A Look at Culinary School Today with Johnson & Wales University Chef Instructor Russ Zito

On this week's episode, we have chef Russ Zito. Russ has been a culinary instructor at Johnson & Wales University for 26 years. You might have heard our "What is a Chef" mini-episode.Chef Zito was one of my instructors and my senior advisor when I was a student at Johnson & Wales University. But a lot has changed since I graduated in 1998. I wanted to find out how the school, and the curriculum, have changed (or stayed the same) since I've been gone. He talks about the newer courses and classes dealing with things like sustainability, dietetics, and entrepreneurship. They even have a garden there now. I asked his opinion about who was a good fit for culinary school. We also talked about his thoughts on community college as opposed to a top-tier culinary university.If you're a current or former culinary student, or are thinking about going to culinary school, this is the episode for you. If anyone has questions they want to ask me directly, feel free to reach out to me at chefswithoutrestaurants@gmail.com.RUSS ZITORuss's InstagramRuss's TwitterJohnson & Wales UniversityCHEFS WITHOUT RESTAURANTSIf you enjoy the show and would like to support it financially, please check out our Sponsorship page (we get a commission when you use our links).  Get the Chefs Without Restaurants NewsletterPrivate Facebook groupChefs Without Restaurants InstagramSponsor- The United States Personal Chef AssociationOver the past 30 years, the world of the personal chef has grown in importance to fulfill dining needs. While the pandemic certainly upended the restaurant experience, it allowed personal chefs to close that dining gap.  Central to all of that is the United States Personal Chef Association. USPCA provides a strategic backbone for those chefs that includes liability insurance, training, communications, certification, and more. It’s a reassurance to consumers that the chef coming into their home is prepared to offer them an experience with their meal.Call Angela today at 800-995-2138 ext 705 or email her at aprather@uspca.com for membership and partner info.Sponsor-meezStill keeping your recipes in docs? Doing your costing in spreadsheets? You should try meez—the recipe tool designed for chefs by chefs. Founded by professional chef Josh Sharkey, meez transforms your recipe content into a powerful digital format that lets you organize, scale, train, and cost like never before. See why meez is loved by over 12,000 culinary professionals. Sign up for a free account today at getmeez.com/cwr. Support the show