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When he became director of the hospitality school at Florida Gulf Coast University in January, Randall Upchurch promised to grow new areas of research and teaching.
So it wasn't a surprise when the School of Resort and Hospitality Management at the Lutgert College of Business at FGCU in Fort Myers recently announced plans to collaborate with the United States Personal Chef Association.
Upchurch is heading to the association's national gathering in San Antonio, Texas, July 23 to finalize details. He says there are numerous opportunities to provide research and educational services to the fast-growing personal chef industry.
“I view this as the Smith Travel for the personal chef and entrepreneur market,” Upchurch says. (Smith Travel provides hotel data to the hospitality industry such as occupancy rates and rents.)
Besides industry research and gathering data, FGCU could also provide the association with certification programs. For example, it might provide business-startup or sanitation classes for entrepreneurial chefs, Upchurch says.
Upchurch says the association's executives told him Southwest Florida is a prime area for personal chefs. The association has nearly 1,000 members nationwide. “I'm an academic kid in a candy store,” Upchurch says.
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