Do you have a mentor? Are you a mentor?

By Wendy Waren, VP of Communications, Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA)

Wouldn’t it be an absolute dream if every LRA member had a mentor and was a mentor? Think of what we would learn about others, ourselves and our business. Consider how your outlook on your career, relationships and the world around might improve and evolve.

We have so much to learn from each other and so much wisdom to impart on someone else—no matter our experience.

I was raised by my grandparents. My grandfather owned a small business and my grandmother did his books. He was always working, even on the weekends. He was compassionate and always helped others. That work ethic and tireless commitment to being the best person he could be really set a strong example which has shaped my entire life. He was my first mentor.

Michael Gulotta is chef de cuisine at August Restaurant.
 

This morning, I read an interview on Swallowfood.com with New Orleans Michael Gulotta, chef de cuisine at August Restaurant. Gulotta shared how working for celebrity chef John Besh has really shaped his career and outlook on the culinary profession. The following statement really stood out to me:

“The difference between a kitchen manager and a true Chef mentor is that the latter challenges his employees to be better people, to read voraciously, to take the menu home and look up everything they don’t know, to exercise and stay healthy, to treat their teammates with respect and act with professionalism at every moment of the day, even when they are not on the clock.”

Holly Goetting is Executive
Chef at Charley G's in Lafayette.

The LRA has been telling the story of individual transformation through mentorship for a couple of years now. The cover of the Spring 2012 A La Carte magazine featured Holly Goetting who attributes her success to the power of mentorship. Many of our members like Nina Camacho with Jazzmen Rice and Tom Pyburn with Emeril’s Home Base mentor students in the LRA Education Foundation administered ProStart Program.

As we roll into 2013, surely the majority of us have let those resolutions fall away for the most part. But every day is an opportunity for us to be better than we were yesterday. Are you surrounding yourself with positive and supportive individuals? Do you foster those individuals? Do you share what you’ve learned with others who may benefit from your experiences?

Got an hour a month? Mentor a ProStart class in your area. Need a mentor? Check out a LRA Chapter meeting.

Charley G's chef attributes success to the power of mentorship

Chef Holly Goetting attributes her success to
hard work, determination and the mentors she's
been fortunate enough to have as her career
has developed.

Mentoring others is not only necessary, but rewarding. Holly Goetting, a Lafayette native and chef, has benefited from the mentoring process and encourages others to do so as a measure of giving back and preparing the next generation for a career in the industry.

A mentor provides sound advice, guidance and an interest in an individual’s professional development. The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) has embraced the principle that “everyone in the industry should have a mentor or be a mentor,” which is a specific effort for the ProStart program.

With workforce needs topping 17,400 by the year 2022 in Louisiana, ProStart is designed to attract young people to the restaurant industry and if they choose to further their education—to college culinary programs.

Goetting’s path to Executive Chef for Charley G’s in Lafayette wasn’t predetermined one. She attended the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and worked at Lafayette restaurants. After a while, she decided the traditional college setting wasn’t a good fit for her—she felt alone and uncomfortable. After speaking to her mother, she was encouraged to consider a career in her childhood passion of cuisine.

“I was going to college and working in restaurants,” said Goetting. “My mom asked ‘why don’t you go to culinary school’. A light bulb went off for me and not long after, I enrolled at the John Folse Culinary Institute in Thibodaux.”

There she found the camaraderie and teamwork aspect she loved in high school as a soccer player and in the restaurants she had worked. Goetting felt welcomed and at home.

At the young age of 33, Goetting’s career has been impressive. She was named by Louisiana Cookin magazine as a “Chef to Watch” in 2005, awarded first place at “Palates and Paté”, an event benefiting The Outreach Center in Lafayette, and most recently, she was selected as one of 12 chefs to serve on the Louisiana Seafood Chef’s Council, along with Donald Link, Susan Spicer and Greg Reggio. She attributes her success to three mentors that she has had so far in her career.

“I couldn’t have gotten to where I am right now without the support of my mentors,” Goetting said. “One of my general managers early on taught me to come to work with a good attitude and try to get along with everyone.”