CNM Culinary Graduates Succeed; Two Managers at the Rodeo Grill Tell Their Story
by Patrick Hibbard, Staff Reporter
Volume 15, Issue 5
September 29, 2009
The Rodeo Grill opened Labor Day with a splash on the Albuquerque scene. Most people don’t know that two out of the three managers that work at the grill are graduates of CNM’s Culinary Arts program.
After 20 plus years in sales and marketing, Brian Werling decided his calling was elsewhere. He gave some thought as to just what field he would be happiest in and felt the pull of restaurants. He had worked in the restaurant industry much earlier in his life and wanted to go back to it, so Werling did a little research by taking a night job at The Melting Pot and found his dream was attainable and practical. So he sold his house, quit his sales job, and enrolled at CNM. Werling explained: “I decided that CNM offered more value than the Cordon Bleu schools I researched and it was local – I didn’t have to uproot my family.” His family consists of a wife who works for
“During the course of going to CNM, Chef Joyce Woodard ‘badgered’ me into participating in Skills USA® [a national organization with nearly 10 million members that holds training competitions in the trade professions for students].”
Brian won first place at the Skills USA® state competition and traveled to Kansas City for the Nationals. There he won the gold and was awarded a scholarship to the New England Culinary Institute (NECI) in
“As part of that [NECI] program, I had to produce a business plan for my own concept restaurant…. That is the most important piece of paper that I left school with.” Back in
Reynaga came to CNM from Roswell and has been cooking in some capacity for his whole life. His parents own a bakery and he has been baking since the age of nine. Reynaga worked at the Boy Scouts mess hall at 15 and then worked for his parents for a year before coming to Albuquerque and CNM. Reynaga competed in the Skills USA® baking competition and one of the judges, it turns out, was the Pastry Chef at Isleta Resort and Casino. This chef hired Reynaga and he was content in this new phase of his career when Werling called him about the Rodeo Grill. “I have to thank Carmine Russo [an Instructor at CNM]. I have been in the industry a long time and thought I was good. In his class I did a lot of stuff I’ve never done and it gave me the confidence to do what I’m doing now.” Reynaga also notes that Russo talked a lot about making connections with his classmates while in school. This part paid off particularly well now that he is the Kitchen Manager at the Rodeo Grill. Reynaga is married with three daughters. The oldest seems on the road to following in his footsteps: “She helps with the cooking at home.”
Both Werling and Reynaga praise CNM and particularly the Culinary Arts Program. Werling boasts, “I got my B.A. for about $2,000 instead of the $80,000 that most people pay at larger places. I do believe in community college and I really got the education that I wanted.” He also has some advice for students at CNM: “Follow your heart and make some sacrifices. With a little timing, the pieces will fall into place.”
