Eduardo Castillo, CEC, Executive Chef of San Antonio CC, says networking is one of the most important parts of in-person education opportunities.
A few weeks ago, I was able to attend an in-person education session.
Many of us did online versions of training during the pandemic. These learning opportunities served a valuable purpose during a difficult time, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t difficult it was to focus and get engaged in the virtual format.
During the pandemic, I participated in live zoom conferences, continuing education sessions, and live online video training as well as recorded sessions. Some of these webinars were really engaging while others were painful to sit through, no matter how interesting the topic may be.
My return to in-person education rekindled my excitement for continuing education and I am very glad my employer supports and fosters education. Believe me, at this point, this is something I would do even if I had to pay out of pocket.
For me, the real value of in-person education is not just the actual learning taking place, but is as much on the connections and networking elements baked into the format.
I went to Los Angeles and stayed downtown for our 5 day session. Our group was made up of about 40 people from all over the US and Canada. During this time, we spent on average ten hours per day together. Our instructors were great and really did a great job getting us to mingle, learn about each other and interact. We were provided so much information that I felt as if we were trying to drink out of a firehose every minute.
Our training also included scheduled visits to The Jonathan Club, The California Club, The Beach Club, and The Jonathan Beach Club. Being there and experiencing those locations, asking questions should suffice as education in itself.
In addition to the club’s visits, Los Angeles provided a great opportunity to dine out. We had lunch breaks that we needed to fill as well and several open dinner nights. These breaks provided great opportunities to get to know the people and expand my network.
Being outside of the classroom afforded us an opportunity to share experiences, ask questions about how each other operate, discuss what challenges we have and how each would approach the issue. It’s like bringing an external set of eyes to your operation. We found ourselves in separate groups going out for drinks, meals and snacks as the training went along diving deep into each other’s operations and challenges.
What I find the most difficult part of being off property for 5 or 6 days straight is the return. It is hard to digest all that information at once while you are there. Upon returning, you need to set aside time to revisit, sift through it and cement the knowledge in your brain. I came back with pages of notes, several lists of ideas and changes I want to implement, but more importantly a long list of questions for my manager, peers, and team to spark their thinking and challenge them.
This is where the real value is. Get all of this on paper and make sure you revisit it.
When you return, your team will have missed you and you will be eager to get started. Make sure you don’t come back to change the world all at once like I used to do. Now, I like to take a few days to get reacquainted and then slowly start bringing ideas to the table. Pace yourself and make sure you don’t plow over everyone else. They were not there with you.
I believe in-person education allows us the time and solitude to reflect on our job duties as well as our personal lives. It gives us an opportunity to be open. ready, and willing to discuss anything, personal and professional. Be ready to cooperate and collaborate. Be ready to listen. Be ready to openly ask questions. You don’t know who is sitting next to you and you for sure don’t know what kind of answers and ideas you will get.
Education is all about the network and the networking.
If you haven’t yet, please consider attending the upcoming Chef to Chef Conference in Nashville. You will walk away with tons of club-specific ideas that you won’t be able to get anywhere else.
You can register here: www.cheftochefconference.com.