Brian Buckley, one of the designers and founding faculty member of the Institute's Culinary Management Diploma program, is a dedicated proponent of education in the restaurant business. "As a consultant, I often hear my clients ask What if I invest in training my employees, and then they leave? My reply to that is What if you don't train them, and they stay?"

With more than 20 years in the industry, it's hard to find a position Buckley didn't hold at one point or another: dishwasher, short-order cook, waiter, maitre'd, sommelier, brunch chef, and general manager, in addition to many years as a restaurant consultant and even a couple years as a behind-the-scenes cook for the fledgling Food Network in the early nineties. Although the New York City native attended Hunter College, preparing to be an advertising copy writer and interning at Young & Rubicam, he soon switched his focus to restaurants: "I think there's just something about being a New Yorker that prepares you for this business, something that makes it very appealing."

As president of Plan B Consulting, Buckley specializes in staff training, business system implementation, developing wine programs, and devising and testing menu items. Recent clients include Best Cellars, Lola, Schroders Bank, Morrell Café and Wine Bar, Vintage New York, and Tracks at Penn Station. Buckley, who describes himself as a demanding critic of the industry, sees teaching as a way to correct some of the problems he sees on a daily basis. "In some ways the restaurant business still needs to catch up to the modern era, in terms of training, benefits, hours and so on," notes Buckley. "Investment in employees is always going to give you a great return."

December, 2002