Shaw cooking in Florida
Published on May 2nd, 2007
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham High School senior Derek Shaw is currently down in Orlando, Florida participating in the International Career Development Conference of DECA - an association of high school marketing students - and qualified for the national competition currently taking place in the Sunshine State.
Shaw has enjoyed some requisite time at the Disney theme parks and water parks so prevalent in Mickey Mouse country, but he's also been in serious competition with an eye toward going to Johnson and Wales next season for restaurant management. If Shaw does well at the national competition, that could mean serious scholarship money at culinary school next year.
"We had a regional final on March 15 and the top three finishers in each category got to go to the National Finals, so that's how I got to Florida," said Shaw, who already has the first specialty recipe ready for his first restaurant: an eggplant parmesan that "pretty damn good" in Shaw's words. "We've taken all of the tests and done all the role-playing exercises and the Awards ceremony is [Tuesday night] so we'll see how things go. I think I did pretty well."
Shaw's category is restaurant and food service management, and - as part of the competition - he took part in a lengthy 100 question exam when he arrived in Florida and then acted out several roles in a role-playing exercises with the DECA judges acting as "disgruntled customers or board of health agents" in a series of scenarios.
For Shaw's particular exercise, he had to play the role of a restaurant owner attempting to re-open a food establishment after it had been closed down due to improperly prepared food leading to illness.
"You basically have to learn how to deal with unhappy customers or difficult situations that you may run into while running a restaurant, and find the best possible ways to deal with the situation and leave everyone satisfied at the end of the interaction," said Shaw. "My particular exercise was to try and market a restaurant that had been closed down for food poisoning, and then find a way to market it in order to be successful."
Prior to leaving for Florida, Shaw met with Legal Seafood CEO Roger Berkowitz, as Shaw is an employee of the Legal Seafoods at the Burlington Mall and has used that experience to help him through the contests early rounds.
"I've worked at Legal Seafoods for the last six months and I've cleared tables and hosted and it's something that I've really decided I want to do with my life," said Shaw. "When I get out of school I want to own my own restaurant...maybe even in Stoneham if the price of commercial property goes down a little bit.
"I even know what I'm going to name it...it'll be called Pasquale's after my grandfather," added Shaw. "I've always enjoyed cooking from the time I was a little kid, and this is a good way to combine what I love with my career."
More than 56 years ago, DECA organized around an ambitious goal: to improve education and career opportunities for students interested in careers in marketing, management and entrepreneurship. What began with a few hundred students in 17 states has grown to over 185,000 students in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Canada, Guam, Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Germany.
DECA's objective is to support the development of marketing and management skills in career areas such as hospitality, finance, sales and service, business administration and entrepreneurship. Programs and activities are tailored to the specific career interest of students and include technical skills, basic scholastic and communication skills, human relations and employability skills, and a strong emphasis on economics and free enterprise.
DECA provides recognition and leadership activities directly related to attainment of specific occupational and leadership skills. DECA's mission establishes clear criteria for its programs and activities.
The mission of DECA, Inc. is to enhance the co-curricular education of students with interest in marketing, management and entrepreneurship. DECA helps students to develop skills and competence for marketing careers, to build self-esteem, to experience leadership and to practice community service. DECA is committed to the advocacy of marketing education and the growth of business/education partnerships.
DECA is a nonpartisan, non-sectarian 501(c)(3) association of students, teachers, and administrators and is recognized and endorsed by all 50 state departments of education and the U.S. Department of Education.
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