COLLEGES & UNIVERSITY
it to feel authentic and aligned with how they are,” Robinson says. “I think celebrity chefs are a good way to extend what an organization’s mission is, if there’s alignment.” In June, O.G. celeb chef Guy Fieri teamed up with hospitality students at Florida International University for a valuable lesson in disaster preparedness, showing the serious side of the fun-loving Fieri. His Guy Fieri Foundation staff is well-versed in running a disaster kitchen, and shared their knowledge about how to plan efficiently and effectively. They created a menu that included lemon pepper chicken, pesto pasta, chicken Caesar salad and of course, plenty of Fieri’s new “Flavortown” sauces. FSD has found several instances of this increased involvement in which the celeb chef takes on more of an artist-in- residence stance, getting acclimated and staying awhile and being hands-on with developing every part of the project. One example is Tampa General Hospital in Florida, where Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian helped to overhaul patient offerings and develop a whole new menu, using dishes from his own recipe logs he thought would be a good fit, raiding the spice rack, testing, tasting and repeating. Zakarian is a familiar face from Food Network shows including Chopped and The Next Iron Chef. Tampa General Vice President of Operations Donna Tope told FSD that Zakarian’s goal was to get involved in a revamp that would “change the whole philosophy and model of what hospitals do for foodservice,” a lofty but admirable goal for sure. For more background, check out recent FSD articles on partnerships between foodservice operations and Brooke Williamson, Daniel Boulud, Grace Ramirez, Michael Symon and Maneet Chauhan and Rocco DiSpirito. And Jet Tila is an honorary onsite chef at this point, as he’s been a pioneer in chef partnerships over the years, from college to senior dining.
Elior’s ‘Why Can’t We?’ question Celebrity chef partnerships are part of Elior North America’s latest initiative, “Why Can’t We,” a somewhat rhetor - ical question that sees a cool trend in fast-casual or fine dining or social media and asks, Why Can’t We try that? Elior North America’s Senior President of Education Travis Young told FSD that the partnership between Elior and Chef Fabio Viviani, a Michelin-rated chef and restaurateur perfectly illustrates the new “Why Can’t We” branding, and mentioned wanting to try a K-12 partnership with Viviani. Viviani draws on his own parental instincts (his son Gage already has his own cooking channel) as much as his culinary background when bringing out the “why” in his partnership with Elior. This “why” is something many onsite chefs can relate to, whether they’re serving kids, grandparents and everyone in between. “We’re creating dining spaces where students can relax, recharge, and actually look forward to mealtime,” Viviani said in a statement about the collab. “This is how we cook for our own children, with fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and food that makes you feel good. For parents, it’s peace of mind knowing their students are nourished, happy, and surrounded by a sense of community every day.” And celeb chefs are rightfully choosy about who they partner with, Robinson says. “When they’re looking at and considering partnerships, they want
called out for being “cringe.” So, when they attach their name to something, it’s far from “set it and forget it.” An executive chef and a foodservice director will have similar concerns. In every segment, transparency and ac- countability have clearly emerged as one of those Things that Keep You Up at Night, along with the perpetual need for “street cred,” or we could say “street food cred.” Basically, celebrity chef partnerships, when they’re successful, go into a lot more depth and intensity than just a meet ‘n greet and then see you in a cou- ple years if the concept is still here. ‘A credibility boost’ As a whole, whether we’re demanding “clean labels” with ingredients a 2-year- old can pronounce, to know whether the company’s CEO has values that match our own, it makes sense the drive for transparency and authenticity would spill into celebrity chef partner- ships as well. In fact, today’s celebrity chef partnership can “give a credibility boost” to a culinary program, Robinson says. “They can change with perception of the food they’re providing. People naturally interpret that a chef-partnered menu will be held to a higher standard.” These partnerships are also a way for culinary groups that may be feeling warning signs of a creativity rut to add a bit of razzle dazzle and glamor, which can serve to highlight and enhance- -rather than overshadow--the work that’s already happening in the kitchen.
QUARTERLY | Q4
19
GRAPHIC COURTESY OF BELLE COMMUNICATION
Powered by FlippingBook