From the November/December 2007 issue of
Wisconsin Restaurateur Magazine

Mentors share their passion for foodservice with
young people
Salute to Excellence honors industry mentors and rising stars

by Sonya Bice

The WRA Education Foundation put on a gala event October 14 at the Grand Meridian in Appleton to recognize seven individuals and a supplier who have given of themselves in a variety of ways to recruit and support young people who are choosing careers in foodservice. The winners of the 2007 Salute to Excellence Awards represented all levels of culinary educators and practicing restaurant professionals: Mark Dougherty, owner, and Rhoda Steffel, manager, of Mark’s East Side, Appleton; Jack Hart, Madison Area Technical College; Chef Chuck Meitner, Western Racquet Club; Linda Valiga, Waukesha South High School; and UW Provision Company, Middleton, represented by owners Steve Kalscheur and Jim Kalscheur. Richard and Sandra Rupp, Rupp’s Lodge, Sheboygan, received the Mentor of the Year Award.

The honorees share a love of the industry and a passion for helping young people discover the career possibilities it offers. Also recognized at the event were 29 students who were awarded scholarships through the WRA Education Foundation. (See page 24 for scholarship winner information.) We asked winners to share their thoughts on the rewards of culinary careers and the challenges of recruiting young people.

Chef Chuck Meitner, Executive Chef, Western Racquet Club
Chef Chuck Meitner apprenticed with Chef Bernard Kurzawa, and he considers Kurzawa the most influential of his many mentors.

“The restaurant industry allows me to meet and work with the coolest people anywhere. You have the front of the house people that are by nature, very outgoing, funny, and the life of any party,” he said. “Then you have the back of the house people that are always very serious about their work, noncomplaining, and epitomize the ‘all for one and one for all’ attitude—but every one of them is just a little crazy.”

Students need to gain an “awareness that foodservice can be a viable career option, not just a job to get you through college, on your way to a ‘real job,’” he says. “Foodservice is my ‘real job’ and its been good to me. I think there is still a stigma that restaurant careers are low paying. I know many, chefs and managers that make at least as much, and often more money than someone with at least a bachelor’s degree.”

He finds many aspects of his job rewarding: “On a more long-term scale, I get to help people succeed in their own careers. Many of the people who have honored me with the title “supervisor” have gone on to greatness themselves. Several are executive chefs and some are managers in other trades, one even opened his own restaurant. It’s very rewarding to think that I was a part of that. The second, more day-to-day reward is that I get to make people happy.”

Jack Hart, Madison Area Technical College
“Individuals in food service need to be creative to solve the many problems that we deal with on a daily basis.

“I have been part of the food service industry for over 30 years. I worked in the restaurant industry as a cook, General Manager, Cost Trouble Shooter, Product Development, and Consultant. I have been on the education side since 1988, two years at UW Stout, and 17 years as the Program Director for the Hotel & Restaurant Management program at Madison Area Technical College.

Young people and careers: “In the past students seemed to be more interested in what skill and compentencies they need to get that entry level management position. Today’s student looks past the entry level positions. They seem to be more career oriented. They want to develop the skills and knowledge to achieve long term career goals. There is much more technology to deal with as well.

“I see two major obstacles in attracting young people into the food service industry. The competition from other industries for career oriented individuals that desire management positions. The image of the food service (low pay, long hours, dead-end jobs) is still a barrier that must be overcome.”

The most rewarding aspect of my job as an educator: “Seeing my students and graduates succeed. We have had a number of graduates open their own businesses, advance to upper-level management. Another reward is when I see the “light come on” in a students mind, in the middle of class, durning a lecture or working on a project.

“As an educator I really appreciate the true partnership that exists between the industry and education. The partnership goes beyond the dollars the industry provides for scholarships. The people in the industry are always available to serve as guest speakers for classes, sit on program Advisory Committees, provide internship opportunities, and mentor students.

Rhoda Steffel, manager
Mark Dougherty, owner
Mark’s East Side, Appleton
When Mark Dougherty volunteered to speak with high school students at a large Career Day event, it was typical of the kind of events he volunteers for to spread the word about foodservice careers. It was typical because he was really too busy to go but went anyway, and it was typical because he walked out feeling glad he had come.

“A lot of times when I do this, it sounds good a month ahead of time when I agree to it, and then it falls into a week when of course everything falls apart, and I’m thinking I wish I hadn’t committed,” he said. “But I always walk away from something like that with a renewed sense of purpose.”

“You do need people to volunteer, and being busy is no reason not to. Otherwise, everybody can say ‘I’m too busy,’ and nobody would do what needs to be done. I volunteer my time because somebody has to.”

He feels he has a message that young people need to hear, and he feels they too often get the wrong message.

“I’m passionate about this industry and the possibilities it offers. There is a negative image out there of the ‘burger-flipper’ and I like to be a representative for my industry, to say, hey, it’s not a dead-end job, being a burger-flipper is a rung, a step on your way up, a door to bigger opportunities.”

Being a part of customers’ important events is one of the special parts of foodservice work: as Dougherty put it, if you work in metal fabrication, you may be able to donate money and help someone, but you’re not involved in their 50th anniversary. “We make emotional connections with our customers, we can touch them more directly.”
Rhoda Steffel agrees that there is a lot of satisfaction in restaurant work. “Being part of someone’s day is great,” Steffel says. “We are feeding them, nourishing their bodies. We have so many opportunities to make people happy and feel good.”

On obstacles to getting students connected with food service industry careers: “I think long shifts and nights and weekends are not appealing to the younger people.”
The rewards of this career: “Knowing that I made someone’s day better, someone’s anniversary, birthday or party everything they expected it to be and more. Also, feeling great about a hard days work, knowing I accomplished a lot and the personal feeling I get from it all is so very rewarding.”

Linda Valiga, Waukesha South High School
As a teacher who directly works with young people at a point in their life when they are making career choices, Linda Valiga is in a position to get them the information they need to make decisions. “I love the food service industry and my role because I have an unique opportunity to get young people excited about food,” she said. “I watch the students learn to enjoy the process of finding a recipe, trying it out and discovering the pleasure of serving others your creations. I love to watch students learn something new—a technique, a recipe, plating food—and get their first job.
One of the obstacles she sees is parental opposition to certain career options.

“Parents used to look at the industry and questioned the career as something where their children wouldn’t make great money,” she said. “I have told them—its not about the money but the passion for whatever the student pursues. If they love their career, and I do, nothing else matters. Yes, there is great money out there but they must take the steps to get the rewards.”

“As I watch my students continue on in the industry it is with great pride that I reflect on how they got there and I am grateful for the support from WRA as I also have learned a great deal.”

Mentor of the Year Award
Richard and Sandra Rupp
Rupp’s Lodge, Sheboygan
Richard and Sandra Rupp have been avid supporters of the ProStart® program for many years. Their dedication to both the foodservice industry and to the community is evident in all they do. Over the years, they have mentored many Sheboygan South High School culinary students.

Richard Rupp played an integral role in the greatly needed renovation of the Sheboygan South High School culinary arts room including the renovation of its six kitchens. A ProStart Advisory Council was formed with his input.

Rupp has seen firsthand the quality of the training and has hired former ProStart students.

“One student has been with us two or three years,” Rupp said. “They’ve got the program up and running pretty well.”

He said he was “kind of stunned” to receive the mentor of the year award. “I had to look up the word ‘mentor’ in the dictionary and see what it meant,” he said. “I was just happy to do it for the kids.”

He saw value in the effort to get more young people into the industry. “They didn’t have this when I went to school,” he said. “When we started the renovation, the kitchens looked just like they did back when I went there in 1961.”

His main reason for pitching in, though, is the personal reward. “I enjoyed it,” he said. “You get a good feeling from helping.” WR

Click here to view the 2007 WRA EF scholarship recipients.

- WR -

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