Crains New York - December 3, 2012 - (Page 46)

Students’ fork in the road Continued from Page 45 SOURCE LUNCH: DAVID WEBER by Ali Elkin reputable profession, thanks to Mr. Meyer and others like him who have made the business more corporate. A decade or more ago, parents didn’t want their children to go into the field, experts say. But that’s changing. “Both of my parents went to four-year schools,” said Ms. Drayne, “but they were very supportive of me getting a culinary education.” Food trucks brought hot meals and hope buck ennis Younger crowd And culinary schools are encouraging the shift. Facing declining enrollment in its vocational courses several years ago, ICE decided to meet the criteria of the federal student-loan program. This made it easier for applicants 24 and younger to afford the $30,000 tuition—which covers the nine months to a year that it takes to complete the program and receive a diploma. One problem all culinary schools experienced was a decline in the number of banks that offered loans for vocational schools. “We had to look for new places where people could get money,” said Rick Smilow, chief executive of ICE. Today, 40% of ICE’s students are 24 or younger, and 52% did not attend college. In 2003, just 11% of ICE’s students were in their early 20s or younger and 26% had not attended college. “We typically attracted older students and career switchers who were using their savings to come here,” said Mr. Smilow. What’s more, the school’s enrollment would ordinarily swell during economic slumps as hardcharging executives rode out the storm by acquiring new skills. But S COOKING GOOD: Culinary-school students learn the basics. this latest recession cut the flow of those applications—which are separate from its growing recreational programs. The latter attract some 28,000 foodies and oenophiles a ‘I’m excited to go to class for four hours and bake a cake’ year, compared with about 700 students who are learning the foodservice trade. “Gone are the days when severance packages from corporate America were the basis of culinary tuition,” added Mr. Smilow. “The layoffs may still be happening, but the packages aren’t nearly what they were.” In fact, the recession took a bite out of many culinary schools across the country. Career Education Corp., which runs 16 Le Cordon Bleu schools, estimates that it will have 27.5% fewer new students this year compared with 2011, a year in which the schools had already experienced an 11% decline in enrollment of new students. The International Culinary Center—formerly the French Culinary Institute—is also attracting younger students via new partnerships with The New School and New York University,which are enhancing their food-studies programs with courses at ICC. “It gives us credibility because the students are getting college credit for our courses,” said Christopher Papagni, executive vice president of ICC.The school’s enrollment also suffered during the recession. PAVING THE WAY TO A CAREER ENTRY-LEVEL CULINARY JOBS pay a paltry $10 or $12 an hour, which doesn’t help freshly minted cooks meet their student-loan debts. In fact, the problem of culinary student-loan defaults has caught the attention of Dorothy Cann Hamilton (below), founder of the French Culinary Institute (renamed the International Culinary Center) and celebrated Spanish chef José Andrés, who in October announced an initiative aimed at helping such students. “The ideal candidate is someone who is unemployed and in default,” said Ms. Hamilton. “We are in a unique position to help.” The partners, who have not yet launched Culinary Coalition, plan to offer free evaluations of students’ skills and improve their chances of getting a job. They will also offer graduates additional training and help in landing employment. “Employers want a Good Housekeeping seal that we can give these students,” said Ms. Hamilton. She and Mr. Andrés are looking for partners to fund the program, which they want to offer in six cities, including New York, Miami and San Francisco. “We are hoping it becomes a template for the student-loan problem,” said Ms. Hamilton. —LISA FICKENSCHER Entrepreneurial spirit But Mr.Papagni said very few of the school’s students are right out of high school, in part because ICC’s $40,000 tuition may be too pricey for many young people just starting out. “Bobby Flay came here when he was 18, but he was the exception,” added Mr. Papagni of the celebrity chef. Rochelle Honeygan, for one, chose ICE because it was more affordable. She graduated from high school last year and is currently finishing up her course work in the pastry and baking arts program. At the same time, she’s holding down two jobs as a hostess at a Friday’s on Wall Street and a kitchen assistant at Sur le Table on West 57th Street. Her mother and a student loan are helping to pay the tuition. She embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of many youths in cooking schools these days. “I don’t think college is for everyone,” said Ms. Honeygan, describing herself as a visual learner. “I’m excited to go to class for four hours and bake a cake,” she added. “Eventually I want to open my own bakery.” The Mud Spot in the East Village,because they didn’t have power at their restaurant, put their truck in front. And as often happens,coffee spots become something of a hub in the comHow did the food trucks become involved munity because people sort of have in Sandy relief? their routines in the mornThe first night after the ing.For denizens of the East hurricane, we had a lot of Village, their routine was members donating out of not interrupted because their own good will. Even they could still grab their those who didn’t have food hot coffee from the truck inPALENQUE FOOD would just run the generastead of the restaurant. TRUCK at Coffey Park in Red Hook, tor so people could power Brooklyn Are the food trucks benefiting their phones or play the rafrom increased visibility? dio so people could get inAMBIENCE: A city-sponsored This has been a really exformed. From there, we hot-meal citing opportunity for us. secured a sponsorship distribution site Street food has a lot to offrom JetBlue early on. with a long line of fer New York City in terms They sponsored about Red Hook residents whose of activating public space, 2,500 hot meals from homes had been keeping the streets vibrant Thursday after the hurriflooded. and interesting and also cane [Nov. 1] through WHAT THEY ATE: keeping the streets safe. Nov. 4. And when that Colombian Moreover, it’s an opportufunding was winding chicken arepas nity for the vendors to down, we started to TAB: Free for show that they are part of crowdsource. We ran an those in need; the community and they Indiegogo [crowdfundabout $12 market can pitch in and help. I ing] campaign.We tried to value think, more than anything raise $7,000 and ended up raising $27,000 in one day, and then else, that’s what’s been really great another $24,000 the next day. People about this opportunity, to show how really loved this idea of being able to much the vendors are connected to donate $7 today and getting a hot the city as a whole. meal out to people who needed it You wrote a handbook for people who tomorrow. Throughout this period, where want to operate food trucks. What are we were working with sponsorship some of the pitfalls you warn against? money or crowdfunded money, we’d People imagine that it’s all smiles and been in touch with the mayor’s office sunshine and that there’s a line of to get some insight on locations that people with $20 bills who all want to were in the most need. Sort of organ- throw money at you, but in fact it’s a ically out of that, the Mayor’s Fund very, very hard job. There’s a lot of got in touch with us and became our work, a lot of physical labor involved, primary sponsor, and they just sur- and I always warn people to be prepared to embrace the life of a peddler. passed 200,000 meals [on Nov. 19]. You’re turning a 9-to-5 into a 5-toHow were food trucks particularly able 9. But what makes it all worth it is to help? those golden hours of lunch. ince Superstorm Sandy, New York City’s food-truck fleet has been out at the hardest-hit areas delivering free hot meals through a partnership with the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. David Weber, president of the New York City Food Truck Association, said the trucks were doing what they could to help even before receiving outside funding. Mr. Weber founded the 45member organization in 2011 while he was still running Rickshaw Dumpling Bar with his businessschool friend Kenny Lao. In August, Mr. Weber made running the Food Truck Association his full-time job. He also recently published The Food Truck Handbook, a guide for potential truck operators. Part of what makes this so successful is that these vendors are used to finding locations where people aggregate because that’s their business. So it makes them really well suited to finding people who need help as well. How did the storm affect some of the truck operators? Here in Red Hook, one of our members is the Red Hook Lobster Pound. They suffered quite acutely in that their truck and the pound are both down. It’s a hard time for everyone in the community. Did having a food truck help affected businesses? WHERE THEY DINED gettyimages INSIDE TIP: Take a lot of extra napkins— and don’t turn down the hot sauce. 46 | Crain’s New York Business | December 3, 2012

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crains New York - December 3, 2012

Crains New York - December 3, 2012
In the Boroughs
In the Markets
The Insider
Business People
Opinion
Greg David
Report: Best Places to Work
Classifieds
For the Record
Small Business
Real Estate Deals
New York, New York
Source Lunch
Out and About
Snaps

Crains New York - December 3, 2012