A conversation with Chef Barbara Gregoire
During my recent call with Chef Barbara Gregoire it was clear we both held the same passion for our industries with strong desires to share our passions while educating others.
Barbara is a red-seal certified chef with 21 years experience at the prestigious Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, BC. She now teaches The Art of Culinary Arts at VCC and had some interesting observations and knowledge to share.
Firstly, we discussed the ever-changing world of technology we are emerged in. Barbara commented on the trend of videoing/recording lectures and practical cooking demonstrations with smartphones. It is something she has noticed increasing over the years as students wish to record and reflect on the content. As an instructor I think this would make me feel a little uncomfortable but as smartphones and technology are part of our everyday lives it seems to be a natural progression.
Barbara also commented on the use of VR in education, more specifically in her classroom. I had not heard of Virtual Reality technology being used in this way and it was very interesting and intriguing to learn of. I was definitely interested to learn more and read a couple of online resources on the subject. One of which I have posted the link for below, it details the advantages and disadvantages to the method such as giving students access to equipment/materials they wouldn’t have otherwise, for example in Barbara’s class the students can practice recipes without being in a commercial kitchen with the ingredients and equipment. Other courses such as chemistry and biology can also benefit in this way. Of course, cost is a major disadvantage currently but as the technology becomes more readily available the cost will likely reduce.
I wondered what could be practiced via VR in the massage therapy program. It would be a challenge to implement due to the somewhat unpredictable nature of the injured human body but there are some elements such as orthopedic testing, assessment protocols and manual techniques that could be attempted.
The link is;
