Experienced chefs turned teachers discuss the benefits of culinary school. They highlight the qualities of a great culinary instructor and the challenges in the industry. Exploring the struggles of hospitality businesses and new graduates. Navigating culinary education, managing expectations, and the value of formal training. Reflections on the Fukushima disaster and a new audio drama series.
Experience and teaching skills are crucial for culinary instructors to be successful in educating aspiring chefs.
Formal culinary education can provide essential skills and pathways for career advancement in the competitive culinary industry.
Deep dives
Transitioning from Chef to Teacher
Former professional chefs Alexander Didier, Suzanne Staunes, and Gary McLean discuss their journeys from kitchens to classrooms. Gary's teaching career emerged from a night school experience, leading him to a fulfilling transition away from the corporate world into full-time teaching. Suzanne, after a demanding executive chef role, found intellectual curiosity in culinary arts and culture that she wished to share with students. Alexander, inspired by French gastronomy, left a prestigious Michelin Star restaurant to teach the art of French cuisine at a professional college in Paris.
Attributes of a Successful Chef Instructor
Chef instructors emphasize the importance of experience in culinary arts coupled with teaching skills. Alexandra highlights the connection between being an excellent chef and a skilled instructor, stressing the need for empathy, passion, and fairness while sharing knowledge. Suzanne underscores the vast teaching scope requiring instructors to expand their culinary expertise and adapt to various student skill levels and cuisines. Gary emphasizes understanding and meeting individual student aspirations, managing expectations, and cultivating a supportive learning environment.
The Value of Professional Culinary Education
The discussion delves into the necessity of culinary school education for aspiring chefs despite the industry's challenges. Suzanne's experience transitioning from a self-taught path to attending a prestigious culinary institute in the US illustrates the significance of formal education for career progression and access to higher positions. Gary's teaching accolades and TV competition win on MasterChef underscore the foundational skills and confidence instilled through his teaching career, enhancing his competitive advantage. Teaching not only enriches culinary instructors' skills but also offers a platform for personal growth and continuous learning.
Why go to culinary school when you could learn on the job?
Three trained chefs-turned teachers make the case for learning the basics and getting a qualification that could open doors in a competitive world.
In this programme Ruth Alexander hears what it takes to be a great culinary teacher. She speaks to Gary Maclean, Executive Chef at City of Glasgow College in the UK, he’s Scotland’s national chef and won the BBC’s Masterchef the Professionals in 2016; Suzanne Storms, Assistant Professor at the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong where she manages the culinary arts and management degree; and Alexandra Didier, Chef Instructor at Le Cordon Bleu Paris.
If you’d like to contact the programme you can email us – thefoodchain@bbc.co.uk
Presented by Ruth Alexander.
Produced by Beatrice Pickup.
(Image: a chef instructs a student in a kitchen classroom. Credit: Getty Images/BBC)
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