When Sue created the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts, she added “entrepreneur” to her already very accomplished career in the hospitality industry.
She opened the doors to PICA in 1997 with 3 chefs, 5 faculty/staff members & 11 students. Just nine years later, the school touts 12 chefs, 24 faculty/staff members & 117 students. And if that wasn’t grand enough, their most recent remodel spans the building’s entire first floor and includes more lecture rooms & training kitchens, a spacious 105-seat dining room, bake shop/cafe, weekly seafood buffet, weekend brunch, wedding cakes and off-site catering services.
And although I only recognized two rooms and one chef, it was wonderful to revisit my culinary stomping grounds and talk in-depth with Sue about running a successful culinary school, finding unexpected joy, and working in a male-dominated profession (to which she replied, “Don’t pull the girl card when you’re in a man’s world – you adapt.”)
KM: How did you get started in the hospitality industry?
Sue worked her way up the ranks of a unionized pilot’s association, which incidentally, is where she met her husband Malcolm. Soon, she was hired to set up the offices of Ward Air, a privately owned, growing airline with a wonderful reputation. Sue loved the “hubbub” and thrived in her career – while employed there, the airline grew from 81 pilots to 360 within a few short years. The charter airline changed to scheduled flights and was consequently bought out, leaving Sue wondering about her next career move. Sue, always focused and optimistic, was quickly hired as a travel agent manager in Toronto.
SS: I have to work in a place I believe in or that I feel I’m representing. I found this company didn’t have the same values as I did, and so after about nine months, I left. At that point, Toronto went into a real recession – it was devastating. Both [Malcolm & I] were out of work at the same time, for the first time in our lives. Malcolm was fifty, I was mid-forties,… and there just wasn’t anything happening [in Toronto]. So we moved to Vancouver.
I got a job right away in an office. Malcolm started his own practice, which he made extremely successful. Then I ended up finding a job at Dubrulle culinary school. Again, I fell in love with the business, but I didn’t believe in their philosophy. [I said to myself,] “I love this, but I don’t really want to be working here anymore.” I then went to another private school. Within eight weeks, they closed the doors due to bad financing, unbeknownst to me. So my husband said to me, “Well, I don’t know why you don’t open up your own school? It’s either that or keep on working for someone else where you can’t control your own destiny.” He and Di [my daughter] said, “You can do it, go for it!” And so I put together a business plan. I knew how I wanted to do the school – the rooms, the kitchen, everything. [In one year] I found the money, the location, typed the curriculum – I did everything at home. I [went] to private investors, got it all together, and we opened January ’97.
The thing is, once [I got] started, people said, “Aren’t you fearful?” And I said to myself, “What’s the worst that it can be? I’ve already ended up losing everything from jobs to whatever – I’ve already been there, so what’s the worst that it can be?” I always knew it would work. I knew there was a need. Was it easy? No. Lot of hard work? Absolutely. Were there surprises? Oooh, yes. Would I do it again? I guess I would because I really love this business, the people, and what it’s all about.
It’s been an amazing experience. It’s provided a nice lifestyle for myself and my husband, and a lot of opportunity for staff and students. It’s such a pleasure to go out to a restaurant to [find one of our graduates] working there, and they come over and talk with me – it’s great, and I’m so proud of them. That for me is such a wonderful reward, which, when I put [the business] together, I never thought of this. But that is a true joy for me, and each time I meet a graduate, I am thrilled to hear about their career.
KM: While in the general hospitality industry, what steered you toward a culinary focus?
SS: I think because a cooking school was the closest to hospitality. I mean, I couldn’t start an airline. I remember walking by the Dubrulle school and, I’ll never forget this, I looked up and saw the sign for the cooking school. And I said, “well, I can’t fly,” (I was feeling very grounded, because I used to fly everywhere) “but I like to eat, so maybe this would be a good place to work.” That’s exactly what went through my head. I think it’s because I enjoy food – one of my biggest pleasures is dining out & good food. It just came together.
KM: Who influenced you at the beginning of your career?
SS: My biggest fan & influence is my husband, who has always said, “You can do this!”
KM: From where do you get inspiration?
SS: I think it’s for the love of the business. The love of my business. To me, the school is an appendage of me – I feel like it’s a living thing. I care about what happens everyday - I care about the staff and the students. If I do anything, I want to do it well. If I can’t do it well, then I don’t want to do it. That’s always been sort of my thing. I try everyday to do it with the integrity that I found was lacking in other places I’ve worked, and unfortunately in this world today, that’s a rare thing, I think. It makes our school stand out, and it shouldn’t, but it does. Because most people don’t care. And that’s the difference.
KM: Whom do you read?
SS: I read a lot. I love Ruth Reichl – I love her! She’s got a wit about her. I’ve read all her books. I like to read food critic books & chef biographies. I jump around, like right now I’m reading Blink:[The Power of Thinking Without Thinking] and The Tipping Point [How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference] by Malcolm [Gladwell] from Canada about why we do the things we do. I like those kind of books every once in a while, and then of course, I like a good murder mystery.
I also like the intrigue and the education that goes along with the Da Vinci Code – it’s like taking a walk in history, which I find informative too. I don’t really like just fluff – like chick flick stuff.
KM: What is your favorite food and wine pairing?
SS: My favorite food would be a pate of foie gras & a nice red. We’ve really been finding some wonderful Pinot Noir from Oregon. That would be one of my favorite things.
KM: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the hospitality industry?
SS: First and foremost in the hospitality industry, you have to like people. You have to be customer service oriented no matter what. I always say - in customer service, you can never have a bad day. You can bang your head against the wall when they leave, but you can never show it.
•And that’s another thing that’s so important - you never know who you’re talking to. I always tell the girls at reception - you don’t know whether [people] are in blue jeans because they want to be, or because they are in blue jeans because they can afford to be, you just don’t know. And that’s why you treat everyone the same. Remember to always treat people the way you want to be treated, and if you do that, it will work.
•Keep yourself grounded. It doesn’t matter what you have, money or whatever, it’s still how you relate to people. If you have money, then that’s good - it’ll make things nicer for you, but it doesn’t make you happy. But, it can make things very nice if you are already happy. Through life I’ve learned these things - I’m very content with my life. I don’t need the ego – I’ve never needed that. If you are happy in your life, and you’re grounded,… and your family is a tight unit - you don’t need anything else.
•Always surround yourself with the best, because they always make you look better!
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