Arizona Food Service Network

The Arizona Food Service Network connects all people, events, resources, and organizations associated with Arizona food, food service, and food science.

You’re right, you’re right, I know you’re right- Write!

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A line from When Harry Met Sally, it’s something that plays in my head when someone says I need to write more content for the site. I agree, so here I am.

Part of my writing goals is launching two newsletters. Yes, not one, but two. One for the American Culinary Federation Chef’s Association of Arizona and one for the Arizona Food Service Network.

The ACFAZ newsletter is being refreshed and at the next board meeting, that structure will be confirmed. There’s an email blast that goes out to share information but the feedback from members and meeting attendees is, they would like to see a newsletter.

For the AZFSNetwork newsletter, that’s a little more involved as that’s directly tied with the website which we’re working on the finishing details there as well. Pricing and structure are the main focus, something easier said than done.

I’d show you the template for the AZFSNetwork but I want to work on that some more so I’ll wait for now. They both have similar formats but have different goals and the same applies to the audience. Part of the AZFSNetwork Newsletter will include a link to the ACFAZ Newsletter.

For the ACFAZ, my goal has always been for members of the association to talk about their “why’s” for ACF Certification and getting involved with their local chef’s association. I’ll have more to add to this next week in preparation for the March 9th meeting and then, of course, the follow up from the meeting.

WordCamp Phoenix was February 7-9 and I’m still following up from that conference too. Great networking and information about the WordPress platform, online marketing, and small business tips, I always enjoy WordCamp, I highly recommend this to marketing managers and especially those using the WordPress platform for their website.

Here are a few of the slides from presenters from this year’s event. Still filtering through this information as we make changes. Always something to do or fix in the digital space. As for writing, my confidence level has increased with my subscription to Grammarly Pro. Woohoo, that helps.

Some of the presenter’s slides are below, would like to list them all when I find them.

Kimberly Lipari – Understanding Website Health

Aaron D. Campbell – Why WordPress in a World with Options?

Rich Tabor – Designing & Building Gutenberg Blocks

Bet Hannon – The Business Case for Accessibility

Zac Gordon – 100 Things to Know About Building, Selling and Supporting Online Courses and Content at WordCamp Phoenix 2020

Francesca Marano – The Art of Networking

As for writing, yes, I know what I’ve gotten myself into and that makes me laugh a bit when I think about it. “What the hell was I thinking?

As for writing styles, Anthony Bourdain became the voice in my head for writing, even with all his arrogance and disdain for vegetarians, it was his voice that helped me write and encouraged me to develop a writing style.

Surprisingly, remembering how much Anthony has influenced me, reminds me of how much of a loss his passing means to me. My two favorite episodes of his are from Part Unknown, they are of are Punjab, India and Lyon, France, and I may have to revisit them soon. Shout out to Anthony, you are missed, my friend.

Onwards and upwards, keep moving forward, and that I am.

Madonna Kash

ACFAZ with 2020 vision

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It’s the middle of February and past the New Year, New Me stuff yet for the ACFAZ, it continues. The first meeting of the year, and with the new board happened January 13th at Agave Farms and yes, it was a good turn out with many reasons to get excited about the new year for the association. Pictures of that event are below.

Agave Farms is a great place to hold an event, get involved with a community garden, but also a great place to purchase plants as well. I was impressed with their selection of roses. Roses grow very well in Arizona yet the colors of roses offered at local retail stores are very limited. Only one color is what I found last year.

ACFAZ January Meeting at Agave Farms

The new board election confirmed at the November 4th meeting held at Southwest Gas. Below are pictures from that event, and here is a list of the new ACFAZ Board of Directors.

ACFAZ November 4, 2019 Meeting

Fast forward to February again, much follow up happening and have to get into blogging again and getting the newsletter(s) fired up too. There is also chapter information I need to share too, and working on that too. You can see some of that on the ACFAZ.org website and on the ACFAZ Facebook page.

The next ACFAZ meeting is March 9th at Barry Goldwater High School in the school’s restaurant, Avenue 27, which is also their culinary arts department.

Here’s information about this event.

“On March 9th, ACF Chef’s Association of Arizona welcomes Culinary Love, a local collective of chefs promoting wellness in the hospitality industry.

Culinary Love believes we are “an industry in need” of supporting the individuals who give so much of themselves in kitchens and dining rooms across all venues of foodservice. The meeting will feature a panel discussion with ACF and Culinary Love members.

ACF Chef’s Association of Arizona is Walking to End Homelessness on April 18th at the Phoenix Zoo. Participants get a free pass to the Zoo that day!

Walk the Walk to support UMOM New Day Centers as we fight to end homelessness in our community.

Wear a chef coat, toque, or apron, to show your chef pride! If you cannot join us or the walk, please consider a donation in support.

Find our team page here:
https://fundraise.umom.org/team/279554

Click “Join Team” and follow directions to register for $5 or Click “Donate” if you cannot join the walk, but would like to donate in support.

Thank you!”

Guenter Haab- Certified Master Baker, Educator, Retired

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Guenter Haab, Peoria, Arizona

Meet Guenter Haab of Peoria, Arizona. Certified Master Baker, Educator, happily retired.

Experience 

I have a wide experience in cooking including: fine foods, short order, high volume and catering. My baking experience is comprehensive including: breads, rolls, danish, Viennese and French pastries, and marzipan work. 

Qualifications 

Certified Master Baker Degree by the Retail Bakers Association of America 

•Presenter at workshops for the Retail Bakers of America that are scheduled nationwide. 

•Member of the American Culinary Association and the Greater Phoenix Chefs’ Association. 

First Place winner of the 1989 Durkee National Baking Contest (Puff Paste Category). 

•Forty one years experience in the food service industry. 

•Completion of a three year baking apprenticeship in Bispingen, Germany. 

Eight years teaching experience at the secondary level, plus three years of post secondary instruction. 

•Member of the Classroom Teachers Association and the Arizona Vocational Association. 

Personal History 

Prior to coming to the United States in 1964, I had served four years in the Merchant Marines as a baker, cook’s assistant and head cook. This position required very careful planning of supplies since all the purchasing had to done for three-month cruises. I worked as a journeyman baker in Bespingen, Munster, Hamburg, and Dusseldorf, Germany from 1953 to 1964 with the exception of the four years in the Merchant Marines. 

Working Characteristics 

I am systematic in my work, using well defined and efficient procedures. This produces a smoothly running kitchen and a staff who know what to do and how to do it. The end result is excellent food that is well served. I maintain excellent standards of cleanliness. I contribute to a good working atmosphere by politeness to those whom I supervise. I pay a lot of attention to menu planning and give careful consideration to what the customers like and to consulting with other chefs. I am meticulously honest with materials and money. 

Part Time Work 

I served on the faculty of Gateway Technical Institute in Wisconsin, participating in the development of a food service production curriculum, teaching Baking for Chefs and taught various baking courses for adult education classes. I developed and taught the CETA Food Service Production program. At a 

Teacher’s College I was in charge of meat production for up to 4000 meals per day. 

I have catered banquets for up to 200 persons from my home in Racine, Wisconsin. I have served catered events 

Education 

I completed European grammar school in 1950. I completed a three year apprenticeship in Baking and became a journeyman baker in Bispingen, Germany on September 12, 1953. I have had the privilege of working for many excellent chefs. 

Work History August 1983 to Present 

Metro Tech Vocational Institute of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona. Commercial Baking instructor for the Culinary Arts Program. The progra consists of 80 to 100 eleventh and twelgrade students. Pro gram falilities include a 300 seat banquet center, café, fine dining room, and bakery products for take-out. 

August 1988 to Present 

Phoenix College, Phoenix, Arizona. Instructor for Beginning and Advanced Commercial Baking courses. 

February 1982 to May 1983 

Haab’s Restaurant, Sun City, Arizona. Owner and manager for my own full-service restaurant. I performed or oversaw all operations, production, service, and bookkeeping functions. 

October 1981 to February 1982 Pinnacle Peak Country Club, Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Chef- In charge of all kitchen operations. 

May 1981 to September 1981 

Hyatt Hotel Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe, California. Executive Sous Chef- Responsible for production and supervision in main kitchen. Also handled banquets, special functions, and supervised 

two satellite kitchens. 

February 1979 to May 1981 

Saga Corporation, University of Nevada at Reno, Reno Nevada. Pastry Chef and Cook- Prepared foods and fine pastries 800 to 1000 students. 

January 1979 to July 1979 

MGM Grand Hotel, Reno Nevada. Head Baker- Bakery Department. 

November 1977 to Dec 1978 

Brick Oven Bakery, Sturdevant, Wisconsin. Trained the new owner of a bakery shop in the development of an all around bakery. 

September 1974 to Oct 1977 

Seven Mile Fair, Caledonia, Wisconsin. Food Operation Supervisor- Responsible for preparation of all food and beverages. The kitchen, equipment and staff of 25-30 persons were under my supervision. Cared for and maintained all kitchen related machinery. 

1970 to September 1974 

Haab’s Fine Pastries, Racine Wisconsin. Developed and ran my own business for four years. I handled all supervision, operations, advertising, and purchasing. 

1964 to 1970 

Harding Williams Corporation, Chicago, Illinois. Head Baker- Baker for this corporation which owned a chain of restaurants and food concessions in 180 locations across the United States (acquired by Saga Corporation in 1968). 

ACFAZ & Hope for Hunger Food Bank

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Volunteer Opportunity!!

Monday, May 13, 2019

Hope for Hunger Food Bank, 5605 N 55th Ave. Glendale, AZ 85301

Two Shifts of volunteers: 9-11 AM and 11 AM – 1 PM

To sign up or ask questions, contact us via the ACFAZ via Facebook page.

Additional information for the event from the Phoenix Recuse Mission, and Chef Garry Waldie, CEC, CEPC, CCE, AAC, HOGT.

“Dear PRM Volunteer,

Thank you for your volunteer service with the Phoenix Rescue Mission. Your efforts on behalf of the Mission are truly appreciated. Your valuable time and services allow us as a Mission to offer superior programs and support to the Valley’s homeless and less fortunate.

All volunteers should be particularly aware of the following:

The minimum age for volunteer service is 12. You will not be permitted to serve if you do not meet this age minimum and are accompanied by an adult.  

Please read the Volunteer Guidelines prior to your service.  

Please arrive on time. Otherwise it will be necessary to arrange for a substitute.

Please do not bring more volunteers than scheduled, unless previously arranged. We have limited spots available for each service and they are reserved on first come first serve basis. We’ll be happy to schedule others for another time.

Please, dress conservatively, preferably:

Wear jeans or long shorts, T-shirt, etc. NO TANK TOPS OR SPAGHETTI STRAPS ARE ALLOWED!

Closed –toed shoes are a health code requirement. NO FLIP FLOPS OR SANDALS! (Otherwise you will not be able to serve.)

Parking is available in the small lot located on the south side of the building at 55th ave and Luke. Additional parking is available along Luke avenue, please observe and obey all posted parking signage. 

We look forward to seeing you.  Have fun!

Thanks Garry”

ACF National Officers Election

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From the ACF newsletter, The Culinary Insider, April 29, 2019, the ACF National Officers election ballots have been sent out via email. If you are eligible to vote, please do. Show your support for your association by returning the email ballot.

No deadline noted for the return. The ballot email is “ACF Election Coordinator”, email, noreply@directvote.net, and the subject line “2019 ACF Offical Election Ballot.”

“If you do not receive a ballot and believe you are eligible to vote, please check your spam and junk folders before contacting the federation. All comments and questions should be directed to administration@acfchefs.net. “

ACFAZ Meeting, Barry Goldwater High School Culinary Arts

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The meeting was held at Barry Goldwater High School’s Culinary Arts department in the school restaurant, Avenue 27. Barry Goldwater High School, BVGHS  is part of the Deer Valley Unified School District, and their address is 2820 W. Rose Garden Lane Phoenix, AZ 85027.

You’ll find more information about the program under the BGHS Career and Technical Education tab or on the Culinary Arts program’s website. Culinary Arts is one of two Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs offered at BGHS; the other is Drafting.

Avenue 27 is the student-ran restaurant at BGHS and they note, there are three more a la carte dinners scheduled for this semester; April 5, 12, and 26. Here is a copy of the menu, if you are interested in attending, you’ll need to make reservations. Email them at Avenue27@avusd.org

Before every During the ACFAZ board meeting, we talked about the Western Regional Conference in Minneapolis, March 31-April 2. We have some members attending but also, our own Chef Tuan Butch Raphael is up for the Nestle Professionalism award and Chef Lenard Rubin is up for the Hermann Rusch award.

Starting the ACF Apprenticeship program in Arizona took a step forward with the first confirmed facility and chef on board. Executive Chef Andrew Helmandollar with Casino Arizona will be starting the program for his company and has been waiting for the ACF online material to get through the testing period, which is now done and ready to go. Following up with Chef Helmandollar is next and learning more about the ACF Apprenticeship program.

Another fantastic step forward is connecting with high school culinary arts directors to share with them the ACF Certified Fundamental Cook, CFC certification. Here is the CFC application. For some, the skills and knowledge these students acquire in this program help set the course for their career and with the CFC certification, this gives students their first level of certification when they graduate which will give them an edge in the workforce.

Chef Ryan Mattheis of BGHS hosted the meeting with some of their culinary students and sampled items from their menu. During the general meeting, Chef Mattheis and Chef Dina Alrieri of UMOM had an awesome dialog about the CFC and you could see Chef Mattheis thinking about how that would work for his students. Chef Alrieri ran the pilot program at the Center on Halsted in Chicago, which makes this connection even more exciting. Learn more about her experience with that here.

The students at BGHS learn knife skills, garde-manger, food prep, baking and pastries, stocks, sauces, plating, and cooking techniques, and advanced French methods already so it makes sense to offer certification at the high school level.

BGHS also has internships programs available and always looking for to add to their list of potential employers. If you are a chef or food service operator interested in an internship or hiring students, you can learn more here.

We are working on a plan to share the CFC with other Arizona high school culinary art programs and their staff and look forward to sharing more about all of this as it develops.

This type of meeting is part of my “Why” for the Arizona Food Service Network and Chef Student Connect, great things happen when people connect. Next ACFAZ Meeting is April 8th at Metro Tech High School.


ACFAZ March 11th Meeting

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Join us March 11th for our next meeting at Barry Goldwater High School.

Board meeting 3:30 PM

General meeting 5 PM+ Google Calendar+ iCal Export

Details

Date: March 11

Time: 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Organizer

ACFAZ, American Culinary Federation Chef’s Association of Arizona Website: https://www.acfaz.org

Venue

Barry Goldwater High School

2820 W. Rose Garden Lane
Phoenix, AZ 85027

United States + Google Map

Phone: 623-445-3000 Website: https://www.dvusd.org/bghs

ACFAZ, AAC/Presidents Awards Dinner

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The ACFAZ held an American Academy of Chefs/ Presidents Awards Dinner on January 21, 2109 at Mirabel Golf Club executed by Executive Chef Bruce Christensen and his staff of Mirabel Golf Club.

Here is the Album from the event.


The evening started at 4 PM which gave attendees time to socialize and a chance for me to grab a few sun set pictures. What a beautiful place, great people, and the food was pretty amazing.

I had the vegetarian meal which for the entree was a roasted turnip and it was so good, I’m going to give it a try myself one day. Topped with the Citrus Fennel Salad, I really enjoyed it.

The Pommes Dauphine were outstanding. The world would be a better place with more of those in it. So tasty, we all would have eaten more. My whole meal was fantastic and so was the wine for my favorite form the Forth Course was the Run Babas and the Madeleines were especially good as well.

The winner of the 2018 ACFAZ Chef of the Year is Chef Gary Waldie, CEC, CEPC, CCE, AAC. Learn more about Chef Gary Waldie here. He does many things to help support the chapter and our community, well deserved.

The Purveyors of the Year are Southwest Gas and Capistrano’s Bakery for all their support of the ACFAZ throughout the year. Both have hosted meetings and Capistrano’s Bakery, always happy to sample and donate product. We are grateful for the support.

Hannah Laqua accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award on behave of her husband, Chef Eric Laqua with two of their daughters there as well.

Will need to update this post once I get a list of vendors that donated product that helped make this dinner a success.


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