What to Expect Before Cooking School
By Chef Daniel Slat
Being both a Chef and a Director of Admissions for Liaison College of Culinary
Arts in Kitchener gives me a unique perspective into the industry and
the teaching and training of those seeking to enter it. I myself was a
graduate of Liaison and landed my first job the day after I graduated.
I am well aware of what is out there and what it takes to succeed. The
success of a chef does not start with their first favourable review or
the landing of a position at a reputable restaurant; not even with the
first ‘official’ job in the industry. It starts before cooking
school even begins.
It never ceases to amaze me who has always wanted to cook: high school,
college and university graduates, and people already established in their
current careers but looking to change, to retirees not ready to retire.
All were different yet all the same for I can tell you they all share
three identifiable traits. It is these same traits that any chef wants
to see in their kitchen: passion, professionalism, and work ethic.
Passion: Passion can be said is our driving force and defined as an uncontrollable
urge that come hell or high water, the promise of reward or certain failure:
this must happen. And in cooking everything can happen and good cooks
need to be able to dig deep to get the job done; failure is not an option.
When I meet with people, this can come across pretty easily in what they
say and how they say it, where they see themselves, their future plans.
By asking the right questions I am able to determine that they are aware
of what a ‘day in the life’ of a cook means. This early on
in their career they truthfully don’t and I can spend a good deal
of time making them aware, it’s not a pretty picture, I am very
blunt and to the point. I have lost people because of this, but I rather
this happen in my office than later in class. Yet those with passion;
they always figured this, they get it and can’t wait to get started.
Professionalism: Hard to determine this before it even happens, but it does make itself
evident. Going to Liaison College is professional training and not just
teaching. Cooking is a hands-on endeavor and must be taught hands-on.
What happens in our kitchen happens in the kitchen of other chefs. There
is no cooking in a bubble here. We echo what the industry is doing.
And with professional training comes the understanding that you are cooking
for money, a wage to make a living. This is not cooking for the grandparents;
this is knowledge, skills and understanding for one cook to be able to
cook for 100 people. The understanding that every slice, dice, and chop
will cost or make you money. And time, is not on your side in the kitchen.
Understandably, a student is not going to be fast at first and only through
experience (focused time) does speed and confidence begins to develop.
Hands-on training therefore needs to be consistent and consecutive in
its execution; it needs to be done daily, it needs to be true to what
is expected out there in the world, but be a safe and nurturing learning
experience for the student. Likewise, a chef instructor needs to be available
to their students to make this happen. This is why the average class size
for us is 10 to 12.
Worth Ethic: This can easily be bunched in with professionalism but it has distinctions.
You could be the best chef in the world, but if you’re always late
or don’t show up; I ask ‘what is the point?’ I need
students to be here and to be on time and likewise present when they’re
here; meaning not on the phone but here and involved. Our programs are
accelerated and done in a fraction of the time of other culinary diploma
programs yet deliver more hands-on training.
I know students are looking for a good cooking school; well this school
is looking for good students. I meet everyone. I want students who get
that and want that. They should have a well-developed sense of urgency,
the need to get things done. Liaison graduates enjoy a 90% job placement
rate after graduation. And those references are developed by the work
ethic a student’s exhibits at Liaison. I do not measure our success
by the number of diplomas we hand out, but by the phone calls from employers
who want “three more clones of the last graduate we sent.”
It is said that “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
When people contact me about information about programs, fees, start dates,
I always suggest that they come in to meet me. With all that we do, there
is no way a brochure, website, email or a phone call can accomplish what
a single visit can. A visit is for information only, not to enroll. The
only thing that I promise anyone is that by the time we are done; they
will know everything they need to know about our school and how it works,
and particularly, they will know if this is right school for them.
The Three Traits of Every Great Chef
by Chef Daniel Slat
Being both a Chef and a Director of Admissions for
Liaison College of Culinary Arts in Kitchener gives me a unique perspective into the industry and the teaching and training
of those seeking to enter it. I myself was a graduate of Liaison and landed
my first job the day after I graduated. I am well aware of what is out
there and what it takes to succeed. The success of a chef does not start
with their first favourable review or the landing of a position at a reputable
restaurant; not even with the first ‘official’ job in the
industry. It starts before cooking school even begins.
It never ceases to amaze me who has always wanted to cook: high school,
college and university graduates, people already established in their
current careers but looking to change and retirees not ready to retire,
my eldest student was 72! All were different yet all the same for I can
tell you they all share 3 identifiable traits. It is these same traits
that any chef wants to see in their kitchen: Passion, Professionalism,
and Work Ethic.
Passion is our driving force and is defined as an uncontrollable urge that
come hell or high water, the promise of reward or certain failure: this
must happen. In cooking, everything can happen, and good cooks need to
be able to dig deep to get the job done; failure is not an option. When
I meet with people this can come across pretty easily in what they say
and how they say it, where they see themselves, their future plans. By
asking the right questions I also am able to determine that they are aware
of it what a ‘day in the life’ of a cook means. This early
on in their career they truthfully don’t and I can spend a good
deal of time making them aware, it’s not a pretty picture I am very
blunt and to the point. I have lost people because of this, but I rather
this happen in my office than later in class. Yet those with passion;
they already figured this, they get it and can’t wait to get started.
Professionalism: It’s hard to determine this before it even happens,
but it does make itself evident. Going to Liaison College is professional
training and not just teaching. Cooking is a hands-on endeavor and must
be taught hands-on. What happens in our kitchen happens in the kitchen
of other chefs. There is no cooking in a bubble here. We echo what the
industry is doing. And with professional training comes the understanding
that you are cooking for money, a wage to make a living. This is not cooking
for the grandparents; this is knowledge, skills and understanding for
one cook to be able to cook for 100 people. The understanding that every
slice, dice and chop will cost or make you money. And time, is not on
your side in the kitchen. Understandably a student is not going to be
fast at first and only through experience does speed and confidence begin
to develop. Hands-on training therefore needs to be consistent and consecutive
in its execution; it needs to be true to what is expected out there in
the world, but be a safe and nurturing learning experience for the student.
Likewise, a chef instructor needs to be available to their students to
make this happen. The average class size for us is 10 to 12.
Work Ethic: This can easily be bunched in with professionalism but it has
distinctions. You could be the best chef in the world, but if you’re
always late or don’t show up; I ask ‘What is the point’?
I need students to be here and to be on time and likewise present when
they’re here; meaning not on the phone but here and involved. Our
programs are accelerated and done in a fraction of the time of other culinary
diploma programs yet deliver more hands-on training. I meet everyone.
I want students who get that and want that. They should have a well-developed
sense of urgency, the need to get things done. Liaison graduates enjoy
a 90% job placement rate after graduation. Part of that are the references
that our chefs can give to other chefs on behalf of the graduate. Those
references are developed by the work ethic a student’s exhibits
at Liaison. I do not measure our success by the number of diplomas we
hand out, but by the phone calls from employers who want “three
more clones of the last graduate that we sent”.
It is said that, “when the student is ready the teacher will appear”.
When people contact me about information about programs, fees, start dates…I
always suggest that they
come in to meet me. With all that we do, there is no way a brochure, website,
email or even a phone call can accomplish what a single visit can. The
only thing that I promise anyone is that by the time I am done with them,
they will know everything they need to know about our school and how it
works and particular they will know if this is in fact the right school
for them and it either is or it isn’t.
Chef Daniel Slat
Director of Admissions
Liaison College-Kitchener Campus
Giving Back With Holiday Meals
by Chef Elaina Ravo
Liaison College
in Kitchener knows that the holiday season can bring a lot of added stress
as you prepare for the festivities. Cooking a big holiday dinner for family
and friends can be overwhelming for even the experienced cook. One of
the most rewarding experiences at Liaison College is taking part in some
of the annual charity work they do during the holiday season, including
the preparation of a big holiday meal for those less fortunate.
Each year the students at Liaison College spend the holiday season finding
ways to give back. Whether it is a financial donation, food for a local
food bank, or an unwrapped toy for the make-a-wish foundation, the students
give whatever they can.
The students also donate their time and expertise by cooking a full turkey
dinner for a couple of schools in the Kitchener and Cambridge area whose
students may not get to enjoy such a luxurious meal at home. The students
from those schools range in age from Junior Kindergarten to Grade Six.
The children in these schools raise money to pay for the dinner but Liaison
College lets them keep the money to help pay for any supplies, sporting
equipment or anything else the school needs. The younger students help
with serving the meal and it is a great experience for the older students
of Liaison College to experience the joy of giving back to the community
especially during the holiday season.
If you are cooking a big turkey dinner for your family or friends this
holiday season, Liaison College offers some of the following tips
- Split the bird by dark and white meat before cooking. This will help the
bird cook faster and ensure that the food is thoroughly cooked and safe to eat
- Instead of stuffing the bird, cook any dressing separately. This allows
you to cook more than what you could fit in the bird and ensures the dressing
will be safe to eat
- Most importantly don’t get stuck spending the whole day cooking in
the kitchen! Make sure that you spend time with your family and friends
celebrating the season and enjoying the day.
For more information on their programs,
contact Liaison College at
1-800-854-0621
.