By School of Business student Thomas J. Moquet

On March 16, Kendall College seniors from the hospitality, culinary and business programs came together to exhibit our hard work as we held a tradeshow and presented our final pitches for Kendall’s Capstone project. It all started in October of last year when we were told that our project would be to conceptualize and plan the development of a new hotel in downtown Chicago. The site was at 111 W Wacker, right on the Chicago River where building had begun in 2008 for the Shangri La Hotel. Apart from being informed it was compulsory to have three operations within the plan (hotel, retail and a restaurant), we were left to decide on the exact details of our concept.

We were put in teams of five or six with representatives from each school to add our individual expertise to the overall project. I was fortunate enough to be put in a fantastic group that had a strong multi-cultural leaning including students from the US, UK, Mexico, Spain and China. Our team name “International Icons” was very apt! Over the first 10 weeks of the course we covered a wide range of topics and guest speakers from building development, building management, marketing, finance and culinary. Using these tools and resources we began to build our concept and brand in preparation for the final part of the project.

In the final half of the course we had to develop extensive marketing, finance, operations and culinary plans which were used to compile the final report, which for most teams meant a hundred page business plan. The final day was an amazing experience and an ideal opportunity for all the teams to exhibit the skill sets that we had developed during our time as Kendall students. My team was fortunate enough to win two awards for best business plan and for best culinary presentation which legitimized all the hard work and effort we had put in. It was a refreshing experience to be given so much freedom and scope to create a complete business and use the creativity and passion we all share to make the project a success.

Students preparing the five-course dinner were directed and coached by Kendall chef-instructors Pierre Pollin and Chaîne member Marc Magiera.  Additionally, Craig Schoettler, executive chef at Grant Achatz’ The Aviary and a recent nominee for Beverage Professional of the Year by the Chicago Tribune, prepared special cocktails for the reception.

Chaîne member Chris Koetke, vice president of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, and Chaîne members of the Kendall College Charitable Trust Chevalier Allen Kutchins and Maître de Table Restaurateur Al Capitanini were on hand at the event.

The Confrérie de la Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, headquartered in France, is the oldest and largest food and wine society in the world. The chapter in the United States is now in its 52nd year with approximately 6,000 gourmands, gourmets, chefs, restaurateurs, hoteliers, oenologists, winery owners, sommeliers and others interested in the finest of dining and life experiences and enjoying the camaraderie of friends at dinners and events.

Do you ever wonder what it takes to lead a project, manage a team and plan an event? BUS-250 Project Management offers the proper guidelines and knowledge to help students successfully do just that! As a class, we were assigned a group fundraiser project of our choice, with a goal to raise $100 minimum. Seven of us endeavored to take on this project to help support a good cause. As the “Big Helping Hearts” team we wanted to exceed that goal.

We chose the Children’s Memorial Hospital Foundation in honor of  and to support one of our team members and all children in need of pediatric medical research. The last week of February a cookie sale was held at Kendall College with a great effort by all our team members and supporters. A big thank you to all our donors who helped us raise $557. We are very grateful and pleased with the outcome of our class project. We learned a lot while having fun, working as a team and benefiting a great cause!

What’s more? Team USA won the second place prize. The competition featured 36 candidates from 12 countries. Zakowski’s team prepared for three years, training at locations across the United States sponsored by the Bread Bakers Guild of America. One of those training locations was Kendall College back in December.

In the eight-hour competition, Zakowski’s team produced items based on four specialties: baguettes, Viennese pastries, savory presentations and an artistic piece. “Each team member has a different specialty, but I had to prepare seven types of bread in eight hours,” he says.

“Ultimately, I was evaluated on weight, length, volume, texture, appearance, crumb structure, taste, cleanliness and finishing on time—which is a challenge,” Zakowski continues. “Kendall helped prepare me. My education taught me to constantly elevate my skill sets.”

We are proud to announce that Ms. Gaye van de Hombergh will serve as Chair and Mr. Noel Hara will serve as Vice Chair of this year’s Senior Advisory Board. A previous member of the Senior Advisory Board taking on this new position, Van den Hombergh has worked for several prominent businesses, serving as president of Winning Workplaces; Midwest region president of Vistage International, the world’s leading CEO organization; president and managing director of The Johnsson Group, a financial consulting firm serving Fortune 500 clients, among other positions. Her passion is working with small- to mid-sized businesses eager to move to the next level, and her expertise lies in leadership, strategy, business-to-business marketing and strategic selling.

Serving as business development director of the new Chicago office of SALO Project, Hara draws on his experience as a consultant with a global firm and a regional sales lead in a Fortune 500 company. Recognized as an industry leader, he has been published in trade magazines and is a highly sought after public speaker and panelist for numerous industry events. Hara previously served on the School of Business Junior Advisory Board.

We are thrilled to have incredibly talented and successful business men and women as part of our Senior Advisory Board. Their contribution to the overall education of our students is immeasurable and we look forward to their ideas and insight in 2012 and beyond.

Click here to view the entire list of Senior Advisory Board members and their bios.

She’s survived bullying about her preparation time and made meals from emergency kits using a portable stove in a muddy field. She’s shed more than a few tears and a whole lot of sweat in kitchens as steamy as a hot-yoga room. But that’s all part of the job when you’re a contestant on “Top Chef,” which pits some of the nation’s best cooks against each other in timed kitchen challenges.

Beverly Kim, the chef de cuisine at Aria Restaurant in Chicago, made it through the first week’s showdown that took a field of 29 chefs down to the official starting 16, and her Korean-inspired dishes were heralded by the show’s judges almost every week. Kim made it to the top seven, and then she was cut from the competition. However, in a new twist this year, eliminated cheftestants competed in the “Last Chance Kitchen” for a chance to come back and compete in the finals. Kim triumphed and made it to the final four, but unfortunately was then sent home after a very close cook-off that included an ice pick and a rifle!

Kim refined her skill set at Kendall. Chef Sarah Stegner of Prairie Grass Cafe and formerly the Ritz-Carlton Chicago dining room encouraged her to pursue a degree at Kendall to hone her culinary skills and techniques. Following graduation, Kim surveyed a number of courses on Asian cuisine in Seoul, South Korea, which gives her culinary creations a decidedly contemporary taste and edge.

We are so proud of Chef Kim!

“For The Dining Room to be recognized in The MICHELIN Guide Chicago twice in a row demonstrates the quality of our extraordinary faculty and students, and their commitment to excellence,” said Dean Renee Zonka, RD, CEC, CHE.

Lunch and dinner are prepared and served in The Dining Room five days a week by students enrolled in the Schools of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, under the instruction of faculty chefs Benjamin Browning and Peggy Ryan and service instructors Steve Grand Pré and Pamela Stoner. The restaurant has been recognized and highly rated by Zagat Survey 2011/12 and received accolades by respected food critics from the Chicago Sun-Times and public-broadcasting station WTTW-TV’s “Check, Please!”

Click here for more information or to make reservations.

There are several questions that a student asks him or herself during the first week of class. What will be the difficulty of the class or the subject? Will the instructor be thoughtful?  Does it require a lot of class discussions or more individual work? Well, my BUS 250 project management class this quarter, taught by Barbara McIntyre, caught me unprepared. It was the second day of class, and the mission was to make a geodesic dome from newspaper. This was not in the syllabus.

“Caught off guard” is the best description for this situation. How will a group of 20 shocked students execute such a project? Well, the first try was painfully bad. There was no planning or even a short brainstorming session, and no one took the initiative to lead or to try and divide the group into small teams. The result was nothing to be proud of. The dome looked more like a floppy teepee. After a short discussion of what happened and a couple words of wisdom from our instructor about project management, round two began. The result of the second effort was much better. Of course, the planning, preparation and execution were not perfect, but as a class we learned a lot from our mistakes and were able to build a better dome in the end. If you are curious, you can see the dome displayed in Dean Coussens’ office although it is a little misshapen after transporting it there.

After finishing that day, I realized how much fun a student can have learning new subjects, and this is what makes Kendall College unique. Ms. McIntyre chose not to introduce the subject through PowerPoint or a lecture, but rather gave us the opportunity to learn “hands-on.” This experience got me started in understanding project management; furthermore, I enjoyed being part of the class and I am already waiting for the next meeting.

Jennifer will apply that obsession on January 18 when Kendall College serves as one of 10 regional sites in the 10th-annual S.Pellegrino® Almost Famous Chef® Competition. Representing Kendall, she’ll vie for a coveted spot in the national cookoff in Napa Valley in March and, ultimately, up to $22,000 in prizes and a life-changing apprenticeship with a renowned chef.

The S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition serves as a platform for culinary schools to showcase their students’ expertise during a fast-paced, high-pressure cooking competition. And the result is worth it as evidenced by Marco Bahena, a 2011 graduate of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and winner of the national title last year, who says the opportunities that have since come his way are significant to his career. “The mentorship and techniques I’ve learned from the participating chefs were invaluable.”

In celebration of its 10th year, the S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition will bring back all nine past winners to the finals event March 9-12, 2012 to work alongside the esteemed panel of celebrity-chef judges to mentor this year’s 10 finalists throughout the three days of fierce competition. All finals competitors will be evaluated in three categories: the Mystery Basket, Signature Dish and People’s Choice.

“This competition is well-known for bringing together talented culinary students, and this would be a great opportunity to learn and share new ideas, techniques and flavors with other passionate culinarians,” Kim says.

The highly intense, star-powered weekend will culminate with the announcement of the 2012 S.Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef. This exciting event will be broadcast live via the Almost Famous Chef Competition Facebook fan page, where viewers can vote for their favorite competitor and ask questions of the chef panel as they watch the excitement unfold.

The panel discussion included the nuts and bolts of day to day problems and issues faced by students in Chicago, such as:
•    How much does rent cost for the average student both in and out of college provided board at the Presidential Towers building?
•    Do you need to drive in Chicago? How is public transportation?
•    Is there a lot to do In Chicago, and what are your favorite things to do?

The talk inevitably focused once or twice on the undeniable truth of the harsh winters that come as part and parcel of living in the Chicago area. Not very surprisingly, the greatest looks of concern in this regard seemed to come from those enrollment teams located closest to the equator—I can’t think why! It was pointed out by me and by others that being a city of two seasons, one hot lasting from May to September and the other being cold from October to April, there is plenty of opportunity for hibernation, as well as sunbathing!

Other questions that were asked were more specific to the college itself such as:

•    How, who and what was your first point of contact within the school as an international student?
•    Did the college make you feel welcome? How was the induction and enrollment process?
•    What is it about Kendall that you value the most?

A lot of discussion in this area was led by our very influential first point of contact as international students, Director of Enrollment Tom Fitzgibbon.  It seems that all of us believed in what was said about Chicago in general, Kendall College and the validity and relevance of the courses taught there. This belief turned out to be well held for all the panelists as the discussions about Kendall focused around the high standards of teaching, experience, and knowledge of teachers, available resources, networking possibilities and job placement that all international students on the panel had experienced.

All in all this was a very worthwhile exercise for us to give an honest assessment of our experiences and interactions with Kendall College, Laureate Education, Chicago and the U.S. in general.  I personally found it beneficial because I know that the frank comments and insights delivered to those who give advice on placing new students will be listened to and acted upon. My participation and that of my peers will hopefully enrich the academic, business and personal lives of those students from foreign countries who follow in our footsteps to an education at Kendall.

Kendall College’s Latin motto on its crest reads; “EMITTE LUCEM ET VERITATEM” meaning “Send Forth Thy Light & Truth.”  Hopefully, this is exactly what we did for all the guests at the panel discussion, and they can reciprocate and reward the hard work of students, faculty and all parts of the Kendall College team by making the college successful for generations to come.