Chef Jean Vendeville Named the TCSG 2012 Instructor of the Year

#1275 | April 27, 2012

Atlanta – Savannah Technical College’s (STC) Culinary Arts Department Head and instructor Chef Jean-Yves Vendeville is the Technical College System of Georgia’s (TCSG) Instructor of the Year for 2012. High honors were also awarded to STC’s Georgia Occupational Award of Leadership (GOAL) student of the year Kathryn Hoyt as one of the top four finalists in the TCSG GOAL competition.

 TCSG Commissioner Ron Jackson made the announcements during a banquet for the system’s top instructors and best students at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel in Atlanta on April 26. He presented Vendeville with the Rick Perkins Award for Excellence in Technical Instruction and a $1,000 check. Hoyt was honored as one best of the best out of the 190,000 TCSG students statewide. All of the top 26 students, each representing one of the TCSG technical colleges, received new iPads.

 “Jean-Yves is so very deserving of the award as the Technical College System of Georgia’s 2012 Instructor of the Year,” said Jackson. “His dedication to instruction and his passion for the field of culinary arts has positively impacted the lives of so very many students at Savannah Technical College. I join with his colleagues from throughout the Technical College System of Georgia in congratulating him on this outstanding honor, and we thank him for his strong commitment to technical education.”

 Judging for the Rick Perkins Award starts at each college and is followed by a regional competition. At the statewide level, six finalists are interviewed by a panel of judges representing business, industry and higher education in Georgia. The selection criteria include teaching experience and innovative learning techniques, leadership and community involvement, and a strong commitment to the technical education mission of the TCSG.

 “I am so proud of Chef Jean Vendeville and of our GOAL student Kathryn Hoyt,” said STC President Dr. Kathy Love. “They represent the very best that the Technical College System of Georgia has to offer.”

 For the next year, Vendeville will serve as the TCSG’s ambassador for technical education instruction.He will make numerous appearances around Georgia and speak about the many education opportunities offered by the technical college system. He will also be honored by the Georgia General Assembly and receive a personal commendation from the Governor.

 “I would like to say a big thank you to the Technical College System of Georgia,” said Vendeville. “I have had a long career of work all over the world and have won many awards. However, no other award in my career has touched me more than this award today. I thank my students for believing, for following me. When I tell them, ‘Follow me; let’s go all the way up here.’ This is exactly what they did.”

 Under Vendeville’s leadership, the enrollment for STC’s culinary arts program has increased 130 percent since 2008. Now, there are more than 200 enrolled with new classes offered. This spring he opened another teaching kitchen in Effingham, Ga. Vendeville has assembled a top-notch team of faculty, who have each earned national American Culinary Federation (ACF) certification under his leadership. He has embedded many aspects of sustainability into the program including an on-campus organic vegetable garden, an herb garden, and a composting site.

 According to his committee chair, the Culinary Institute of Savannah, offering ACF-accredited diploma and degree programs in culinary arts, is the “best in the U.S.A.,” and it has gone “well over and above the standards and expectations for a technical college teaching facility.” The committee recommended that the program receive the maximum accreditation time of seven years, when the average is three years.

 At the 2012 ACF Southeastern Regional Conference, Vendeville received the top ACF award – the President’s Medallion. This award is the ultimate honor for a lifetime of commitment and service to the standards and excellence ACF exemplifies.

 Vendeville was recently named Chef Educator of the Year by the Low Country Chapter of the ACF. He has led student teams to win three consecutive American Culinary Federation (ACF) Southeast Regional Championships – in 2010 in the Hot Food Team competition and back-to-back wins in the Knowledge Bowl competition in 2011 and 2012.

 He has achieved his ACF Lifetime Certification as an Executive Pastry Chef and holds a Lifetime Certification as an Executive Chef from the Chef Association of America.

 He is developing his first book, entitled Croquembouche: The Art and Technique. His book will focus on pastry and desserts, prepared in traditional French technique. It will include 250 color photographs and recipes of his creations. His book is slated for publishing this year by Taylor and Francis of London and will be distributed internationally.

Hoyt is anticipated to graduate in 2012 with a diploma in dental assisting from Savannah Tech. She works now as a dental assistant with Pediatric Dentistry of Savannah and is a volunteer with the Savannah Volunteer Dental Clinic.

 “Technical education provides everyone with the opportunity for a great education by offering the skills and ethical training needed to prepare students to enter a competitive job market,” said Hoyt. “By providing quality, affordable education, the TCSG enhances the lives of its students as well as Georgia’s economy.”

 The Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) provides oversight for the Rick Perkins Award program through the System Office’s programming staff, the presidents’ Academic Improvement committee and the state planning committee. This year, instructors at the TCSG colleges will educate and train more than 190,000 students.

 Learn more about the STC Culinary Arts program by “liking” Vendeville at www.facebook.com/chefjeanvendeville.

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