In this article, rather than talking about great service transforming a meal, I’d like to salute some people in our industry who are using the “front of the house” to transform lives. In the past, I have had the privilege to work with some very special people.
One summer, Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), a program supported by American Express, Federation of Dining Room Professionals and Zagat, developed a program to inspire and teach “front of the house” skills to high school students in the New York City area. To create a credible core content, C-CAP in New York City, founded by Richard Grausman, joined with the Federation of Dining Room Professionals (FDRP), founded by Bernard Martinage to offer a nine-day summer Dining Room Apprentice certification course. This very exciting program was funded by American Express, and the project was developed with the encouragement and guidance of Tim Zagat, famous for his Zagat Dining Guides. I was honored to be selected to co-teach this course in its maiden voyage, and recently returned from working with this group in its second year.
Students were selected from the five boroughs of New York City after going through an interview process with an employee at C-CAP. The interview process was designed to help select only those students who possess the personality traits that would work well in the “front of the house”. C-CAP was looking for individuals with an out-going, caring personality, a positive attitude and a high work ethic. As Danny Meyer would say, “A 51 percenter.”
The two-week training course was specially created to prepare high school students for entry-level, front-of-the-house jobs. The curriculum was divided into two teaching categories: “hard” skills and “soft” skills. I taught the “hard” or technical skills in accordance with the written standards set by Bernard Martinage of the Federation of Dining Room Professionals (FDRP). These skills included restaurant structure, equipment identification, equipment polishing, equipment handling, dining room setting, dining room layout/organization, styles/techniques of service and dining etiquette. For the hands-on part of the class, we utilized fun techniques to teach serious skills, including a tray carrying relay, table setting drills and table-side water pouring contests. My partner in teaching was Cathleen Mitchell, an employee of C-CAP, who taught the “soft” or work skills. The “soft” skills included discussions about the differences between school and work, the importance of being on time, how to write a resume, the use of proper restaurant vocabulary, how to present your best self with interviewing skills and attitude, attitude, attitude.
To enhance the learning, we were fortunate to having some fabulous guest speakers, and several interesting field trips. From Union Square Hospitality Group, Randy Garutti, Director of Operations and Paul Bolles-Beaven, Chief People Officer spoke to the class, as did Paul Walsh from Gramercy Tavern and Dino Lavorini from The Modern. Among the field trips were outings to the Starbucks Regional Office, The Museum of Modern Art, Tribecca Grill, and two Be Our Guest Restaurants: Barca 18 and Dos Caminos.
After successfully completing the course, each student received a seven-week restaurant internship. Upon passing the exam, the student received a certificate which designated him or her as a Certified Dining Room Apprentice through the Federation of Dining Room Professionals. This certification represents the first level of dining room certification from FDRP. While not every participant successfully completed the course and received their certification, the great majority did so. And the couple of students who did not have the total success with the program still leave with new skills and ideas, and some wonderful memories.
It is difficult to put into words the great joy and fulfillment that I get from teaching these young adults, seeing them grow over the nine days and get a fantastic opportunity to work in a top-notch restaurant in New York City. For students who prove themselves during the seven-week internship, there is the possibility of being offered a full-time job. It was very exciting this summer to see a couple of the students from last year’s class still working in the restaurants where they had interned a year ago. It was wonderful to see how they had grown and matured into confident front-of-the-house professionals. Now where could this lead? My hope is that as these young adults surpass their present dreams, and reach for new ones, we may see one, or more, of our graduates go on to be a famous Maitre d’ or restaurant owner.
Please join me in saluting the owners, sponsors and staff of C-CAP, for their efforts to transform their students’ lives, and the students for having the courage to reach for something new. Until next time, I remain at your service.
Wendy
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