There is a Victorian saying; “every meal is a lesson learned.”  It is at the dining table we first learn not only what to do, but perhaps more importantly, what not to do.  Manners, it turns out, are as important to the pursuit of living as the culture of dining. Knowing exactly how to behave at the table was as important to cavemen as in today’s corporate dining room.  In order to become a fully accepted member of a group, or to be recruited as a team player, it is essential that everyone abides by the same rules and minds their manners.

There are many kinds of behavior that we consider bad manners.  Bad behavior results in the offender being permanently expelled from the group.  What may be tolerated, though not applauded at home is often unacceptable in public. Learning how to behave when in other countries is crucial to the negotiation of contracts of all kinds.  It therefore is essential to learn:

• How to behave in the company of others i.e. no cell phones, oppressive perfume or repellent after-shave lotion, no reading materials, no kissing, hand-holding or other overt touching/feeling and overall no boorishness of any kind particularly the kind that could become the subject of a Saturday Night Live skit.
• How to dine at a formal dining table including how not to address the wait staff.
• How to select the correct silver, crystal, and the correct use of the napkin.
• How to be mannerly when in the company of natives from countries other than one’s own.
• How to offer and respond to a toast.
• How not to spit out food that is offensive to you.
• How to request the check or be grateful to the host who, (thank goodness,) graciously beats you to it.

Business is booming for etiquette coaches.  Climbers of corporate ladders are recognizing how important it is for them and their significant others, to at least appear to be “cultured.” The hiring decision may rest on what and how the prospective employee behaved during an interview conducted over dinner.

Pamela J. Holland, co-author of Help! Was That a Career Limiting Move? Career Skills Press, 2001 and CEO of Brody Communications in Philadelphia, a company that provides dining etiquette training to corporate clients says, “I think this renewed interest in civility and manners is a reaction to young entrepreneurs who arrived in the workplace wearing sandals and a T-shirt.”  And Pauline Winick and Dale Webb, founders of the Protocol Center in Miami observe: “Regardless of one’s place in the work hierarchy, it is hard to argue against good manners.  If you are competing for a job or promotion against others with the same level of competency but you have the social skill, too, you always clobber your rivals.”

According to Michael Bateman, writing in London’s The Independent on Sunday, there are several ways to let dinner guests know it’s time to leave. “A Frenchman may ask if you’d like something, a fruit juice perhaps.  In Japan, if the guests fail to take the hint, the host and hostess may leave the room and not come back.  That usually does the trick.

To become a dining coach you must carefully study Miss Manners Guide to Excrutiangly Correct Behavior, Judith Martin.  Norton, 2005. She guides the reader into the correct way to extract a sliver of green leafy food from its lodging place between your teeth.

It is sound advice for us all, not to order the fried eggs, sausage, hash browns and a fizzy drink for breakfast if the host has requested half a grapefruit and a pot of herb tea. We are counseled not to reach into the plate of the prospective boss without his express permission, not to pick up the steak with your hands and gnaw the bone, not to dip your bread in the gravy, not to hold your fork like a shovel, not to use chopsticks for the first time when being interviewed for a job. And never, ever wear a lobster bib. Finally, it is even more important to grasp the unwritten rules than the more obvious ones.

Staff turnover is very costly so employers try their best to make sure a prospective new employee will not only become a productive member of the team but also fit in well with the organization. The last step of the evaluation process frequently involves going out for a meal. The hopeful employee will be judged on his ability to converse agreeably, a tendency to fidget, the number of times he experiences ian urgent need to leave the table to go to the bathroom and above all, his table manners.

A table manners coach can prepare a candidate for acceptance or rejection.

This is a great job for a Mom.

Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, NY

Gone are the days when college meal times meant an uninspiring trek with a tray to steam tables with a grumpy cashier at the end of the assembly line.

Dining at colleges and universities has grown into a whopping $4.6 billion dollar industry. Students are demanding locally grown, top-quality ingredients for both quickly prepared and more sophisticated meals. They have a well-defined social and eco-awareness and are insisting on a sustainable cuisine.

Sourcing Food Locally

Determined to shape the way future chefs do business, the Culinary Institute of America is the first college in the nation known to have a farm liaison. Paul Wigsten, produce buyer at the Hyde Park, NY campus and a 10th-generation farmer, leads the culinary school’s practice of buying food locally.

Universities like UMass Amherst formed a culinary collaboration with five nearby colleges that resulted in more local buying. The school is also a partner of Seafood WATCH, a program designed to raise awareness about the importance of eating fish that is not endangered.

These days, chefs have taken up residence on campuses everywhere. They are working in attractive kitchens, brightly-lit dining rooms and casual café settings with comfortable armchairs, couches, Wi-Fi access and flat screen TVs. These areas are designed for socializing and studying as well as eating.

A few college campuses have bistros and even fine dining facilities for special occasions. Others organize separate stations offering everything from sushi and salads to coffee and ice cream bars.

Students can sit at a counter, chat with the chef, and learn how to cook. Separate pantries are stocked with fresh ingredients for those who want to prepare their own food.

Another option is to place an online order for freshly-made sandwiches and daily specials to carry out.

Requests for dietary requirements are respected and there is something good to eat at every hour of the day and night in some colleges and universities.

The emphasis at higher education schools has changed dramatically from institutional food to locally grown ingredients. The new college chefs are willing to respond to requests for ethnic foods and nostalgia for Mom’s home cooking.

Getting Started as a College Chef

Though many dining facilities are contracted to Sodexo or Aramark, some schools employ their own staff. The director of food services will almost certainly have achieved a degree from a professional culinary school and have several years of food service experience.

Perks

If money is an issue, remember: certain Ivy League colleges, universities and states in the Union encourage lifelong learning by subsidizing undergraduate and graduate-level courses through the Tuition Assistance Plan (TAP) program. This benefit is available to all dining hall employees.

It is a great way to enhance career skills or pursue a personal academic interest. TAP can help finance courses as well as job-related courses. Classes are only $40 at the Harvard Extension School – the most popular choice of staff at Harvard – as well as 10 percent of the tuition at other eligible Harvard programs, including the graduate schools of education, government, public health, design and more options.

The National Association of College and University Food Services (NACUFS) also offers information about internship, scholarships and job openings.

Portrait of Success

Since 1997, Ted Mayer has directed Harvard University Dining Services, (HUDS), the country’s oldest, and one of the largest, self-operated collegiate dining services. He has over 30 years of food service experience to guide him as he leads the delivery of 25,000 meals a day, nearly 5 million meals annually to Harvard students, faculty, staff and guests.

With $52 million in annual revenues, Harvard Dining employs a staff of roughly 600 in 30 operations that include residential, catering and restaurant operations. In addition to dining, Mayer oversees the campus’ debit card program, Crimson Cash, which has grown to annual usage of almost $15 million.

Maybe it’s time to pull up a chair and consider a return to this kind of college life.

I often ask myself, (as do my loved ones and colleagues), why I wrote a book on FOOD JOBS. It was, and can be, a lot of work, very hard work; constantly looking for and thinking up new careers. This book was a departure from the many cookbooks and the Great Food Almanac I’d written in the past.

FOOD JOBS really all goes back to two themes I’ve embraced throughout my professional life: finding a niche and taking a risk.

I remind myself that I originally wrote this book to explain and explore for:

Butchers and bakers

And tillers of acres

And food-trivia players

And carrot purveyors

And wielders of woks.

For food fashion leaders

And recipe readers

And fitness-freak jocks.

And salesmen

Who breakfast on lox,

For taste counterfeiters

And writers of letters

And restaurateurs

And entrepreneurs

And connoisseurs.

For greeters

And seaters

Of meeters for brunch

And ladies who lunch.

For winers

And diners

And buyers making deals by the bunch.

For eaters of noodles

And bakers of strudels.

And packers

And craters

And vanishing head waiters

And food innovators who act on a hunch.

For sommeliers with tastevin flying

So clearly implying

They’d like a gratuity

Akin to an annuity

And then a drop more.

For cake decorators

And cookbook creators

And people who munch.

In short, this is neat

For all who eat…