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You’ve been watching over a new generation of culinary professionals, young chefs in the making, here in Charlotte for the past few years. Are you seeing any signs of their impact on the area’s dining scene, and what should we look for from them in the near future?
I have been in Charlotte for just over five years and have seen an evolution in both quality and quantity. I think the most heartening thing is the increased number of good quality restaurants. I think the impact of our students is several fold. One is that now chefs know that they have an affordable workforce available to them that is trained and exposed to the finer points of cooking and the business of running a restaurant.
Workers who are likely to be passionate about what they are doing. These students move up to positions of responsibility rather quickly and then have an impact on what goes on the menu. CPCC has had students in these positions for sometime, but now the Charlotte Campuses of J&W and the Art Institute are seeing their students as sous chefs and executive chefs in the Charlotte market. I think the schools have helped to influence suppliers to have a larger selection of products, particularly international foods, available. The schools require an incredible inventory of products in order to deliver their curriculum. The students will have the exposure to these items, and the local restaurants will have them easily available from their distributor of traditional foodstuffs. In the near future, these students will continue to bring their excitement and passion to the industry. They will bring creativity, and many will bring cultural diversity, to the kitchens of the area as they have moved to Charlotte not only from different states, but different countries, to attend one of the culinary programs in Charlotte. This diversity will influence dishes within the restaurants where they work.
What are some of the new food trends you see heading our way, in restaurants and in the markets? What should our readers be looking for if they want to expand their food and palate awareness?
The trend of local, organic, sustainable products will definitely continue in both restaurants and markets. I think the palates of Charlotte--and the US--are becoming more educated, and those palates are calling for real food, grown with care for the product and the environment, and then prepared to eat with real skill. The trend of prepared foods at markets will continue. I think Charlotte will continue to see growth in the ethnic cuisine segment as the population of the area changes. I think will see a growth in authentic, quality Japanese, Chinese, and Southeast Asian cuisines. I also think we will see more Latin cuisine. I also think we will see more chefs venture out on their own to open independent, chef-owned restaurants. Taste everything that you can; don’t order the same thing every time you eat out. Practice tasting. When you make coffee, smell the ground coffee and pick out aromas, smell the coffee as the water goes over the grounds and pick out aromas, taste the finished cup and pick out flavors. Try this with most the foods you encounter on a daily basis and you will develop skill in identifying flavors, and you will build a memory bank to compare and contrast a variety of food.
• Discuss what you taste and smell with others.
• Buy unfamiliar products at the grocery store and taste them.
• Ask questions at the store, farmers market or restaurant.
• Visit a restaurant you may not normally visit
• Take a few classes, read books, read magazines
• Look, Feel, Smell, Taste – don’t just consume –practice, and you can actually develop your ability to distinguish and identify flavor profiles
There is a great deal of talk now about the ethical implications of food and eating, including how it is grown and raised, where we buy it, and the role and social responsibilities of the chef or culinary professional. How are you dealing with these issues with your students, and what kind of impact is realistic on the individual, local, and global stages?
First I would like to say that it is every human being’s responsibility to understand the implications of their food consumption choices. The choices we make impact the health of not only humans, but the planet on which we all live. We address this issue in several ways, the first is more subtle. We embed assignments and lectures in classes like Nutrition and Dimensions of Culinary Education so the students will be exposed to both the scientific and philosophical issues within the food manufacturing industry. More directly, our student run restaurant, Artisan, utilizes approximately 80% local, organic, sustainable products. Both vegetable and protein items are primarily sourced locally. Our students’ final cooking class is called Contemporary Cuisine; in that class, students study and cook the cuisine of current cutting-edge chefs who all adhere to the tenants of buying food as close to home as possible. We may be naive, but we hope many of our students understand the importance of the raw material they start with. I think the impact is real, and we can see the change. I see my students at the farmers market, growing a garden here at the school, and seeking out the chefs who believe in supporting locally grown, sustainable products.
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Charlotte suddenly has three good-sized, excellent culinary schools (and many high schools are also offering culinary education courses and vocational training). Is this career option something that is growing? Are there enough students to go around, and where will all the teachers come from?
All employment studies I have read indicate that the job market for all our graduates will continue to grow for years to come. This career field is growing. Graduates from culinary programs have a world of opportunities ahead of them; it is up to them take these opportunities to work hard, continue to learn and climb the career ladder. It is a tough field, but there is truly a world of opportunities awaiting a culinary school graduate with a can-do attitude. During any week I usually have more people calling me looking to hire students, than I have students coming to me looking for work. I believe with the current exposure in the high schools, on T.V., in magazines, movies and everywhere else, there are enough students to go around. The schools just may not be as large as they would like. The teachers come from the industry. Being in education can be a refreshing change of pace after spending years working in the culinary industry.
This is a cheesy question, but people always want to know this: where do you like to go out to eat—and why (you can name names or just generalities—it’s up to you)? What do you look for in a restaurant and what do you think makes a place, whether inexpensive or high end, the kind of place you’d return to and recommend to others?
I like to support independent, not chain, restaurants. I like to support the local chefs or restaurant owners who are taking the risk and trying to do thing things the right way. I tend to be like this whether I want a fairly expensive fine-dining experience or some inexpensive ethnic cuisine. What I look for is a place that’s clean, the food fresh, properly prepared and tasty, the service polite and prompt, and the price fair in relation to the previous items. For me eating out is all about expectations. Three things can happen. My expectations are not met, and I don’t return but I tell many people about the experience. My expectations are met, I may return, and I tell some folks that I had a good experience. Or, my expectations are exceeded, I will definitely return, and I will definitely tell people about my experience. Of course my expectations are realistic and in line with the type of restaurant, and whether I am paying $10 or $100.
~ Peter Reinhart
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