Introducing ACF’s 23rd National President
After Michael Ty, CEC, AAC, took office as president
of the American Culinary Federation July 14, 2009, we sat down with him
to talk about what he brings to the presidency and what he hopes to
accomplish during his term in office.
Q: How and why did you begin in
foodservice?
A: I have to attribute my start in the foodservice profession to my home
life. My family immigrated to the U.S. when I was 12, and made two major
moves within two years. It was difficult adjusting to not only a new
country but also a new community. My mother was a great cook, and I
sought refuge in her kitchen, helping to prepare dinner for the family
when I was 14 years old. At age 16, my first job was at a local
restaurant called Nocchi’s, which was known for 30-plus varieties
of the hoagie. I later worked at a KFC [Kentucky Fried Chicken] until I
went to culinary school.
During my junior year in high school, we were given an aptitude test
designed to recommend a suitable career path. When the results came
back, the guidance counselor said my career path was in banking, and
that my scores were very high. My second choice was home economics,
which I later learned was culinary arts. I chose to go to culinary
school at State University of New York (SUNY) Cobleskill, and took the
Pro Chef Option, which was geared more for professional foodservice
employment.
Q: Describe who you are and what you do at this
stage in your career.
A: Culinary school provided the foundation for my career. After
graduating college, I worked for restaurants and for Howard
Johnson’s, a national hotel and multibrand restaurant chain,
during the mid 1970s. After two years I relocated to Las Vegas, where I
was promised a sous chef job at Caesars Palace. The position did not
materialize, and I had to start in the lowest position in the kitchen.
But that did not last long, and I moved up the ranks quickly with hard
work and perseverance. I was determined to fully advance after investing
in my education.
Within two years, I attained the sous chef position, and a year later
I was promoted to executive sous chef. Finally, at age 29, I was given
the responsibilities and position of executive chef at Caesars Palace. I
had some great mentors during my rise to the highest position in
Caesars’ kitchen. I am forever grateful to several chefs and
food-and-beverage directors, including Jean Guy Pruneau, AAC, Jochen
Moskopp, James S. Fujii and Pierre Forte. The brigade was more than 500
strong, which included every kitchen position as well as stewarding and
even managers in the deli and snack bars. The executive chef position
was challenging, and fortunately Mr. Fujii groomed me to handle a
workforce of this magnitude and graciously polished my leadership
skills.
Now I am a business owner. I am a consultant, sell culinary apparel
and products, and have become an owner/operator for QSR brands. I look
forward to expanding even further in the future, with a return to
full-service restaurants.
Q: What will your business experience bring to the
presidency?
A: I have in-depth experience creating and understanding budgets and
managing personnel, and I have developed a command of the leadership
skills necessary in the foodservice community. Owning a business taught
me to not only seek new sources of revenue, but to watch all
expenditures and spend money cautiously. At Caesars, with nearly $60
million in sales, I was responsible for 12 kitchens and 500-plus
employees. Planning, delegating and executing successful results was no
less than mandatory.
Q: You were ACF president 15 years ago. How has
the organization changed?
A: The organization has changed enormously. Industry chefs have
diminished from our membership, and the student population has increased
tremendously. It appears that we have less time to network with our
colleagues because of the constant changes in our industry. We lack the
camaraderie we had when I was president 15 years ago. We don’t
have enough time to spend with our youth and nurture them to become
professional members. It’s like a numbers game, and we all know in
the corporate world that is generally not the healthiest way to grow an
organization.
In addition, I believe the demographics of our federation were pretty
evenly distributed across the board 15 years ago. The group that was
between 25 and 45 years old then is now us, but we have not nurtured the
students to take our place, and they are not where we were 15 years
ago.
Q: Why did you decide to run for president
again?
A: My thoughts are documented. They are well-thought-out plans
and a vision. I had three reasons for running for the presidency. The
first reason is simple: When I was president from 1993 to 1994, it was
for only a one-year term. That was the maximum one could serve in the
position according to the bylaws. Subsequently, ACF reverted to the
original two-year term. Second, one year was not enough to make a
difference for our organization. I had aspirations to run again, four
years ago, but was asked to let another candidate run at the time.
Third, I knew that ACF needed a strong leader to take us through the
next two to four years. Our nation has been faced with many challenges,
and the foremost challenge is our economic stature. I’ve offered
my support to our previous leaders, but they had their own ways to
operate their administrations.
Q: During your campaign, you said ACF is at a
crossroads. What do you mean by that?
A: ACF is faced with the same challenges our nation is experiencing
right now. Unemployment is at record high levels, the housing market has
devalued the price of our homes, there’s the fluctuating cost of
gasoline and much more. Our professional membership has been on a steady
decline, and our financial stature is in need of reinvigoration. ACF is
in need of someone who is responsive, dedicated and knows how to run a
business.
Our policies and procedures need to be tightened, especially when it
comes to expenditures. I do not necessarily say I will fix it
completely, but I certainly will guide expenditures back in the
direction where I feel it should be. Of course, I will not do this
singlehandedly, but with the support of the board of directors, board of
governors and our members.
Our student membership continues to increase, but our professional
membership has not grown at the same pace. We must find a solution to
why our student members do not continue membership after graduation, and
why they will not spend the money for dues. We need to understand
generation Y and how we can get them to buy into longterm membership in
our federation.
There are thousands of professional culinarians out there whom we
need to reach out to and bring into our federation. I have always
believed that in numbers, there is strength.
Q: Elaborate on something else you said during
your campaign: Ownership of ACF belongs to the members.
A: We are and must be a member-driven organization. Our members need a
voice in our federation, and many times they are not heard. Although it
is impossible to hear and act upon each member’s needs, this
administration will do its very best to make sure we respond to those
who are genuinely passionate about our organization.
Q: How would you involve members and chapters more
in ACF?
A: The mainstay of involvement is communication. We must listen to
members and ask them for solutions to the challenges we all face. Our
membership needs to increase, and I will call on the members of ACF to
recruit more members in the coming year. Chapter presidents should be
more informed. They must be knowledgeable when they make decisions that
concern our future. This administration will truly be transparent, and
chapters will be provided with all the necessary tools to do their job
efficiently and completely.
Q: You offered several pledges in your campaign
platform. If there is one thing you absolutely must accomplish during
your presidency, what would it be?
A: Providing more value to our members is my foremost goal. We need
benefits that will make members stay members long after they leave the
kitchen and move up in the hierarchy of the food industry. We need to
provide service to our members—a one-stop-shop approach that a
former president instituted many years ago. With this approach, we will
be able to respond to our members’ needs more quickly and give
them the correct response.
Q: What do you look forward to the most as you
take on the presidency?
A: I look forward to the challenges that we all face today as
individuals as well as an organization. We need to develop brand
awareness. We need to take ACF’s brand and be more recognizable
within our industry and in homes across the nation. If we are successful
in bringing brand awareness throughout the nation, this will allow us to
take our organization to greater heights. In addition, we need to build
confidence in our organization. To accomplish this, I feel that we, as a
board of directors, must have a transparent administration and be
responsive to our members.
