Saying Goodbye to a CRTC Legend



Saying Goodbye to a CRTC Legend


As Rebecca Mancini was preparing for her recent graduation from the Lakes Region Community College Culinary Arts program, there was one person she wanted to make sure was there to watch her collect her diploma. Rebecca was graduating as LRCC’s Culinary Student of the Year, a member of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and winner of the President’s Award for Excellence, and she was eager to share that moment with the person who inspired her to rise above shyness and uncertainty and reach for her dreams -- her high school Culinary Arts teacher, Chef Bob McIntosh.


“Chef Mac played a huge part in my success in education and my growth within the culinary industry,” the 2018 CRTC Culinary & Pastry Arts program graduate said. “His passion for teaching, his willingness to put in extra hours mentoring us, and his drive to push all his students to do their best are what makes him so very special.”


Chef Bob McIntosh will be retiring at the end of this school year after 20 years with the CRTC. A leader in New Hampshire high school Culinary program development and a nationally recognized Career and Technical Education teacher, Chef Mac is known to students and staff at the CRTC for his straightforward approach and his eagerness to encourage students to embrace challenges and expand the boundaries of their expectations.


“It really has been a great experience to see CTE come into the forefront and allow so many students to come out of high school CTE programs and jump into higher end careers then they otherwise would have,” Chef Mac said. “It’s been a wonderful 20 years.”


Throughout his CRTC career Chef Mac has pushed his students to reach for excellence, spending many weekends driving from his home in Plymouth, NH, to practice sessions and state and national skill competitions where participating students could gain confidence, network with industry professionals, and win awards and college scholarship money. An impressive number of his students have gone on to study at the Culinary Institute of America (sort of like the Harvard of culinary schools), and for years he ran a homegrown scholarship program where he raised money through various fundraising events to help former students pay college costs.


“His 20 year career is defined by complete dedication to students building the foundation to be successful in the trade he loves,” said CRTC Director Steve Rothenberg.  “Chef Mac has stayed true to a professional commitment to train chefs who have immense pride and wide-ranging skills in their chosen career.  Current students, alumni, Industry and post-secondary partners all have a love for ‘Chef.’”


Chef Mac was in his 40s when he transitioned from the restaurant kitchen to the classroom. His first teaching job was at a state placement school for teens with mental health conditions and significant behavioral challenges. He started the Culinary Arts program there in the late 1990s and revamped the center’s food services department. In early 2000 Chef Mac heard about the open CRTC position through the Concord High School food services director and applied. He’s been pushing to continually improve the program ever since.


“When I started this job, the old voc school model was to train kids who didn’t succeed in other classes, getting them ready for entry level jobs,” he said. “Now we’re training kids for upper level jobs in the industry, as well as postsecondary education.”


Chef also instituted the popular Chef-to-School nights, where professional chefs come in for the day to work with students to prepare and serve restaurant quality, multi-course meals to a dining room full of parents and others. He routinely brings in guest chefs to work with students during class time, and he makes good use of his deep industry connections to guide graduating students into internships and jobs.


“A few years ago Chef Mac urged me to hire one of his graduating students who had little experience but was eager to learn the industry,” said Chef Adam Parker, the former corporate chef for the Fratello’s Italian Grille chain of restaurants, who will be replacing Chef Mac in the fall. “Today that girl runs Fratello’s catering service. I could give you many examples like that.”


And because of his continuing interest and guidance, Chef Mac maintains ties with many of his former students.


“I go into the Common Man here in Concord and I see six or seven of my past students, up to and including the general manager,” he said. “Part of my retirement plan is to drive down the East Coast to visit past students who now are working in big restaurants.”


The CRTC wishes Chef Mac all the best as he moves on into this next stage of his life. He will be missed and he will be remembered. LRCC graduating student Rebecca Mancini had an appropriate final message for her former teacher. “I’d like to leave Chef with this quote that he should recognize because he’s used it enough: ‘Onward and Upward.’” We have no doubt that that’s exactly where Chef Mac is headed.



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