This Q&A with Chef Chris Koetke, based on a recent webinar, covers his philosophy on success in the culinary classroom, along with his tactics and strategies for conducting effective demonstrations for students.
Q: What do you think makes a teacher great in the culinary space—or any educational setting?
Chef Chris Koetke: Intensity and caring. It can't be one or the other. It has to be the two together.
Intensity
• First, what intensity really means is that we in education are taking the time to mirror the industry of culinary arts, so the students understand what the industry is actually all about, such as time pressures and consistency. It’s part of what we do day in and day out.
• Second, work with energy and purpose. Avoid the student shuffle—especially in labs where you see students who are not doing anything or moving a lot slower than they should. That's not really indicative of the industry. Keeping tasks timed helps to teach them time management.
• Third, teach them multitasking. Move them towards the concept of while something is cooking on the stove, they could be cutting something or washing something. Squeeze more things into the same amount of time. That's essential.
Care
The other side of this is to care for our students. We want them to be successful, so we're intense and caring. What does that mean?
• First, it means we're honest with our students. I have seen some instructors who are afraid to tell students when they screw up. They know they've screwed up. Don't sugarcoat it. Coach them. And when they fail, give them the strength and guidance to get right back into it. Learn from the mistake and keep going.
• Second, give people self-confidence through achievement—they have to earn it. They have to do it. They have to rise to the occasion. Even if they screw up five times and can't get it right, we help them to get there because eventually they have to get there and that’s what gives them self-confidence.
Q: Let’s talk about demonstrations. What makes a good demo? What are pitfalls to avoid?
Chef Chris Koetke: Many of you do demonstrations because culinary students learn visually; they learn by doing. Seeing you do a demonstration is essential, so here are some questions to ask yourself.
- Can all the students see?
Before you even start your demo, make sure that you can see the eyes of every one of the students in front of you. Ask, “Can you see my hands on the cutting board?”
- Are you placing yourself in the same mental state as a student?
If you use too many big words and terminologies, you can lose the audience completely.
- Are you seeing feedback from students? Are you reading your students? People may say, “I understand,” but you may see that the nonverbal language that they're giving you is that they're really confused. Don't be afraid to stop your demo. Maybe there's something you did to lose some students somewhere in the process. “Jimmy, I noticed you look like you're a little confused. Did you get it?” Constantly be reading the faces of the students around you because they will give you all the information you need.
- Can you give the students a road map at the beginning of your demo?
You know every step in your head, where you're going, the next thing that you're going to do, but for the person who's never seen this before, they may think, “Wait, what are they doing? Where did the butter come from?” Every step is a surprise. I always find it's better to give them a road map right from the beginning and say, “OK, listen, we're going to make hollandaise and first, we're going to make this reduction. I have egg yolks over here...” And so on—and then do it, because now the students understand every step on the journey, and then you're going to show them how to do it. It just registers better in their brain.
- How much should you do for a demo?
Do they need to see you chop every onion, shallot, tomato, or mushroom? If it's a student early in their education, absolutely—you're reinforcing basic skills. If somebody is a little further along, maybe not.
- Is the demo well organized?
Before you start your demo, are you well organized? Do you have all your mise en place ready? Because there's nothing more disconcerting than when their teacher isn’t ready—especially for a student who's trying to watch, understand, take notes, and put everything in their brain.
- Do you have the right tools for the right job?
When I first started teaching, I was giving a demonstration, and I should have been doing something with paring knife. I had 22 students in front of me and I said, “I have a chef knife here. I'm just going to do this with a chef knife because I've been cooking for a long time.” But I also said, “Do not do this with a chef knife. This is supposed to be done with a paring knife.”
15 minutes later, I look to see what they're doing and they all picked up a chef knife!
In other words, they're following what you are doing (and less the words that you are saying). Make sure you have the right tools.
- Can a student make something alongside you?
Can you invite the students to get involved somehow? Could you bring a student up next to you? So as you're doing it, they're doing it.
- Can you give something for the students along the way to taste, to touch?
Remember, that's how we learn. Can you pass something around?
- Have you ever videotaped yourself giving a demonstration?
It's hard to watch yourself, but it's really interesting because you will pick up on things that you are doing. “Wow, I never knew I did that.” It's so instructive, and slightly uncomfortable, but I highly recommend doing it.
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Thank you, Chef Chris, for this valuable insight!
Interested in a free digital preview sample of Chef Koetke’s book, The Culinary Professional? Learn about this NEW edition here and request a free preview.
This blog is Part 1 of a two-part blog series with Chris Koetke, based on a previous webinar. Look for Part 2 of our blog, coming soon! Watch the entire webinar here.
Photo Credits:
Thumbnail and images from: The Culinary Professional, ©2027