{"id":1929,"date":"2019-05-08T10:18:52","date_gmt":"2019-05-08T14:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/?p=1929"},"modified":"2019-05-08T10:18:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-08T14:18:52","slug":"chef-polfelt-awarded-endowed-teaching-chair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/2019\/05\/08\/chef-polfelt-awarded-endowed-teaching-chair\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef Polfelt awarded Endowed Teaching Chair"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation has awarded the Donald G. Smith Endowed Teaching Chair to Ted Polfelt, an award-winning local chef and instructor in the Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Donald G. Smith Endowed Teaching Chair is intended to honor an\noutstanding Virginia Western instructor who advances the understanding of\nbusiness management principles in his or her coursework, regardless of academic\ndiscipline. The honored teacher may use the funds to enhance the quality of his\nor her curriculum, facilities or instruction in any way he or she deems\nnecessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polfelt plans to host a culinary competition and educational\nseminar at Virginia Western that will give students the opportunity to compete\nin a professional-level “culinary salon” without the cost of travel. The\ncompetition would be open to students and culinary professionals alike, and\ndraw on judges sanctioned by the American Culinary Federation (ACF). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The endowed chair is named for the late Don Smith, who led Roanoke\nElectric Steel and was a Director Emeriti of the Educational Foundation. Steel\nDynamics Inc., formerly Roanoke Electric Steel, established the endowed chair\nin 2006 with a $100,000 gift to honor Smith’s longtime leadership. Smith was\npresident of Roanoke Steel from 1985 to 2004 and worked for the company 49\nyears. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polfelt said instructors in the Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program\n“literally apply business management principles into everything we do. We talk\nabout utilizing every piece of animal or vegetable to maximize profits, as well\nas how to maintain your professional appearance to separate yourself in the job\nmarket.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acquiring business management skills early in a hospitality\nindustry career is critical, Polfelt said. Too often, talented culinary\nstudents don’t understand the importance of maintaining core costs such as\nlabor, food and rental. He offers, as an example, the idea of opening a coffee\nshop. “It sounds like a great business plan: Cheap to produce, low labor costs\nand great cost margins. But how many cups do you have to sell to cover your\n$2,000 lease and the rest of the expenditures? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I like seeing the ‘A-ha’ moment in our students, when the picture\nof entrepreneurship becomes a little bit clearer,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program is housed in newly expanded\nspace at the Claude Moore Educational Complex, which is part of the Roanoke\nHigher Education Center in the historic Gainsboro neighborhood. The program\ncurrently enrolls 308 students who are pursuing an Associate of Applied Science\ndegree. Polfelt has been an instructor in the program since 2012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Ted’s project proposal is a creative and interactive way to marry\nour student’s culinary college tutelage with real-world experience and skills,”\nsaid Yvonne Campbell, Dean of Virginia Western’s School of Business, Technology\n& Trades. “He has smartly structured the project event agenda so that the\nexperience increases student exposure to business principles employed in\nculinary arts at a level experienced by few.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Seeing firsthand practical application of entrepreneurship by\ntalented, dedicated experts is an important career and life lesson, and,\nhonestly, can be life-changing for many of our students.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polfelt’s endowed chair appointment spans the 2019-20 and 2020-21\nacademic years. He is the third recipient of the Donald G. Smith Endowed\nTeaching Chair, following Alexander Scott, an associate professor of Spanish,\nand Cristin Barrett, an assistant professor of mathematics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Polfelt previously was named the 2016 ACF Southeast Region Chef of\nthe Year and was a semi-finalist for National Chef of the Year. He has also won\nmore than 20 medals competing in ACF-sanctioned competitions across the\ncountry. He is currently the Vice President of the Southwest Virginia Chapter\nand is the Chair of the National Certification Commissions Appeals\nSub-Committee. He also serves as Corporate Chef for Jefferson Street Management\nGroup.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Virginia Western Community College Educational Foundation has awarded the Donald G. Smith Endowed Teaching Chair to Ted Polfelt, an award-winning local chef and instructor in the Al Pollard Culinary Arts Program. The Donald G. Smith Endowed Teaching Chair is intended to honor an outstanding Virginia Western instructor who advances the understanding of business management… Continue Reading Chef Polfelt awarded Endowed Teaching Chair<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,23],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-1929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-announcements","category-campus-news","category-foundation","tag-educational-foundation"],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Jaime Shetrone","author_link":"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/author\/jshetrone\/"},"yoast_head":"\nChef Polfelt awarded Endowed Teaching Chair - News from Virginia Western<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Article about Chef Polfelt awarded Endowed Teaching Chair\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.virginiawestern.edu\/news\/2019\/05\/08\/chef-polfelt-awarded-endowed-teaching-chair\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chef Polfelt awarded Endowed Teaching Chair - 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