Congratulations, Amanda! As published in the Cranberry Eagle: SENECA GRAD NAMED CHEF INSTRUCTOR Published:August 5, 2013 CRANBERRY TWP — It’s a case of the student becoming the master for Cranberry Township resident Amanda Flesch. Flesch has been named a chef instructor at the newly completed Culinary Arts Center at the Pittsburgh Technical Institute, 1111 McKee Road in North Fayette Township, Allegheny County. The 2005 graduate of Seneca Valley High School is an alumnus of the institute’s culinary program after winning a scholarship to attend. She has worked at the Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh and as a food stylist for advertising. “I worked two jobs, running the store room at the institute, checking food orders, preparing carts for various classes, doing the inventory, checking the orders and doing the ordering,” while attending the institute, said Flesch, the daughter of Gregory and Cynthia Dopler of Zelienople. She also started at the Duquesne Club, working her way up its kitchen brigade system. “I started off in the salad pantry,” Flesch said, “then moved up to the hot line consisting of the pasta station, fish station, the grill station, and I also had the health and fitness center of the Duquesne Club in the Heinz Building.” “I was in charge for cooking for people who are watching what they are eating,” she said. “I also did butchery work, vegetable prep, the breakfast station, which is really fast because you have about 15 minutes to get the food out,” Flesch said. “I was also the sushi chef at the Duquesne Club every Friday night. “They knew what they wanted. They knew what they liked, and if they got it the first time, they wanted it like that every single time,” she said of Duquesne Club members. Flesch also works as a food stylist. “When you see photo shoots in magazines and billboards, it’s my responsibility to make the food look absolutely perfect,” she said. “Sometimes that means swapping the dish out so they can continue the shoot,” she said. “The lights are a large part of that, taking pictures for 20 minutes, and the food is drying, and I’m going to have to swap it, move this carrot,” she said. “It makes for a better picture.” Her hard work and attention to detail made her the 2009 Professional Gold Medal Winner and 1st Place Overall “Best of Show” in the American Culinary Federation’s Culinary Salon at the Pennsylvania Restaurant Show. And she won the Best Teen Chef regional competition and third in nationals in 2005. She’s always wanted to be a chef, she said. “I used to get of the bus, run home and watch ‘The Great Chefs of America,’” she said. Now her job will be to make others into great chefs. The academic philosophy of the culinary school is to provide students with the fundamentals from basic knife skills and sauce making to nutrition and sanitation, said Linda Allan, director of public relations for the Pittsburgh Technical Institute. Students can choose to enroll for culinary arts certificate, a 15-month program, or associate in science degree, a 21-month program. “I experienced teaching a little bit as an adjunct position at the institute, a temporary position helping them out. I thought ‘Man if I ever got an opportunity to teach again, I would jump on that.’ I guess I got what I wished for,” Flesch said. Flesch said she will be teaching the fundamentals of cooking, sanitation and safety. “What we are doing as a school is focusing on the fundamentals, which includes knife skills, baking, sauce making, the methods of cooking, the tools and equipment,” she said. “What we are trying to do is create the great American chef. We are teaching the students about the cuisine. The styles are all different. What I am putting into the classroom is not only industry experience and the art of cooking but a vision of the future, where the culinary industry is leading,” Flesch said. Allan said, “The culinary industry is obviously restaurants, but if you think of all the different places one can eat — hotels, casinos, cruise ships, country clubs, caterers, schools and hospitals — there are many opportunities for people who understand the art and science of culinary.”
Posted on: Tue, 06 Aug 2013 14:10:10 +0000
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