| Featured Chef | 
Chef Faz gives Back to the Community By Helping Students at Oceana High.
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FAZ & KELLY ARMSTRONG
JOIN FORCES AGAIN TO PAVE WAY FOR CULINARY HOPEFULS |
Pizza 101 and More
You
can call it an early Thanksgiving of sorts. All to benefit, culinary
hopefuls at Oceana High School in Pacifica, California, Faz Poursohi
joined forces with his former Community Relations Manager, Kelly
Armstrong to educate and inspire 13 students from the Oceana High School
Culinary Arts Program.
The
planned field trip to Faz in Pleasanton by BART in early November was
thwarted due to the overwhelming BART ridership on the celebration of
the San Francisco Giants with a Parade through downtown San
Francisco. Their instructors Laura Burr, Special Education Teacher
and Nancy Murphy, Classroom Aide had to quickly come up with plan B as
BART was overcrowded with revelers causing a 30-45 minute wait just
to purchase tickets. So with MapQuest in hand they carpooled from
Pacifica to Pleasanton and made it just in time for the 10 a.m.
appointment.
The
students missed the San Francisco Giants World Series celebration but
they had their own Tim Lincecum and Matt Cain in Faz and his top Chef
Pedro Poncho, who taught the young hospitality students how to make
Pizza from scratch.
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 | | Chef FAZ talks about herbs as Chef Pedro Pancho looks on.Click Image to see Pizza 101 video with Oceana students. |
Before
getting into the nitty-gritty of dough, toppings, and the difference
in making Pizza in a wood burning oven and a regular home oven, Faz
took the time to discuss his transformation from an engineer to a
Chef. His success as a restaurateur is based on his love of food and
cooking that he acquired growing up in Tehran. His family took culinary
matters seriously and their table was always laid with freshly baked
breads, fruits and vegetables from the family farm.
He
moved to the United States in 1974 and received a degree in Systems
Engineering at the University of Illinois. While in Chicago, he began
working for Rich Melman, owner of Lettuce Entertain You, Inc. He
quickly became a part of Melman's management team and was instrumental
in the opening of several successful restaurants. And the rest as
they say is history.
Faz
told the young culinary enthusiasts, "The key to success in the food
business is understanding that nutrition should always be on your
mind. People eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Keeping people healthy is
the goal we are working for."
Faz
then went on to say, "Line yourself up with good companies and with
good people if you want to work as a Chef and the money will come.
Always like the person you work with." This has been Faz's winning
trump card for success.
The
students saw the kitchen and how the line cooks work and how they
work for the hotel (that's onsite) in assembly line form. They saw the
walk-in refrigerator and how the dishwasher works. Faz also talked
about the importance of sanitation. Faz demonstrated the importance of
organization in the kitchen and keeping foods separate especially
vegan foods. "Think health and sanitation," said Faz. "When cooking
make sure you are always washing your hands."
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 Faz
segued into the Dining Room area where he mentioned, "When working in
the restaurant industry, make sure your décor represents the food you
are selling. Learn all the numbers like square footage and the cost of
it. This will help you make your money. Most people don't understand
how the industry works. Work on someone else's dime before you decide to
open your own.
 FAZ talks about decor, menu, and healthy choices. As
Faz gave industry wisdom, he weaved in more of his history. He talked
about working as a dishwasher on his first job at "Chances Are." The
manager told him that he had never seen a pot cleaned so well that it
led to a promotion as a line cook. Then he was introduced to Rich Melman
where he became an instrumental person and worked with him for 6 years.
"Chances Are" gave him the opportunity to learn. He never knew he would
become a Chef. "Learn how to do things better than the person that
teaches you.""Location,
Location, Location" especially pertains to the food industry also. In
addition to the Pleasanton location at the Sheraton Four Seasons, Faz
talked about his Sunnyvale location where he is located by Google and
Yahoo in the Silicon Valley. Faz says, "I pay attention to location.
Make sure your work is appreciated in the community you select."One
of the signature elements of Faz's restaurant is the wood-burning oven
that is at the Danville, Pleasanton and Sunnyvale locations. "The wood
burning oven needs to be 600 degrees," he said as the Pizza preparation
began. "When you become a millionaire you can have one of these ovens
in your home", said Faz. Kelly asked the students to ask Faz if he has
one. He answered a simple, "yes" and without a beat continued to talk
about the pizza recipe and the joy of cooking, dining and being a part
of people's lives.Faz
took the students outdoors to explain how the outdoors is used for
weddings and other social events. He encouraged the students to plant
flowers and citrus trees. Faz meditates in his garden every morning. As
he talked about his morning ritual, Faz brought Kelly full circle. "Being
out here reminds me that we just hosted an engagement party for one of
your former students. Do you remember her Kelly? She was one of the
students from the Casey Family when we partnered with KQED and hosted
the Etiquette Training Thanksgiving Dinner. With excitement in her
voice, Kelly acknowledged remembering the student. Faz said, "She
sought me out because she remembered having such a life-changing
experience." Faz provided the food and ambience for more than 20
disadvantaged youth and Kelly had provided the fine dining etiquette
training."Wow,
just think we had that kind of impact in their lives and here we are
making a difference once again." Kelly led the students of Oceana in a
loud round of applause in thanks to Faz as they began to dine eating the
fruits of their labor. And as a crowning touch and surprise the
students found out, Michelle Bouvia, Personal Assistant to Faz is a
graduate of Oceana High School as well as her sister, Pia Carlson who
stopped by to visit and greeted the youth. |
 | Chef FAZ, Kelly Armstrong, Instructor Laura Burr, Chef Michael Dove (far left last row)
and Oceana Students.
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"On Becoming a Chef" was the theme of the field trip as Faz inspired the
students. It was an early "Thanksgiving" as the students had a lot to
be thankful for: good food, good fellowship and a great learning
experience.
 | | Kelly Armstrong Enjoys FAZ Luncheon with Oceana Students |
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About Oceana High School
Oceana
High School, recipient of the 2009 California Distinguished School
Award, is a small public high school with an alternative college
preparatory program serving just over 600 students in grades nine
through twelve. One of five public schools in the Jefferson Union High
School District, Oceana is located in northern Pacifica. We serve
students from Pacifica, Daly City, Colma, and Brisbane.
Sixteen
years since their initial restructuring, the Oceana community remains
committed to a culture of inquiry and reflection and ongoing efforts to
improve their practice and achieve better results for their students.
They are building capacity to utilize data to understand who their
students are and the causes for gaps in their achievement.
You can help make a difference. See how. Click here for Ms. Burr's Culinary Class Wish List.
For More School Information Click Here.
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About FAZ Restaurants and Catering
Faz
Restaurant & Catering in Pleasanton is located next to the
Sheraton Four Points Hotel, which opened in June 1997. The cuisine is
classic Mediterranean featuring wood-fired grill, a smoker and
rotisserie. Several spacious banquet rooms are an added attraction to
this location, as well as a lovely garden patio and fountain that is
available for private parties. In addition, Faz's signature balsamic
vinegar and olive oil, smoked salmon and wine are available to take
home for the Wine Cellar.
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About Kelly Armstrong
From
1997- 2002 Armstrong served as the Community Relations Manager for Faz
Restaurants. Key responsibilities varied from arranging for print and
broadcast interviews, writing press releases, media relations speech
writing, photography, event planning, accompanying CEO and top
management on business meetings, image building and representing all
seven of his restaurant locations throughout the Bay Area. Armstrong
and Faz joined forces once again to donate their services to a school
that they believe deserve to have an opportunity that is sure to empower
these students. Armstrong is currently an instructor at City College
of San Francisco, and a Personal Development Image Consultant. She is a
board member with San Francisco State's Hospitality Management Program
and is working to create a training program to get more minority
students into the hospitality industry.
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