How Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions Is Helping Culinary Employers Develop a Stronger Workforce

Discover programs from Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions—and how both employees and employers can benefit. Training initiatives, job searching, externships, and more.

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June 8, 2023 11 min read

At Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, our commitment to educating future culinary professionals and helping them to reach their goals goes far beyond our campuses and online programs.

While a successful future starts with education, it continues with fulfilling employment. That’s why we partnered with Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions, a suite of culinary and hospitality talent development solutions.

With tools to help make hiring and training easier, it aims to link hard-working employees with great employers to support the overall health of the hospitality industry.

Here’s how Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions can help employers to incorporate education into their talent acquisition strategy. And how it can connect employees of all skill levels with their dream jobs.

Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions Explained

So, what is Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions? It’s a collection of tools designed to help employees and employers to connect for a more skilled workforce. Here’s a look at each of these resources and how they work!

Work & Learn: To Educate the Staff You Have

The “standard” wisdom says that people go to school and then move out into the workforce. But we know that’s often not the case in the culinary and hospitality industries. Many cooks and front-of-house employees come to restaurants and hotels without any formal training.

So when you have a reliable employee who you’d like to see succeed—but they don’t have the education to back up their enthusiasm—what can you do?

Our solution is Work & Learn, a solution designed to help employees get access to the education they need while simultaneously helping employers to build a stronger team. With this solution, employees attend Escoffier online or the Escoffier Boulder campus, working toward a degree or diploma while remaining employed.

Employers are invited to collaborate with Escoffier, letting us know how many employees they would like to enroll and what areas of study would be most beneficial to them. Based on those needs, we can match employees with the right online program from our catalog, spanning Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry Arts, Plant-Based Culinary Arts, Food Entrepreneurship, Holistic Nutrition & Wellness, and Hospitality & Restaurant Operations Management.

Chef Tim Condon and Escoffier graduate Terrydon Williams share their Work & Learn experience.

ESource: An On-Demand Culinary Training Solution

What if you’re after specific core guidance or upskilling for your employees? Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions provides a library of video content through ESource to teach particular skills often desired by employers. These resources could include basic competencies from our extensive catalog of prerecorded materials.

We can also customize a pathway specifically to meet your organization’s professional development objectives. Our competency-based materials are organized with clear objectives and outcomes to create empowered employees in the long run.

Frank Vollkommer, Certified Master Pastry Chef® & Escoffier Director of Culinary Industry Development“If one of our partners has a very specific process that they would like to train their employees in, we would work with that company to actually involve their talent and our production capacity to build custom content for them. The end result could be a short tutorial or a bundle of short tutorials with their executive chef in the videos representing the techniques that they want to share.”*
Chef Frank Vollkommer, Certified Master Pastry Chef®, Culinary Olympics Gold Medalist & Escoffier Culinary Education Specialist

Custom Services: Scaled Training For Your Unique Needs

Every job site is unique, whether a fast-paced urban kitchen or a cozy getaway lodge in the mountains. Auguste Escoffier Global Service can work with you to establish what your unique training needs are. It can provide the training environment or meet you and your employees wherever you feel training would be most successful.

Of course, when that training ends, you want your staff to stay sharp and your new employees to get up to speed quickly. That’s why Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions offers custom Train-The-Trainer programs that can turn your in-house leaders into educational powerhouses capable of passing down the lessons they’ve learned.

How Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions Benefits Employers

So why should employers consider partnering with one—or all—of the Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions offerings?

Turn Top Talent into Educated Team Members

You know when you have someone special on your team. They show up on time every day, have a great attitude, work hard, and love to learn. But that doesn’t mean they have the knowledge to back up their passion. And while you do provide mentorship, you can’t recreate the culinary school experience while also running a kitchen.

When you implement Work & Learn, you have the opportunity to build the skillset of that deserving employee. Students explore the “why” behind the “what.” For example, they may learn about the chemical reaction that creates browning, or the building blocks of the perfect flavor profile.

And since Work & Learn allows students to enroll in Escoffier’s online programs, they don’t have to take a leave of absence or relocate in order to study. In fact, employees who study online with Escoffier can bring what they’re learning directly into the kitchen the very next day.

Escoffier student in uniform holding a bowl while cooking at home

Through online programs at Escoffier, students can get the education they may need to progress in their careers.

Make Training Your Team Easier

Creating training materials takes time and money—resources that you may not always have. ESource can provide access to high-quality videos. All you have to do is choose the videos you want your employees to watch!

This means you don’t have to worry that the person training your new hire is skipping steps or teaching bad habits. And you can free up valuable staff time for other important work while your new employee goes through their video.

Improve Employee Retention

Great training is about more than just giving your team the skills they need. It can also improve their job satisfaction. One study reported that companies that were rated highly on employee training saw 53% lower attrition. Quality training can boost employee engagement, helping the team to feel excited and enthusiastic about their work and the company!

Two chefs standing in a kitchen behind a table full of vegetables discussing the menu

Well-trained employees tend to be happier than those who don’t get proper training.

Access A Steady Flow of Soon-To-Be Graduates

Every Escoffier student must complete one or two externships, depending on their program. These professional experiences can help employees to put what they’ve learned into practice.

What does this mean for employers? That every six weeks or so, a new crop of educated culinarians are ready to enter the workforce. In a time when 62% of restaurants report being understaffed, how helpful might it be to have access to recent graduates all year long?

Employers who consistently work with Escoffier externs can soon discover what knowledge and skills to expect from the average student. Hire can help employers to “standardize” their externships and make onboarding easier.

And when employers find a great extern, they have the option to offer them an ongoing role in their company after graduation!

Chef Maria Davenport“The externship class can allow students—even those with no prior experience—to get their foot in the door. Once they gain that valuable experience, it is easier for them to determine which path they want to take with their careers.”*
Maria Davenport, Escoffier Hospitality & Restaurant Operations Management Instructor

Connect With Culinarians of All Skill Levels

Externs are wonderful. But what if you need a sous chef or a chef de partie?

Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions can help connect employers to employees of all skill levels through EConnect. Employers can post their job openings and invite applicants to apply. Or they can search for talent that meets specific criteria like education credentials and years of experience.

Unlike the “all-purpose” job sites that work with all industries, using a hospitality-focused marketplace may help your job posting to get the visibility it needs to attract the right talent.

Employers can start posting jobs on EConnect by simply setting up an account at no charge. Post your first job or start searching for talent within minutes!

How Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions Benefits Job Seekers and Employees

Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions can help employees get the training they need—and find their next big career opportunity!

Get Training without a Leave of Absence—and Save Money on Education

You have a job in the culinary or hospitality industry. But you know that there are some barriers in place between where you are now and where you’d like to get in your career.

The biggest barrier? Education.

When your employer partners with Work & Learn, that barrier can come down. Employees who participate in Work & Learn get the chance to work toward a degree or diploma in one of our many online programs. Students can complete their coursework and cooking assignments from home—with an in-person industry externship—whenever it fits their schedule, as long as they meet program deadlines.

Plus, qualifying employees who start Escoffier programs through Work & Learn may receive a $2,000 scholarship from Escoffier, helping to reduce the cost of their programs. Some employers also choose to provide additional tuition assistance. For example, employees working for a Work & Learn MAX partner may receive an Escoffier scholarship that covers 25% of tuition and fees for qualifying students. Tim Condon, Executive Chef at Angry Cactus in San Angelo, Texas, currently pays for half of his Work & Learn students’ tuition, with a goal of covering 100%.

Denise Sullivan“Attracting and retaining culinary talent is key to an organization’s success. Companies that create a culture of training, education, and career pathing can find themselves leading the industry and becoming an employer of choice.”*
Denise Sullivan, Escoffier Vice President of Enterprise Solutions

A culinary school education from home, for a lower cost, with the flexibility to keep working? Sounds like a win.

Get Real Work Experience Before Graduating

Before graduation day, every Escoffier student must complete an externship (or two). These short, six-week work opportunities help students get hands-on experience and apply what they’ve been learning in a professional setting.

Students can get an intensive look at a niche they may be interested in pursuing. Plus, they get a real job to put on their resumes. For those just starting out, the externship may help students prove to themselves that they can hack it in a real kitchen.

Students are responsible for finding their own externships, but they may be able to get help from Escoffier’s Career Services department.

Amy Archer“It’s a wonderful program. I did my first externship at Dollywood and am now working there as a pastry chef. It’s amazing!”*
Amy Archer, Escoffier Online Baking & Pastry Graduate

Find Employers Who Invest In Building Their Teams

EConnect can help job seekers to match with employers who invest in the professional growth of their team members. These employers are often career-oriented, and may offer benefits like on-the-job training, tuition assistance, healthcare, and/or retirement plans. Job seekers can search for work by type, specialty, benefits, and more.

EConnect also offers a simple, automated resume builder that can format your experience and education into a professional document. Apply with one click to make job hunting easier than it’s ever been! Create your account in minutes!

Let’s Get to Work!

The challenges of the modern hospitality industry should be met with modern solutions. Escoffier’s innovative programs in education and skill development seek to meet the needs of both employers and employees, making work better for both.

For customized training solutions, connecting with externs, or exploring Work & Learn, get in touch with Auguste Escoffier Global Solutions! It can provide more information and help you to create the custom solution you need to suit your unique business.

To learn more about hiring and training employees, try these articles next:

*Information may not reflect every student’s experience. Results and outcomes may be based on several factors, such as geographical region or previous experience.

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