9 The One Covered in Garlic Sauce
Angela Lyrette and Matthew Moore
Building rapport over homemade garlic sauce
With his vast experience in the hospitality industry, Professor Matt Moore knows a thing or two about customer expectations and managing teams. When he’s not teaching, preparing students for skills competitions, or mentoring them through College events, he’s thinking of ways to make course material sticky like baklava. That’s why he selected Adam Weiss at BiBi’s Middle Eastern Kitchen in the Hintonburg nieghbourhood of Ottawa as his co-mentor for this project.
Moore and Weiss met over the course of the winter term though Zoom and in person at the restaurant, giving each other ideas for improved communication, setting goals and expectations, and documenting important relationships. Matt was able to give Adam some great business management advice, and Adam provided insightful classroom suggestions. While the Bachelor of Hospitality and Tourism Management and Hotel and Restaurant Operations Management have discrete customer management courses, faculty members pepper the concepts in every course.
Matt originally went into the relationship looking for business case study content for his finance and accounting courses. The great thing about meeting with an industry partner is that you might learn something unexpected as the conversations organically unfold. Some of the important outcomes from the co-mentorship partnership included Moore’s appreciation for well crafted contract for group projects. Moore doesn’t just get the contract signed as a project requirement, he spends up to two classes going over the features, challenges, and the rewards of contractually-bound relationships and reviewing the group assignment instructions. A sample of his group contract can be found here.
Leadership Attributes Transferable to the Classroom
The best thing about mistakes is that you can learn from them. The best kinds of mistakes to learn from are someone else’s. Matt can support his students by using real-life examples of challenges he or his industry partners have faced and see how the students might solve the problem.
- Show vulnerability by discussing challenges you have had in the workplace, school, and personally
- Encourage students to embrace mistakes and celebrate graceful recoveries and restitutions
- Empower students to ask for help and advice at the limit of their knowledge and skills
Groups are less likely to get in a ‘pickle” if agreements are thoughtfully constructed in class. Treating each other well is great practice for a hospitality career. Keys successful group assignments includes clear assignment instructions, contractual obligations to the group and the work, and documentation to promote accountability. Samples of Matt’s group assignment contract can be found HERE. To learn more about the Transparency in Learning & Teaching (TILT) a strategy for designing assessments with student-focused, clear instructions, visit the TILS website tools and resources HERE. Matt understands that groups, whether they are In-class, faculty, or in business can get into trouble over miscommunication over expectations, differing opinions, and goals. Matt uses class time for group projects and he can keep an eye out for ‘hot button’ topics while encouraging productive debate and discussion.
Transparent Assignment Design Template for Teachers
Before beginning the work on a group assignments, ensure you teach students some group work skills, such as negotiation, conflict management, and time management.
- Have students individually complete self-assessments to determine their strengths and development areas in context of group work.
- Have groups review assignment instructions together in groups and create a timeline for completion
- Have students author sections of the group contract for buy in and accountability
Like the flavour creators at BiBi’s, students can wrap the ingredients of their various courses into practice; management, operations, food, service, and finance, seasoned with a little entrepreneurship. Moore’s students will benefit from his modern twist on team contracts and stories from the industry.
Key Takeaways for Workplace Skill Development
A favourite interview question in customer service fields might be: “Tell me about a time when you were working in a group and things weren’t going well. What happened? What did you do? How did you manage your stress?
- As a separate individual assignment, have students reflect on the group work experience
- Use remote team technology to facilitate asynchronous conversations
- Put the group interview question on the mid-term or final exam. Grade it based on whether or not the student has met the course learning requirement (CLRs) related to group work
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Transparent Assignment Design Template for Teachers
Media Attributions
- Home cooked BiBis bowl
