Podcasts

Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti and writers for the website talk with the women and men making news in New York, Washington, D.C., and other cities around the world. Thanks to Ian Herman for his wonderful piano introduction.

Culinary Institute of America

Episode 40: AJ Schaller Talks About Sous-Vide Cooking

11/10/2018

Sous-vide cooking is fast becoming a food revolution. Recently, Woman Around Town’s Editor Charlene Giannetti visited Cuisine Solutions, the force behind this movement. (See the story.) In this WAT-CAST, she talks with AJ Schaller, who is on the forefront of training chefs in this slow-cooking technique.

AJ Schaller is a 2005 graduate and former teaching assistant at the Culinary Institute of America. She worked at Restaurant Daniel and Daniel Boulud’s Dinex Group for ten years. After a series of promotions, she finished with the title Culinary Manager. The position included work on restaurant openings, testing recipes, cooking for events, producing cookbooks, food styling, and overseeing health department matters.

In 2015, after a stint at Corkbuzz Restaurant and Wine Bar, she took the opportunity to work under Bruno Goussault for Culinary Research and Education Academy. At CREA, AJ assists Dr. Goussault in training chefs in sous-vide and extraction, as well as managing consulting projects for a variety of food service establishments. 

My Career Choice: Jennifer Meltzer – All Set Restaurant & Bar

02/07/2017

A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, Jennifer Meltzer discovered her passion for the hospitality industry while studying anthropology and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Virginia. Meltzer worked in a sandwich shop and found that her cultural studies applied daily to guest interactions in the restaurant and enjoyed making people happy with a simple sandwich and a smile.  Following graduation, Meltzer continued her Middle Eastern studies, earning a master’s degree from Georgetown University in 2006, but something kept pulling her back to hospitality.

Since graduating, Jennifer Meltzer has worked in a number of well-known restaurants in Washington, D.C. including BLT Steak, The Capital Grille, Founding Farmers, and Del Frisco’s Grille. She is now managing partner of All Set Restaurant & Bar in Silver Spring, Maryland. In addition to her professional experience, Meltzer has a certificate in food service management from Cornell University and has earned her CWP (Certified Wine Professional) from the Culinary Institute of America and, most recently, achieved the second level in the Court of Master Sommeliers.

Can you point to one event that triggered your interest in your career?
Like many people, I was waiting tables while finishing grad school and looking for my “real” job. The search wasn’t going well but luckily, I was becoming more and more interested in the restaurant industry and the language of food and high-level hospitality. One evening I was serving a pair of sisters who you could tell were excited and engaged in the meal, food and service…this was 10 years ago.  At the end of their meal I decided to send them over one of our most popular desserts in addition to their selection. When I presented the check, I let them know the dessert was on the house. One of the women started crying—unbeknownst to me it was her birthday and she hadn’t been able to spend it with her sister in several years and this gesture made an already emotional meal truly memorable. The fact that I was able to play such an instrumental role in their evening, just by being intuitive, compassionate and caring still makes me smile today. That was the trigger that made me realize how valuable of a role people in the hospitality industry can have on the lives of complete strangers.

What about this career choice did you find most appealing?
For one thing, it’s a constant challenge. Even the most mundane tasks can be made more efficient and less frustrating with a creative approach and working in a restaurant means there are always opportunities to invent and test out a different way of doing something. When I started, I quickly discovered that my educational background prepared me to be a natural hospitalitarian—I understand people’s needs and desires and how to best meet them.

Above all, I truly appreciate the fact that we can actually affect the lives of strangers by providing the gift of hospitality. We go out to dinner to share special moments—what we on the service side are doing is more than just a job; it makes an impact on the milestone moments in people’s lives.

What steps did you take to begin your education or training?
I began my education and training in hospitality without even knowing while I was studying anthropology at the University of Virginia. This background gave me the tools to be able to anticipate people’s needs and wants—as well as the desire to do so.

Once I committed to making this my career, I invested the same amount of effort into my education in the food service and hospitality industry as I did with my graduate program in Arab Studies at Georgetown. That included an online program in Food Service Management from Cornell, a six-week wine boot camp at the CIA in Napa, and sitting for the Court of Sommelier Level 1 and 2 Exams, not to mention every service, food and wine book I can get my hands on and watching every episode of Chopped!

Along the way, were people encouraging or discouraging?
It was more confusion than anything else. The important people in my life didn’t understand why I would study and work so hard for so many years only to work in a restaurant. Many had never worked in a restaurant before and therefore didn’t understand the enriching challenges it can present if you are serious about it. The only person who did understand that was my dad, but because he had owned a restaurant he actually gave me warnings: the long hours, how physically and emotionally demanding it is…but now, I honestly don’t think anyone can picture me doing anything else.

Did you ever doubt your decision and attempt a career change?
Yes and no. Doubts are a part of life and everyone doubts their choices at some point. For anyone who works in hospitality, holidays spent in a restaurant while serving people who are celebrating with their families while you can’t always leaves room for doubt. Until I opened my own restaurant, there was always that thought in the back of my mind that I could completely switch paths, get a 9-5 desk job, and assimilate into mainstream society (and the lives of friends and family).

When did your career reach a tipping point?
After much success and promotions with fantastic restaurant groups, I took a job with a small but growing restaurant group and was excited to make an impact.  It turned out to be a terrible fit and I was fired! I couldn’t believe it but it was the stimulus needed to make a decision – do I leave the restaurant world, be content with serving or do it for myself?  Although that experience was totally traumatic and still stings, I’m happy to say that All Set will be celebrating our 2nd anniversary in April and I wouldn’t be here unless that had happened.

Can you describe a challenge you had to overcome?
As soon as I decided to commit myself to the industry I had to accept that to succeed I would have to put my personal life on hold. It was hard at the beginning to continuously turn down invitations from friends and family, and even harder to see those invitations dry up as I repeated myself over and over: “I can’t, I’m working.” I lost touch with a lot of people I was close to who didn’t work in restaurants, and I felt like I was letting down my family by not being around. Creating and maintaining balance mentally, emotionally, and physically as a restaurant manager and now as an owner is a challenge every single day.

What single skill has proven to be most useful?
Smiling and seeming calm and collected when you have 500 covers on the books and you just found out about one of the various restaurant crises that pop up in the space of a long career: a bathroom disaster with no one to clean but you, a fire in the kitchen with a full window of tickets, half your staff not showing up for a holiday brunch…etc.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
When I get to witness development within my team—when it’s not just waitressing anymore, but it becomes their life because of the inspiration and education I have been able to give them. Having that direct effect on someone who just months before was a complete stranger is supremely rewarding.

Any advice for others entering your profession?
Education is key—there are so many books and movies to inspire, teach and motivate you. Thirst for knowledge is so important. A lot of the tasks we do might seem monotonous but every day is an opportunity to do something different.

Get a comfortable pair of shoes. Don’t let a bad review ruin your day. Make sure you understand the difference between yourself and the restaurant. Have strong self-esteem and a personality. Make sure you like to drink and eat; that’s pretty important. And whatever you do, don’t expect it to be glamorous!

Click for the website of All Set Restaurant & Bar

My Career Choice: Denise Baron Herrera – Burtons Grill & Bar

09/07/2016

Sometimes a career path begins in the teen years. That’s what happened for Denise Baron Herrera who worked in a restaurant when she was young and now is the vice president of operations for Burtons Grill & Bar. She began as the executive chef for Burtons first location in Hingham, Massachusetts. There are now 12 Burtons Grill & Bar locations (in Virginia, Alexandria, and Sterling) and two  Red Heat Taverns. Herrera oversees all operations of Burtons Grill LLC.

Herrera received an AOS in Culinary Arts in 1996 and a BS in Foodservice Management in 1998 from Johnson & Wales University. While attending, Herrera spent three years as a teaching assistant and graduated Magna Cum Laude. Herrera started her restaurant management career with Houston’s Restaurants in 1998.

Currently on the Board of Directors for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, she is an active member of the Boston Chapter of the Les Dames d’Escoffier. Herrera was one of 16 people selected to participate in the inaugural Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program, a culinary leadership program from the Culinary Institute of America and Hormel Foods. In 2011 she helped launch a pilot program, Esperanza Cooks, the recipe for life.  This eleven week program teaches young women not only how to cook but also how to shop for quality ingredients, plan and prepare nutritious meals and the fundamentals of teamwork.

In 2012, she participated in the Emerging Leaders Program at UMASS Boston which stresses the collaborative leadership model, in which leaders share resources, networks, intelligence, perspectives, and assets to achieve common goals. Herrera, who has been featured on television and in print, also appeared on the Food Network’s Chopped, a chef competition where she finished as a runner-up.

Can you point to one event that triggered your interest in your career?
A really fun restaurant experience job when I was 15/16 years old. It was fast paced a little edgy and something I craved more of!

What about this career choice did you find most appealing?
The ever changing landscape of daily my daily routine.  No two days were the same.

What steps did you take to begin your education or training?
I went to culinary school to learn how to become a chef along with earning a food service management degree.

Interior Sterling

Burtons Grill & Bar in Sterling, Virginia, opened on August 22, 2016 (Photo Credit Stacy Zarin)

Along the way, were people encouraging or discouraging?
A little bit of both. Being a woman in a kitchen was challenging as you had to adapt to the existing culture. I was a head chef at a young age and I would remember sales people coming in and asking me to speak to my boss. I was like, “I am the boss! What can I help you with?

Did you ever doubt your decision and attempt a career change?
No. I have been loving what I do for over 25 years.

When did your career reach a tipping point?
When I took the chef whites off and assumed an executive leadership role.  This was a new skill set that I needed to learn and adapt to.

Can you describe a challenge you had to overcome?
I have risen quickly in my company and my career path took me from executive chef to F&B manager to VP of Operations.  I never was a single unit general manager.  I oversee people whose role I never had to perform.  I don’t doubt that I could but lack the real life experience they have encountered.  It has made me more diligent in my own professional development so I can relate to real time situations.

What single skill has proven to be most useful?
Positive reinforcement and communication.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Being a mother of two along with having a successful career. I never thought that I would see this brand be 15 restaurants strong with continued growth.

Any advice for others entering your profession?
Believe in yourself. You can do anything you choose to.