Meet Your Instructors Whether you’re learning about breads or wine or Indian cuisine, when you take a class at the CIA, you can be confident that your instructor has the deep knowledge and industry chops to give you a great learning experience. Here, we’d like to introduce two of our talented instructors.
Bob Bath, MS, CHE Wine and Beverage Studies, California Campus
Bob Bath feels very fortunate, because most of the students in his classes already have an interest in wine. From there, he says, “My job is to take that interest and turn it into a frenzied passion.” Mr. Bath knows a little something about having a passion for wine—and turning others onto it. A native of Northern California, he has worked in the wine and hospitality industry for more than 30 years. He’s done everything from managing restaurants to serving as national sales manager for Shafer Vineyards to working as a wine educator, consultant, judge, and writer. And all of that wine and industry knowledge prepared him to reach one of the profession’s highest pinnacles—certification as a Master Sommelier. So where did it all start for him? “Growing up, I was fortunate to have an uncle who was a very successful restaurateur in Kansas City and who was really into wine,” he says. “He shared many great bottles of wine with me, long before I could really appreciate how good they were. Those wines, however, inspired me to taste and learn more about wine.” Mr. Bath brings that same spirit of sharing and learning to all of his classes at the CIA at Greystone. “My goal is for each of my students to feel like he or she is the only one in the classroom and understands everything I’m saying,” he explains. “And that the students come away from their class with an appreciation that I’ve only opened the door to more learning.”
Todd Knaster, CMB Baking and Pastry Arts, New York Campus
Working with sugar and chocolate all day is a great gig if you can get it. Add enthusiastic students to the mix, and you can begin to understand why Todd Knaster enjoys his job so much. But Chef Knaster’s talents extend far beyond the sweet side of food. During his many years working in fine dining restaurants, hotels, and pastry shops, he was watching his colleagues on the other side of the kitchen with equal interest. “Although I always worked in pastry, I paid attention to what the culinary chefs were doing and have learned a lot about cooking over the years,” he says. “I have just as much passion for savory as I do sweet. When people ask me what my favorite thing to make is, I tell them it doesn’t really matter—I just like to prepare food for people to enjoy!” The author of Cookies at Home (page 59) and winner of Best of Show, Chocolate honors at the 2011 Salon of Culinary Art shares his passion for pastry in the bakeshops of the Hyde Park campus, where he brings an inspired perspective to his instruction. “Pastry is an art, just like music or painting, so I always stress the importance of mastering classical methods and techniques, while at the same time motivating each person to find their own style,” he says. “I also focus on explaining how and why things work, because once you understand that, you have the freedom to not rely on a recipe and to be truly creative.” Chef Knaster’s students often find that the learning process doesn’t end after their class is over, either. “I always want my students to leave with enough information, motivation, and confidence to go home and make all of the things they saw in class,” he says. “I love when they e-mail me with a question because they were having a problem and then they e-mail back and say they finally got it!”
With all that he has accomplished, Bob Bath humbly credits his students for his continuing education. “To teach is to learn,” he says. “You never stop learning.”
enthusiasts.ciachef.edu
Issue 17
TASTE 19