Chef Renee Zonka Talks About Hottest Trends in Culinary Education
|
As the Associate Dean of Culinary Arts at Kendall College in Chicago, Chef Renee Zonka has explored multiple ways to teach her students the fundamental culinary techniques that will help them excel in the foodservice industry. Her diverse background offers a unique perspective into the growing interest in culinary arts, food industry trends and educational materials supplied by commodity boards. Read more of Chef Zonka’s insights. |
| Renee Zonka's Professional Background | |
 |
|
 |
How has your culinary career influenced your perspective on culinary training? |
 |
I’m a huge proponent of culinary training because I learned from lots of reading and working in the field observing others. Formal training gives culinary students a foundation to work from and helps them develop proper skills, attitude and work ethic. |
|
What educational resources do you use when teaching? |
|
Mostly textbooks because I’m from the generation that used books. I also use the internet to find new ideas and dig deeper into my sources. |
|
What is your experience with using education materials supplied by commodity boards and what do you think about USA Rice Federation’s new teaching tool? |
|
Commodity boards are an ideal resource for instructors because they provide reliable, up-to-date information specific to their industry. If a board has solid materials already existing that saves time and is educational and engaging – use it. Why reinvent the wheel? The advantage I’ve noticed with the USA Rice teaching guide is that the content is broken down by chapter with timed-out lesson plans, making it very flexible. It also helps that the information within each chapter is organized by section, with key information bulleted for easy reading. This saves a lot of time for instructors when planning. |
|
What do you find most interesting and/or useful about U.S. Rice in the Culinary Classroom? |
|
The fast facts throughout that give you snippets of information on just about every topic. The charts and quiz/review questions are also helpful because at Kendall College we teach multiple classes and we need information that is quick and easy. |
|
Why do you think cooking with grains is becoming more popular with chefs and how does rice fit into this trend? |
|
Healthy options are definitely becoming more popular. We are driven by market demand so if consumers are asking for it then we should plan to have it available to them. Chefs are familiar with rice, they know they can be creative and the end result will taste good and complement more expensive proteins to balance food costs. It’s also a naturally healthy and non-allergenic grain that can appeal to a wide variety of consumers. |
|
What advantages do students have by learning fundamental rice dishes/techniques? |
|
They understand how easy it is to cook rice properly and how to select the correct type of rice for each technique. Just learning that they don’t always have to use water to cook rice excites students and gets them thinking about what else to use. They explore homemade stocks and different ingredients like tea to discover unique flavor combinations since rice is ideal for delivering a wide range of eating experiences. Also, when a student masters a Pilaf or Risotto, they begin to see how they can explore developing ideas of their own that showcase innovation and creativity. |
|
What is your philosophy on food and the way people eat today? |
|
My background as a registered dietitian helps me understand the benefits of cooking with whole foods, the less manipulation the better. Sourcing local/U.S.-grown foods is also very important for sustaining local agriculture, farmers and the U.S. economy. Ultimately, people are becoming more conscious about where their foods come from and their health. |
|
What do you attribute to the growing interest in the culinary field? |
|
Food Network and other media. Many of the students who apply to culinary institutions aren’t looking to mimic the celebrities but become interested in the idea of cooking from what they’ve seen on TV. It’s a tough field, so right away we immerse students in real kitchen experiences. We also have a growing number of career switchers and older students who retired from another profession and are interested in cooking as a hobby or entering our catering and personal chef programs. |
|
What is your advice for aspiring chefs? |
|
Work hard and have passion for what you do. Passion is what will help you through the tough times. Don’t expect to reach the top right away. Many students expect to graduate and land a job making top salary. That won’t happen immediately, but with perseverance and passion you can eventually make a great salary and career. |
