Chris Thielman's Personal
Philosophy of Teaching

I believe that a teacher’s role is to inspire — to take his or her student’s natural excitement and curiosity and develop it into a tangible understanding of information. However, inspiration falls short of its goal if not backed up by an awareness of the real world and the student’s place in it.

As an instructor of future chefs and bakers, I feel it is my responsibility to adequately prepare them for what the industry demands. Since this field requires specific skills and knowledge, I must adjust my teaching strategies continuously to ensure that all of my students come away with the necessary base of expertise. It is essential that I keep informed with the constant changes and developing trends within the Hospitality industry, in order to pass on fresh new ideas to those who will be the next wave of successful industry professionals. To this end, I attend conferences, trade shows, read current Foodservice periodicals, and am a member of several professional culinary organizations. I often work one-on-one with other instructors and chef masters to pick up additional skills and knowledge that I can pass on to my students. The teacher should never stop being a student.

I believe that my enthusiasm and energetic personality are great assets in my teaching. It is my wish to make the classroom a genuinely enjoyable place, where students can experiment and learn in a safe and non-threatening environment. I always try to interject humor into my lectures because it helps both me and my students develop a bond of camaraderie. This comes in very handy when trying to teach such brutally dry material as recipe conversions and sanitation specification charts. In my experience, an instructor is also a counselor, surrogate parent, sounding board, shoulder and friend. There have been countless times over the years that I have provided a sympathetic ear. I am proud of the fact that I have been able to affect a change in my students’ lives, whether it be recommending them for a scholarship or a future job, or getting them professional counseling when times are rough.

Working in the culinary field is a wonderful, rewarding profession, but it is based on hard, labor-intensive work. Skills are paramount, but the truly successful practitioners exhibit additional qualities of artistry and individual expression. Because of this, emphasizing creativity and patience are keystones of my teaching technique. It is here that the true personality and talent of the student emerges and where that initial inspiration meets realization.