From the Sept/Oct 2006 issue of
Wisconsin Restaurateur Magazine

Young executive chef and aspiring chef are WRA Education Foundation success stories

by Sonya Bice

In the busy kitchen of Coachman’s Inn in Edgerton on any given Friday night, you will find two of the WRA Education Foundation’s success stories. Executive Chef Brian Keiser is a past recipient of a WRA Education Foundation scholarship who attended the culinary arts program at Madison Area Technical College. Line cook Paul Bolland, who completed his high school ProStart program, is a 2006 Education Foundation scholarship winner and is currently enrolled in MATC’s culinary arts program.

The two represent not only their own success, at different points in their careers, but also the success of the WRA Education Foundation’s efforts on multiple fronts to support young people who choose food service careers. The scholarship program is now in its 20th year, and the ProStart program now has more than 1500 participating students in 58 Wisconsin high schools.

“The whole intent of both programs is to help students make connections in the industry, to get them ready to enter the workforce, and to encourage continuing education,” said Susan Quam, senior director for the WRA Education Foundation. “It benefits the students and it definitely benefits the industry as a whole. In terms of demographics, we’re looking at projected labor shortages in Wisconsin, and we need to attract talented young people to foodservice careers now more than ever.”

Keiser’s culinary career at Coachman’s Inn began ten years ago; he has been executive chef for the past four years.

He decided on a career in foodservice from the start. “I started at 15, doing dishes, and at 16 I started cooking,” he said. “I just loved it.”

WRA Education Foundation scholarships helped him pay for culinary school.
Paul Bolland is now where Keiser was a few years back: attending MATC with the support of a WRA EF scholarship. Now in his first semester, he is taking Business, Communication Skills, Food Theory, Principles of Sanitation, and, his favorite, Professional Cooking I. He first discovered foodservice career possibilities through the ProStart program in his high school.

“I really like that you can take a recipe and do different things with it,” Bolland said. “I can use my own creativity.”

The skills he learned in his ProStart classes immediately set him apart from other new employees at Coachman’s Inn, Keiser said.

“It was things like the fact that I didn’t have to teach him how to hold a knife, basic cutting techniques,” he said. “He knew the terminology. He knew his way around a kitchen.”

The advantage of working in a restaurant kitchen while attending culinary school is that it provides an opportunity to put into practice lessons from the classroom and to hone skills, Keiser said.

“Paul has the attitude that he wants to learn as much as he can,” Keiser said. “He is a very hard worker.”

Bolland has set his sights on becoming an executive chef for a fine dining restaurant, a career path he said never occurred to him before he took the ProStart course in high school.

The ProStart program, administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and state restaurant associations, is a two-year curriculum designed to teach high school students the management skills needed for a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry.

As part of the ProStart program, students also have the opportunity to participate in paid internships where industry managers mentor them. When students meet academic standards, complete a checklist of competencies, and participate in at least 400 hours of a mentored work experience, they earn up to 12 college credits and are awarded the ProStart National Certificate of Achievement that signifies they are well-qualified to enter the industry workforce.

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This article is reprinted with permission from Wisconsin Restaurateur magazine. Wisconsin Restaurateur is a bimonthly publication of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and is sent to all WRA Members as a member benefit. The magazine keeps members up to date on the latest industry trends.

For information on becoming a WRA member, call 800.589.3211