The connections between culinary education and the restaurant industry: A phenomenological investigation of educators', restaurant professionals' and recent graduates' views on culinary education

As restaurants in the United States grow in number, industry professionals are complaining about a lack of a qualified workforce and poor level of education provided in culinary arts curriculum. While some authors have addressed the quality of culinary arts curriculum in relationship to graduates' industry success, few have addressed the issue in an interview format of three main stakeholder groups (educators, restaurant chefs, and recent graduates). Further, none have addressed the professional development standards of these parties in relation to culinary arts education. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to address the current state of culinary education and its relation to workforce needs by members of the restaurant industry. Data will be collected through 15 one-on-one, semi-structured interviews and focus groups with members from each of the three stakeholder groups. The participants will represent faculty in culinary arts facilities in the metropolitan Philadelphia region, culinary arts graduates with zero to three years of experience working in Philadelphia, and restaurant chefs with more than ten years of experience and currently holding a managerial position. Applying a social constructivist framework, the data will be bracketed and analyzed for common experiences and themes to understand the alignment of culinary arts curriculum in relation to the current restaurant industry. The anticipated outcome is to help those involved with culinary arts education determine what skills---if any---are currently missing and needed for graduates entering the restaurant industry and provide recommendations for planning effective professional development and curriculum design for culinary arts educators.