Stephen Pope - Tertiary Teaching Excellence Teaching Profile

Programme Leader, Professional Cooking and Patisserie, Wellington Institute of Technology

Stephen Pope has been instrumental in making the WelTec Culinary Arts programme one of the most high profile in New Zealand. He has spent 30 years as a chef around the world and over 10 years as a teacher. He was head of the team that developed a WelTec programme to allow students to gain both City and Guilds, and ITO diplomas and certificates at the same time. Added to this, he has tailored his WelTec programmes for use in both China and the Cook Islands. His teaching methods include a mix of class and restaurant time and he has worked hard to make the restaurant on campus into a high quality workplace. He also brings high profile international chefs to New Zealand for his students to learn from and has organised scholarships to both the United Kingdom and France. Last year (2004) Stephen was asked to lecture to a class of Culinary Arts students at Taylor's College in Malaysia. At the conclusion of the lecture he was given a standing ovation. This year he has been invited to Oklahoma State University as a Distinguished Chef and guest lecturer. His courses are not only in demand, but the majority of graduates are snapped up for work due to his focus on helping each reach their full potential. The esteem in which Stephen is regarded has been recognised in his appointments as an international judge and as the manager/coach to the New Zealand team for the international WorldSkills competitions.

Getting started

My career as a chef began when my love of cooking led me to join up with the British Merchant Navy as a Galley boy apprentice more than 30 years ago. After five years of tutelage under Navy chefs, I advanced to Chief and Ship's cook. Following my move to New Zealand, I worked as Sous Chef and Executive Chef in many high profile establishments and was a director of my own award-winning restaurant - Timothy's in Lower Hutt.

The rather rugged education I received in the Navy had made me realise that ongoing encouragement and confidence building are major factors for learning in any field. I found passing my knowledge on to budding chefs really enjoyable, increasingly so as my experience guiding and training others grew. Helping my own restaurant staff train for regional competitions was something I found to be greatly rewarding.

Moving into teaching

I was taken aback somewhat when in 1990 I was approached about teaching at Wellington Institute of Technology (WelTec). I had never considered teaching as a career option, but I decided to give it a go on a part-time basis. I soon found the teaching was becoming in itself all-consuming. After the sale of my restaurant, I realised that I could devote myself full-time to teaching for a vocation. I now consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world - both working and enjoying myself in a job that I get paid for.

Like most tertiary institutes, at WelTec we have a diverse range of domestic and international students from differing socio-economic backgrounds and literacy, numeracy and academic achievements. This range of learning abilities and aptitudes means assessing individual needs is important to ensure students have the support and resources they need to be successful. This often includes planning remedial and extension work that gives individual students opportunities tailored to meet their individual learning needs.

My teaching methods and approach

I am a great believer in students learning through example and using ‘real' experience in their learning to prepare for ‘real' work. Programmes of study I've developed use practical experiential-learning to build knowledge, develop skills in learners, and help improve personal confidence and their ability. The challenge is to integrate the practical and theoretical aspects of learning in a way that makes learning effective and interesting as well as meeting the skill development needs of industry.

I believe that good learning results from a blend of interactive classroom-based tuition; the practical application of theory in a kitchen environment; organised industry work experience; and participation in regional, national and international competitions.

Importance of role models

I believe it is important that students have the opportunity of mixing with the best in the industry. For this reason I worked hard to bring Gordon Ramsay to New Zealand in 2004 to work with WelTec students and staff for three days, providing advice and support.

Competition and skill development

I am also a great believer that participation in competitions and events is an effective learning strategy. The spirited nature of the industry is mirrored in the competitive environment and I use this to support students' learning and to encourage them to excel. I provide students with opportunities to compete in regional, national and international competitions such as the National Salon Culinaire, Wellington Felix Awards, and National Youth Skills and Skill-Ex competitions. I believe this instils confidence and also has a significant effect on the development of overall competence. I support and coach students and as a result WelTec has had outstanding success, including being named in the top two to three providers in New Zealand for the past four years.

Mentorship and leading by example

As a Team Leader, I believe I have an important role as a mentor and supporter of my fellow tutors. A good team is much stronger than the sum of its individual members; the challenge is in getting a good team operational.

The mentoring role with students reflecting how they can expect to be treated and act in a ‘real world' environment is also critical for preparing people for the world of work in this industry. From day one my trainee chefs are fully equipped, kitted out and dressed as professionals and, most importantly, treated as professionals. They are trained in facilities emulating commercial kitchens so from the first day of training the experience of a real working environment begins.

Chefs are by nature practical and competitive people. They love action and enjoy drama, so I use my own experience and anecdotes as teaching aids. Theory is introduced into practical situations. We are fortunate to operate a real-time working/ training restaurant, Bistro 107, with paying guests. Students are expected to provide a la carte and table d'hôte meals to paying customers as part of their practical training.

Project work and integrating learning

I use our teaching and learning environment for problem-based learning and project work to encourage students to develop their problem-solving and critical thinking abilities. It is critical during their training that students are given opportunities to think laterally. I am a strong advocate of incorporating applied projects based on real world problems into the learning experience. The art is to design projects at a level that match a student's ability yet at the same time provide some extension.

Examples of the type of projects that I have recently been involved in are:

1. Certificate level students: How to deal with a problem of vermin in their restaurant. To do this students need to find the necessary information to identify appropriate actions and plan to put these in place to ensure a satisfactory outcome.
2. Diploma level students: A student is appointed as a consultant to a restaurant with a problem of a food poisoning outbreak. This type of project tests a student's ability to source information, to identify the problem and implement a solution, to communicate effectively, to work as part of a team, and to prepare plans and budgets.

Such projects prepare students for the type of problems they are likely to face in the real world and challenge them to find and use resources as they would if they were in work.

Encouraging innovation

At WelTec, students are also encouraged to innovate and introduce new ingredients and products to their cooking. They are provided with opportunities to experiment, research new menus and act as ‘consultants'. I enjoy this aspect of teaching and lead by example, inviting students to join me in the kitchen while I experiment and create new dishes and menus - in doing so effectively running a ‘Master' class. The concept of Master Classes is extended to include internationally and nationally recognised chefs who share their knowledge and love of cooking with the students in this way.

Plans

My plans for the future are to continue to train and guide young chefs through their career paths so they can continue in this wonderful industry and, hopefully, reflect on how they may pass on what they have learned to other chefs they come in contact with.

I plan to put some of the generous amount of money that comes with this award towards the further training of a young New Zealand chef who will compete at the next world skills competition in Japan in 2007. Preparing students for such competitions, which I feel are a critical component of the all round training top chefs require, requires time and money. Although we do get some help in funding, this extra money will give me more time to focus on training rather than fundraising!

I will also use a portion of the award to undertake further work on Part 2 of a paper on ‘Quantifying the Home Base Advantage at the World Skills competition' that I presented with my colleague Professor Radesh Palakurthi, in Thailand in 2004.

My overall goal as a teacher

My goal is to have every student achieve their full potential!

Peer and Student Comments

Stephen encourages us to develop our skills using a number of different methods, including professional development, scholarships, and networking with other professional industry and tertiary staff. He goes the ‘extra mile' to ensure that we operate as a team, taking into account our personal and professional differences.

Scott Campbell, Cookery & Culinary Arts tutor and an observer on Stephen's request at World Youth Skills, St Gallen, Switzerland, 2003

As a team leader and mentor, Stephen encourages his tutors to be learners as much as they are teachers, keeping us inspired and passionate about our industry. I have been given support to achieve many goals. My confidence as a tutor has grown because of this. As a tutor, Stephen has a fantastic rapport with the students. His teaching methods encompass all types of learners offering both a competitive edge to those who excel and encouragement to those who struggle.

Janene Torley, Tutor Cookery & Culinary arts

Hey Stephen, I would just like to say that you have been the most inspirational person in your area of expertise (Cookery & Culinary Arts) that I have ever had the chance to come across in my life. Your enduring patience (and I usually require someone of extreme patience) has helped me to forge a career and a life here in Rarotonga. When I was in WelTec, all the tutors who taught us had a passion for the subject at hand. You differed, as in, you really wanted us to not only pass with the essence of your being, but given the opportunity, and our assent, you would to me, do everything in your power to ensure that we did or got somewhere or something out of what you were trying to teach us.

Mari Unuia, Rarotongan Beach Resort and Spa.

Stephen Pope was my course tutor for cookery and culinary arts. His teaching style was very relaxed which made new concepts easy to grasp and skills achievable. Stephen's passion for both teaching and the hospitality industry seemed to infect the whole class. This was evident in the results achieved by his students. The quality that stands uppermost in my mind is how genial Stephen was and also genuinely concerned that we achieved as well as we could both during and after the completion of the course. He still keeps in contact with many of his past students and follows our progress in the cookery profession.

Janene Fuge, student, Cookery & Culinary arts.

I came to WelTec 1½ years ago to do the Certificate & Diploma in Cookery & Culinary Arts course and then went on to do the Diploma in Patisserie course and in that time I have not only had a great learning experience in the hospitality field, but learnt that to be a leader, one needs to be passionate, hardworking, fair, well respected and love a good cup of tea, (milk and strong please). That is Stephen Pope. His leadership has built WelTec into a highly regarded teaching institution that is now recognised internationally. It is fabulous that his hard work and dedication has been recognised.

Samantha Dinsdale, Student of WelTec, Centre for Hospitality, 2005