Greater Baton Rouge Chapter president Peter Sclafani discusses the year ahead.
This year will mark Chef Peter Sclafani’s second year as president of the Greater Baton Rouge Chapter for the Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA). The association made the announcement of the nine chapter presidents in a Monday (Jan. 5) release.
“This year’s leaders, who volunteer their time and efforts at the highest level, are charged with localizing the overall LRA member experience and cultivating opportunities for growth within the association,” the release says.
Sclafani is coming off what he calls a “record-breaking year” of his own as executive chef and co-owner of Ruffino’s. Not only did the restaurant open a Lafayette location that took home the 2014 Open Table Diner’s Choice Award, but the high-end Italian eatery also opened its corporate offices and catering hub in downtown Baton Rouge at De la Ronde Hall.
|
|
|
The chef says the two most important aspects of the restaurant association are advocacy and education.
“We work with protecting restaurateurs with politics, laws and regulations that might have unintended consequences for our businesses,” he says. “We were very successful in the past year in the legislature, accomplishing the goals we had.”
Details were not specified as to what legislation was passed in 2014. LRA CEO Stan Harris says the association hasn’t determined what it will focus on in 2015.
However, Sclafani says the LRA’s education foundation gave more than $60,000 in scholarships for students to use toward an education at the Louisiana Culinary Institute, the John Folse Culinary Institute and beyond. He says one of the biggest resources the association has is ProStart, an initiative in public high schools that teaches teens and students some culinary tricks as well as restaurant management.
“The Greater Baton Rouge area has the most number of ProStart schools in the state, 17,” Sclafani says. “[The educational programs are] our way of showing people in high school the career opportunities available to them. Then, we give scholarships for them to continue education in this industry.”
|
|
|
Sclafani also praised the association’s education initiatives within restaurants, citing food safety programs such as ServSafe, safe alcohol training and food allergen courses.
Though details were scant on what Baton Rouge restaurants might be facing legislatively in 2015, Sclafani is optimistic about the business year.
“It’s an exciting time for the restaurant industry in Baton Rouge,” he says. “We’re anticipating more growth. We’re seeing a lot of support for local restaurants. We hope to see that continue.”