ACF Chef Jack Birren, CEC

By John Bartimole

ACF Chef Jack Birren, CEC, chef-instructor at Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, cherishes his role as an educator and recognizes the impact he can have on his students. It’s that passion and sense of responsibility that helped earn him the title of ACF’s 2022 Chef Educator of the Year, an award presented to him at last year’s National Convention.

Chef Birren believes that his role as an educator goes beyond the classroom. He uses his very personal experience with a life-threatening illness to inspire others to take precautionary steps to safeguard their health; he has been in remission after a fight with colorectal cancer and Lynch Syndrome, a genetic predisposition that plagued him, as well as other family members.

“When we were dating, my wife, Lisa, would say, ‘You’re going to die with the way you drive,’” Chef Birren says. “I would smirk and respond with, ‘Nope, I’m dying of cancer like the rest of the men in my family.’”

Fortunately for his family — and his students — Chef Birren survived his 2016 bout with cancer and wants to serve as an inspiration to others who may have to battle a similarly insidious disease.

“I said to my wife that I don’t care what happens to me, but I want others to look at you, Nick (his son) and me and say, ‘I want to go through this (a serious illness) like the Birrens did,’” he says. “I want us to be an inspiration.”

During the height of his battle, Chef Birren managed to miss only three days of classes in the spring semester, having taken most of winter break to go through treatment — an accomplishment he is most proud of.

“There were days when my face was as white as my chef’s coat, but I went in to teach,” he says. “That really kept me moving.”

Not that it was easy. “The chemo I was on made me very susceptible to the cold, so handling cold product, like chilled beef or chicken or fish — despite me wearing layers of gloves — was extremely difficult and painful,” he says.

It was his love of and passion for education that motivated him during this tough time. Chef Birren’s journey in culinary education began when he was a student at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island. During that time, he was accepted into the Teaching Assistant and Fellow Scholarship Program where he worked with culinary instructors in labs educating the students. He also competed and medaled in several competitions in New York and Seattle.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in culinary arts in 1999, Chef Birren was one of 13 students awarded a full-ride scholarship for a master’s degree through the Management Development Program at Johnson & Wales, during which time he served as assistant manager at one of the university’s dining facilities.

“That’s when the lightbulb went on,” says Birren, who graduated from that program in 2001 with a master of arts degree in teaching. “I was teaching externship students at the restaurant and receiving so much gratification from it. That’s when my path became clear.”

A native of Antioch, Illinois, Chef Birren found his way back to the Midwest, where in 2010, he started teaching garde manger part-time at Waukesha

County Technical College. In 2011, he began teaching there full-time.

And as his career progressed, Chef Birren came to a distinct realization about chefs. “Chefs are always teaching,” he says. “Whether it’s in school or on the job, we’re always helping others in culinary to be better in their profession. In my experience, the more time I spend helping students, the easier my job becomes.”

Chef Birren has helped students of varying ages and backgrounds. “For example,” he says, “probably my best student was a gentleman who had his BA in accounting and worked for a hospital. He came in with a passion for culinary and a focus, and after he graduated, landed a job right out of college at one of Milwaukee’s best restaurants.”

With some students, however, Chef Birren notices a lack of focus — even some who freeze when it comes time to repeat a dish after a lecture and demo. “So, I stop and say, ‘OK, let’s talk about this.’ And then, most of them get it. But I did have one student who simply didn’t get virtually anything the whole semester. I thought there was no way he was going to pass. Nothing was clicking for him. But on the day of his practical, everything clicked and he passed. That’s why you never give up on students.”

Chef Birren’s favorite days of each semester are the first two days of classes and the two days of graduation ceremonies. “My students will never have the first day of this particular class again, so I try to be as hyped up as possible that first day or so,” he says. “I want them to get excited and to feel the passion. Every student is here for a different reason. As a chef-instructor, I feel it is my job to find what that reason is and instill in them the passion, dedication and confidence that it will take to get them to reach their goal.”

When students walk across the stage at graduation, Chef Birren welcomes them to the profession in a unique way. “While they’re students, the only social media I will interact with them on is LinkedIn, because it’s a professional site,” he says. “But when they cross that stage, they are my peers, and as they cross, I send them a friend request on my other social media [platform].”

Outside of teaching, Chef Birren remains active with ACF, having earned his CEC designation in 2014 and coached secondary and post-secondary culinary hot food teams to numerous awards. He also currently serves as vice president of the ACF Chefs of Milwaukee chapter for a term that will conclude next year.

Next up, Chef Birren, who is cancerfree, will be educating a very different audience than his culinary students. “I’ve been asked to speak to Congress about how they can help educate and, therefore, help reduce early-age onset of colon cancer,” he says. “I can speak very personally about this, since it’s affected me and so many males in my family.”

As with every other educational opportunity he embraces, Chef Birren will approach this challenge with the same passion. It’s likely to pay off.