These culinary schools have found the recipe for training budding chefs for hard-hit industry

Culinary schools in southwestern Ontario are providing future chefs with skills to become more flexible and adaptable in an industry hard hit by the pandemic.

Randi Rudner, program manager and an instructor with the Stratford Chefs School (SCS), said students are taught not to pin themselves to one style of cuisine or role, and to keep an open mind and embrace a broad palette of skills.

"Learning different stations in the kitchen ... also knowing how to order and manage inventory, knowing how to work on the floor and interact with customers, and manage takeout," she said.

"We have a lot of different instructors, we have a lot of visiting chefs, and I think it teaches and role models a lot of different ways of diving into this industry, and that kind of flexibility will serve them in good stead."

The Stratford Chefs School and other culinary schools, including Conestoga College in Kitchener and George Brown in Toronto, said most of the theory courses were switched to online learning during the pandemic, but the hands-on portion of the programs were kept in-person, with smaller cohorts.

One COVID-19 safety measure has students bringing their own kits to avoid sharing of equipment like knives, spoons or spatulas.

Challenging school year

Instructors said it has been a challenging school year for students and staff, as many want to get back to the full culinary school experience.

For Ivan Milenovic, 2020 was a tough year as he tried to navigate a new way of learning while keeping his passion for food and the culinary arts alive.

Milenovic is a student in Conestoga's culinary arts program and an apprentice chef at the University of Waterloo, where he plans to continue his studies in the fall. He recalls when his class was told to stay home during the first wave of the pandemic.

"I just know that same day I was like, 'I can't get out of the routine,'" he said.

He kept busy by baking bread and cooking meals for his neighbours, as well as experimenting with recipes in his own kitchen.

"I wanted to keep some sort of connection to the culinary industry even if I wasn't an active participant in a professional kitchen."

Milenovic said he's kept in touch with other chefs, bought books, and participated in virtual cooking competitions to stay motivated and connected to the industry during the pandemic. 

His dedication earned him the Young Chef of the Year 2020 award from the Culinary Federation central region.

"I'm 40 years old. I'm not the usual apprentice that are usually aged between 16 and 21," he said. "I'm not going to give up. I'll just try harder. Whatever it takes."

Unclear future for restaurant industry

As graduates prepare to enter the culinary and restaurant industry, instructors at Conestoga College, George Brown and the Stratford Chefs School said it's hard to predict what the industry will look like in the future.

Everyone is trying to be as adaptive and flexible in the way that they deliver their services as we have also done here at the college.- Sharon Booy, chair, George Brown Chef School

"I think the industry has done an amazing job of being innovative and adaptive in finding new ways of working with their clients to serve what people are looking for," said Sharon Booy, chair of the George Brown Chef School. 

"Everyone is trying to be as adaptive and flexible in the way that they deliver their services as we have also done here at the college."

Keith Muller, chair of Conestoga's School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts, said he believes restaurants that have been nimble and creative during the pandemic have a good chance of staying in business.

Muller said some restaurants have begun selling their own ingredients, signature sauces or meals kits online.

"The industry has had to reinvent itself in so many ways, from doing takeout … to preparing your own meal with a recipe card and an ingredient box," he said.

"Takeout has saved a lot of the industry and it has also been devastating for those that were not able to or could not change to takeout."

Ghost kitchens fill sitdown gap

Others in the industry have adopted the idea of ghost kitchens, a style of restaurant that doesn't have a sitdown area, operates out of a central location, and mainly offers takeout services for their brands, said Muller.

"Restaurants realized that having big eating spaces is expensive because you're paying for the space whether it's full or empty," he said.

"You get ghost kitchens that will prepare takeout meals for three or four different restaurants to their recipes and specifications, and then ship them out from their central location."

Muller said these changes began unintentionally before the pandemic set in last year, and they could continue to play a role in shaping the industry.