18 May 11–17, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents new 15-story, 267-room, $500-per-night hotel downtown that is flanked by restaurants, bars, a library lounge and cof- fee shops, pool decks and outdoor bars and lounges. The Dallas Morning News reports that North Texas leads the country in hotel development, with more than 251 projects and 30,000 new hotel rooms in development for just the first quar- ter of 2023. The closest market is Atlanta, with 144 projects. Bon Appetit anointed Dallas the Restaurant City of the Year in 2019, and the Texas Restaurant Association says that by 2030, Texas will add 288,000 food service jobs. The growth is great, but there’s one potential problem in these plans: a labor force. “An estimated two-thirds of Texas restaurants do not have enough employees to meet existing demand, much less keep up with the demands of our growing state,” says Kelsey Erickson Streufert of the Texas Restaurant Association. So while Dallas is a beautiful place to be hungry, are there any notches left in our belt to expand? What about the kitchen talent required for all those salmon fillets, pastries and martini espressos? We’ve got a true dining quagmire simmering to a boil. The labor force problem was preempted by a mass exo- dus in the restaurant industry during the pandemic. At the same time, community colleges across the country have seen a double-digit drop in enrollment. Dallas College’s culinary arts program is still averaging 100 graduates a year — not the 350 they’d hoped for just a few years ago. But like any good restaurant quick on its feet and with an eye toward hospitality, they’re maneuvering to make it work. C hef Patrick Stark graduated from the Culinary Insti- tute of America (CIA) of Napa Valley two decades ago and spent nine years at Sundown at Granada on Lower Greenville before taking an instructor’s position at Dallas College. (He says his background was “plastic spoon,” not silver. The child of public school teachers, he finally paid off his student loans for culinary school just a few years ago.) He has a restaurant-consulting side business, and since CO- VID — when so many fled the industry, jobless — he’s seeing a demand for skilled and trained culinarians and pastry chefs. “There’s just a shortage. Being able to keep up with the pace and growth and transplants that come from all over the U.S. is a challenge,” Stark says. “They think they’ve got the next best restaurant and they come down and test it in our market. So, now you’re getting an influx of more people starting to come in, which definitely creates high demand.” Asked about the associate’s degree path there versus his costly route through the CIA — or working one’s way up the ladder in a kitchen on the line, he laughs, “If you wanna have one of the best debates, walk into a room full of people who cook and ask them if a degree is important to becoming suc- cessful in the industry. You wanna really start a debate seven ways to Sunday, ask that question.” He proffers that he can parlay what he learned at the CIA along with his professional experience into what they’re do- ing there at Dallas College, and make it financially attain- able, which is an important part of luring potential students to school. In 2020 enrollment at public two-year institutions dropped a tick over 10% nationally. During the 2019–20 school year, 594 students were en- rolled in Dallas College’s culinary program. Each of the fol- lowing two years (2020–21 and 2021–22) was down 18%. For this school year, it’s down 30% although they are still enroll- ing students for summer classes. But DeShazo has an aggressive plan with many pathways to draw students back. One key is to strike early. “If we don’t get them out of high school, then oftentimes we kind of lose them,” he says. There’s also flexibility, which DeShazo says is the power of the Dallas College program. There are evening courses and eight-week classes. Plus, it’s nowhere near the six digits required for a four-year culinary program. In just five semes- ters, students can earn an associate of applied science degree in hospitality, culinary or pastry for just under $5,000, likely while employed. There are also shorter sessions, like a 16- week wine and beverage program that costs about $1,200 for those looking to move up a beverage career ladder. The school has added low-cost primer cooking courses where curious bakers and cooks can dabble in a class with- out a big commitment. The idea is that after students see the merits of such a class, they enroll full-time, with that initial class applied to their degree. Last summer Dallas College received a $5 million Depart- ment of Labor apprenticeship grant allowing the school to leverage relationships within the hospitality industry to build an apprenticeship consortium through the Workforce Scholars program. Students earn and learn, perhaps begin- ning with a pre-apprenticeship while they are still in high school, then upon graduation entering a full-time work ex- perience combined with 240 hours of related classroom in- struction at Dallas College. Another vital program is Texas ProStart, a high-school culinary program supported by the Texas Restaurant Foun- dation that reaches more than 25,000 students at more than 215 high schools across Texas. Then after graduation, many students are placed in jobs; De- Shazo has a web of connections throughout the North Texas culinary scene. It seems everyone knows Steve DeShazo. Local chefs, like Janice Provost of Parigi’s, lean on Dallas College for talent. She enrolled in El Centro while she was working full-time after getting a business degree. She took courses two nights a week to earn her associate’s degree. “Then I got hired at Parigi’s in an entry-level position,” says Provost, who now owns the restaurant. “It was feet-on- the-ground, which is absolutely where you learn the most, but the basics are so important. You need to know how to make a sauce. How to cook something without overcooking it. How to cook it to the right temperature.” She stays in contact with Dallas College and looks to the school any time she needs to hire someone. “The folks that I know that come out of that program are my strong shoulder-to-shoulder people,” Provost says. Nathan Hunsinger Above: Chef Patrick Stark describes the dish to curious diners at the last service of Dallas College’s weekly lunch. Far left: Student chef Manas Manoj selected the Indian menu for the lunch and talks with Donna Hill, a graduate from the program in the ’90s. Nathan Hunsinger Nathan Hunsinger A dessert of vermecelli rice pudding rounded off the meal. >> p20 Appetite from p17
