good will with the local community. The only thing it needs is some time and commitment on your part as well as the Executive Chef.

Marcel R. Escoffier was an Associate Professor at the School of Hospitality Management Florida International University. He had over thirty years experience in hotels and restaurants throughout the U.S. Unfortunately, Mr. Escoffier passed away in September, 2009. We at HotelExecutive.com would like to continue publishing Marcel's articles on our website as a tribute to this brilliant man. The one thing we loved most about him most was his sense of humor. He would always make light of any serious situation, and this was reflected often in the articles he wrote for the Hotel Business Review. Mr. Escoffier can be contacted at editor@hotelexecutive.com Extended Bio...

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