

Submitted image
Matthew Putzier is a culinary arts teacher for juniors and seniors at the Mahoning County Vocation and Technical Center in Canfield.

CANFIELD — Matthew Putzier recalls wanting to play sporting activities all of his daily life although he was attending center university in Columbia Station, Lorain County.
Nonetheless, Putzier shortly arrived to the realization that taking part in sports was not likely to be a lifelong vocation. It was using a home economics class and cooking with his mom at dwelling that ignited his adore for the culinary arts.
“I identified I beloved the culinary arts and I enrolled in the culinary application at the Lorain County Joint Vocational Faculty (JVS). Then I attended the culinary faculty at Sullivan College in Louisville, Kentucky the place I bought my associate degree in culinary arts. I moved to the Cleveland area wherever I received a position working at a Mediterranean cafe termed M Bistro in Westlake. The house owners of M Bistro have been Greek and so we had an American and Greek menu,” Putzier explained.
Putzier labored comprehensive-time for several years at M Bistro to achieve business encounter in order to qualify for his vocation tech training license in culinary arts education. The prepare paid out off as Putzier has been a culinary arts teacher for juniors and seniors at the Mahoning County Occupation & Technical Center in Canfield for the earlier 15 yrs.
“Tim Michitsch, chef-teacher at Lorain County JVS inspired me to instruct culinary arts courses after I substituted for him one day. I applied for jobs all about northern Ohio. I judged a food stuff competitiveness at RG Drage Vocational Occupations in Massillon. The teacher there encouraged me to implement at MCCTC for the reason that a trainer was retiring there. I felt like I was at the right place at the proper time. I interviewed for this position about a few or 4 moments with the MCCTC superintendent, John Zehentbauer, and he hired me,” Putzier claimed.
Putzier identified his enjoy for southern cooking whilst attending culinary school in the southern component of the United States. He said he appreciated the slow home style that is the quintessential characteristic in southern delicacies.
“Working with the Greek/Mediterranean style of delicacies at M Bistro was a extraordinary distinction from southern cooking. When you are living in the Midwest, almost everything is steak and potatoes. I lived in the south for two yrs and then moved again to the Midwest. The knowledge of Greek/Mediterranean cooking rounded me out a little bit,” Putzier mentioned.
Even even though Putzier has not traveled the globe, the working experience of cooking a vast range of cuisines has been a way for him to practical experience many cultures.
“In the past few of a long time, MCCTC has hosted some functions for Taiwanese chefs. It was a neat encounter exactly where I learned that food items is a common language and the language of food items is universal. The language of foods translates effortlessly when you really don’t fully grasp the language of an additional lifestyle,” Putzier claimed.
For Putzier, there is a distinction amongst currently being a culinary arts instructor and performing at a restaurant. Nevertheless , in equally experiences you are schooling and cross-coaching individuals you are doing the job with in the kitchen area environment.
“I realized that when you are doing the job in a restaurant, you are continually turning out products and solutions. When you get into culinary education and learning, you are also turning out food items. When you are functioning with learners, your college students turn into your merchandise. You have to carry on to get to know your learners. When you are a culinary arts teacher, your objective is to consider to make your students adaptable to the workplace and to remain in tune with the marketplace,” Putzier claimed.
Putzier reported the COVID-19 pandemic has offered a great problem for the restaurant industry as well as enrollment in the culinary arts program at MCCTC. Putzier mentioned enrollment in the culinary arts plan throughout the 2021-2022 school year was back again up to pre-pandemic amounts.
“I taught culinary arts classes for 12 or 13 decades telling pupils that you will generally have a career. When 2020 rolled close to, restaurants ended up closing down throughout the pandemic. This had an influence on our enrollment. All of these restaurants are seeking for employees. Proper now, in 2022, the curiosity in culinary arts, lodge and restaurant administration has absent again up. People are at this time likely back out to try to eat. Restaurants need new employees,” Putzier reported.
Doing work in the cafe field earlier geared up Putzier to be an educator in the discipline.
“When I worked in the restaurant sector, I was often training new servers, new cooks and new staff. So, when it became time to be a instructor, it grew to become natural. When you function at a cafe, you want to get your food goods out to a selected conventional. Similar to that, in culinary education and learning, you are hoping to get your college students out to a selected standard in the qualified entire world. You are frequently striving to make certain students have a normal amount of education, enthusiasm and travel, so that they can be ready for the workforce,” Putzier reported.
The pupils enrolled in the culinary arts method at MCCTC run their possess cafe at the college, called The Bistro at MCCTC. Putzier mentioned the restaurant is college student operate and operated . The Bistro at MCCTC is open up for lunch from early November to April.
“The Bistro at MCCTC is open to the general public (from early November to April) and the staff at the university take in there as effectively. We run The Bistro at MCCTC like a regular restaurant, the only change is I maintain the regular menu the similar. Pupils rotate by the distinctive stations at the restaurant so they can understand the complete menu,” he mentioned.
When Putzier is not educating, he is expending time with his family members, and most importantly, doing his reasonable share of cooking.
“I am married and have a few boys beneath the age of 6. When it arrives to cooking at household, I’m attempting to get my boys to consume what they require to try to eat and I’m hoping to get them to encounter new food items. When I cook dinner at dwelling for my spouse and children, I hold up with the assortment and I continue to keep up with what is in season. With the culinary arts method at MCCTC, I’m hoping to see what is heading on in the current market and get the job done it into my curriculum. Then I do that with my household cooking as perfectly,” Putzier said.
To counsel a Saturday profile, get hold of Capabilities Editor Burton Cole at [email protected] or Metro Editor Marly Reichert at [email protected].










