WV Executive

Reports confirm that destination tourism is increasing in our state. In other words, more people are choosing West Virginia as a place where they want to come to visit-not just merely pass through on their way somewhere else. There are many who suggest this has something to do with 9/11-that people still travel just as they did before, but they are flying less and driving more. And as far as West Virginia is concerned, they seem to find the peace and beauty of our mountains a wonderful escape from the bustle of their everyday life.

The news late last year that West Virginia has one of the fastest growing tourism industries in the nation came as a very welcome confirmation to a number of us. A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Travel Industry Association of America reported by Charles Messina in an Associated Press article in November 2005, showed that West Virginia followed only two others-Wyoming and Washington, D.C.-in the number of travel and tourism-related jobs added as a percentage of their workforces between 1999 and 2003.

West Virginia registered a 10.8 percent increase (accounting for $175 million) in dollars spent in the state on tour-ism and travel. While those numbers seem impressive in and of themselves, the really important aspect of the data is that during this five-year time period when West Virginia was number three, only 16 other states added any tour-ism jobs.

A separate report, one that was commissioned by the state Division of Tourism and released the earlier, found that visitors to our state and tourist related activities supported 41,000 jobs and $766 million in revenue. Many of us who work in or with West Virginia's fine dining establishments were pleased to see the survey num-bers catch up to what we thought we saw happening. It is, of course, fairly common knowledge that the Greenbrier has always drawn a national and even international cliental. But what is interesting is that this broader and more far reaching appeal has begun to happen elsewhere in the state as well.

An increasing number of people in neighboring states and beyond are finding these days that there is top quality dining and recreation in West Virginia and they are willing to take the time, make the effort to get to it, and equally important-to pay the going fare.

Brian Ball at Snowshoe's Red Fox has said for the past several years that at least three quarters of the cars in their parking lot on any given day do not have in-state license plates. Many are from D.C.; some from bordering states. Stonewall Resort in Roanoke also registers a significant percentage of out-of-state guests. Some of the at-traction is the golf, now that their course has been rated among the top 10 in the country by "Golf Digest." And at the end of the day, everyone-golfer or not-can enjoy first rate food under the capable culinary leadership of Executive Chef Dale Hawkins.

But it isn't simply the larger resort areas that have become their own attraction. Chef/Owner Tim and Melody Ur-banic of Café Cimino (Sutton) established their wonderful small bistro seven years ago in a fairly out of the way place, but it has caught on remarkably. While most of their guests are not from out of state, approximately 90 per-cent are from Charleston, which means they are driving well over an hour to spend the evening dining with Melody's gracious hospitality and Tim's extraordinary cuisine.

Lui Lui's in Vienna exemplifies another fine small establishment that offers superb food and serves it to people willing to drive an hour and a half or more (from Charleston and Columbus, Ohio) for the experience. Many would describe these examples-just a few of a much larger sample-and the reported statistics, as indicat-ing that fine dining along with tourism has become a new economic force in the state. And in this case, as with any other new or expanded economic development effort, there is a growing need for a ready and skilled workforce.

West Virginia's educational system has recognized both the need in the industry and the potential for the state and boasts of 47 high school culinary (called ProStart) programs enrolling over 1,000 students each year. And the num-ber of programs is growing. Greg Atkinson, Director for the Hospitality Education and Training (HEAT) Program for the West Virginia Department of Education, indicates that there will be 50 by the fall. Atkinson provides other information which pointed to the program's success: "Right now, of the students who complete the Pro Start program (meaning they have taken all four courses and successfully passed the end of course examination), we have approximately a 91 percent positive placement rate for graduates who either move on to post secondary education or who accept positions in the field. We're extremely proud of how well our students do.

"One of the important things to note about our ProStart Program is the exposure to real world learning," Adkinson continues. "For example, in order to earn the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation Certificate of Achievement students not only have to complete the two years of the Pro Start program, but they also have to com-plete a 400 hour internship requirement so that real work experience is built into the process. Obviously not every student takes advantage of this aspect of the program but a large number of them do, and last year we had 117 stu-dents who did-which is an impressive number when you consider the requirements." In this internship setting, students gain a better working understanding of the terminology that is used in that industry than someone who has not had the program. And as Atkinson describes, "They also gain exposure to the skills and techniques-that granted they have not necessarily practiced to a level where they are masters-but which with some more practice in a work setting, they become masters very quickly."

One of the special educational activities for the ProStart students is the annual Hospitality Cup Competition held at the Greenbrier. This year was the fifth such event and it was held on March 10 and 11. There were 13 ProStart teams selected to participate as the result of an earlier juried process. They all come together with their high school teacher and their professional chef mentor to test their skills in this statewide competition. The students demonstrate their abilities in two areas: their overall theoretical knowledge of the field, as well as their proficiency in preparing fine food.

As a judge (for the knowledge bowl component), I had an opportunity to see close-up the talent and dedication of this next generation of chefs. Both the quality of their culinary work and its presentation were truly amazing. In fact, the highly impressive menus of the first (Greenbrier East) and second place teams (Webster County) are provided here, as well as a number of their recipes.

Greenbrier East High School Menu

* Salad
* Orange and Coriander Glazed Squab Breast
* Romaine and Radicchio Salad
* Orange Vinaigrette

Entreé

* Whole Grain Mustard Loin of Lamb
* Glazed Butternut Squash
* Natural Lamb Jus

Dessert

* Spiced Griddle Cakes
* Vanilla Poached Citrus
* Chevre Ice Cream with Blackberry Sauce

Webster County High School Menu

* Appetizer
* Sea Bass Lemoncillo
* With Meyer Lemons & Spring Greens

Entreé

* Goat Cheese Encrusted Rack of Colorado Lamb
* Roasted in a Dutch Oven
* Polenta with Asiago & Medley of Sauteed Vegetables

Dessert

* Pan Seared Pineapple
* With Raspberry Chambord Sauce & Walnuts

Rather impressive work, wouldn't you say? Try some of these in your own kitchen and you can't help but be im-pressed by the achievement of these students. Do note the portion size may be quite small. Some of these are the actual recipes for the contest where they make only two plates-one for the judges to taste and the other for display.

In addition to the notable work of these teams, this year West Virginia also has a ProStart student who has dem-onstrated that he is a culinary whiz as a solo performer. Daniel Vaughn of Union, West Virginia, who attends James Monroe High School was one of approximately 500 applicants for the highly competitive Johnson & Wales University scholarships. The J&W screening committee selected him as one of the 18 semi-finalists to actually prepare their recipes for the judges. His skills were so notable that the judges named him second runner up-that's a highly im-pressive three out of 500-with a scholarship to one of the finest culinary schools in the country. Atkinson sums up the whole issue of the value of and need for program, and the need to grow our next generation of hospitality talent in this way: "What we're striving to do with the ProStart Program is create as many Daniel Vaughns as possible. And we need to. I have repeatedly seen how it all works: When I was the Food and Service Director at Glade Springs Resort, I started noticing that we really had a revolving door in West Virginia, particularly in management talent. Every time we would have a management vacancy, the process would be the same.

We would look locally and not be able to find the right mix of skills, abilities and experiences, so then we would expand our search regionally and nationally. We would pay the expenses for five or six individuals to come and see the property, interview and we would eventually select one. We would pay relocation and then, eight to 12 months later, we'd be looking again because that person from Philadelphia, New York or wherever just hadn't been quite able to make a connection. So what I very quickly began to realize was that in West Virginia, if we're truly going to realize the potential of the hospitality industry, we're going to have to grow our own talent. That was the something that we were missing that was absolutely key to our growth and success, because if you are constantly hiring to re-place, you can never grow."

Feedback: We are continuously refining the structure of this column to insure its maximum benefit to you. Your input can help us make those editorial decisions. Please remember that copy for the next issue is completed within a week or two of the previous issue's being released, so any changes made as a result of your feedback will take an issue or two before they can be implemented.