Metz Culinary Management, Inc. (Metz) hosted a chef training event featuring world-renowned Chef Ming Tsai, Host of Simply Ming on PBS and Founder/ President of MingsBings, and Master Chef Ron DeSantis, CMC, Chief Culinary Officer for Hungry Planet. The event targeted expanding Metz’s divisional and regional chef training with on-trend, plant-based cooking styles. It was held at the company’s corporate offices on February 1 – 2, 2023.
“We wanted to bring in these two high-profile culinary experts to inspire our team with delicious, healthy, new ideas,” said Brian Bachman, Vice President of Purchasing/Culinary for Metz. “Our chefs were tremendously excited to work with these talented professionals and experiment with culinary ideas they had not tried before. Everyone left the training invigorated to come up with delicious, healthy new recipes for our dining partners.”
New recipes inspired by the training will be rolled out to Metz’s culinary partners, including universities, K-12 schools, hospitals and corporate settings. Metz plans to expand these chef training sessions to twice a year in order to inspire and reenergize Metz’s divisional chefs.
In addition, Tsai and Metz are partnering to expand the availability of MingsBings beyond the retail environment. A plant-based, hot pocket product that is gluten-free and vegan, MingsBings comes in nine different options. Tsai created MingsBings when his wife was struggling with cancer and Celiac disease to provide her with quick, healthy meals that supported her optimal health.
“It’s always great to be able to cook for other people, especially when they are fellow chefs. I had a great time with all the Metz chefs showing them some Asian techniques and flavors and also cooking lots of MingsBings for them to enjoy!” said Tsai. “Big thanks to the Metz family for being a true hospitality company. You can tell your entire team is psyched to be part of Team Metz, as am I!”
Day two of our Winter Celebrity Culinary Training included a talk and culinary demonstration from Iron Chef Ming Tsai. Those in attendance enjoyed learning from Chef Tsai’s cooking demonstration and hearing his insight on traditional and plant-based menu development. They also enjoyed tasting Ming Bings, a crispy, delicious, plant-based snack created by Chef Tsai.
“To be in the room with chefs of this caliber was life-changing,” said Xavier Smith, CEC, Corporate Support Chef for Metz. “I left the two-day event excited to incorporate cooking techniques and recipes from the training into our Metz menus. In fact, I’m writing a menu right now for an event where I’m creating 15 different side-dish recipes inspired by what we learned. We will be able to launch those new recipes across the rest of the company.”