Sunday, July 20, 2008
Food, Q&A
Olive Garden’s Bruce Chan Goes To Italy
Spark St. Jude
Bruce Chan of Olive Garden By Hope S. Philbrick
By bringing 100 managers to its Culinary Institute of Tuscany each year, Olive Garden proves its authentic Italian roots. This year Bruce Chan, general manager of the Kennesaw Olive Garden, was among those selected to visit Italy. The Sunday Paper recently talked with Chan to hear about his trip and how he’ll bring what he learned home to Georgia.
Q What was involved with the trip to Italy?
A I was chosen by the senior vice president and director of operations. [To qualify], you have to excel in some area of your restaurant, and our guest satisfaction survey results were consistently in the top 10 percent of the company.
It was a six-day adventure in Italy. They took us to different areas in Rome, Florence and Tuscany. We learned about Italian culture, wine and food. We learned how wine is such an important part of the meal in Italy. We’d go to restaurants and at every table you’d see a bottle of wine on the table. You’d see families mixing water with wine for the kids—they learn about wine very early in life!
Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany is a school for its managers, certified trainers and also a place where some Italians go and spend time, too. We went through a lot of things like how olive oil is made. From Head Chef Romana Neri and other executive chefs we learned how to layer flavors, different Italian cooking techniques, how to make pasta and cook it al dente, and how to buy vegetables and meat—the Italian market is so different than what we have; it’s an open market with a lot of fresh meat, fresh chicken, fresh vegetables. Next door at the Rocca delle Macie winery, we had a tour and learned how they pick the grapes and their process of making wine.
It was my first trip to Italy. Rome has a lot of old architecture; we were looking at some of the oldest buildings in Italian history, including the Coliseum and the Vatican. Amazing!
What did you find most surprising about Italy? The wine and food pairing. I’d see people drinking wine all day long, whether they were in a café, sitting by the sidewalk, at lunch or at dinner. I’d always see wine. That’s so surprising, but when I asked if they have trouble with DUIs over there, they said no. People learn from an early age to respect wine: They drink it with a meal, not to get a buzz.
What’s your background? I’m Chinese. I was born in Hong Kong but have been in the states for 35 years. My parents were in the restaurant business, and so I’ve always been in the restaurant business. I used to own two Chinese restaurants in Marietta and Sandy Springs, but after 10 years of working as a small-business owner, I decided to go work for somebody else. I’ve been with Darden Restaurants Inc., which owns Olive Garden, for 14 years.
As general manager, I’m pretty much responsible for the operation of the whole restaurant. Three other managers report to me: the culinary manager, sales manager and service manager. There are about 175 employees at this restaurant; this Kennesaw location is the busiest Olive Garden in Georgia.
How have you incorporated what you learned in Italy into the Kennesaw restaurant? I learned more about wine, so I’m training my servers. We’re also offering guests a chance to sample wine so they can see how it can make the meal taste so much better.
The other thing I learned is how layering flavors and following recipes makes a big difference. If you cook food the right way, it’s so much better. Sometimes, when it comes to cooking, we might think of a way to simplify a recipe, but if you do, it’s not going to come out the same way. Like with marinara sauce, which is our biggest selling sauce here, after cooking it, if you let it simmer 45 minutes, it will taste different than if you don’t. Minor stuff like that can make a major difference. We follow recipes to the letter.
SP
The Olive Garden in Kennesaw is located at 429 Barrett Pkwy. 770-424-3668. www.olivegarden.com.