James Sexton
Instructor, Chef
Office: 354 Wallace Hall
Phone: (540)231-3258
Email: jesexton@vt.edu
Courses: HTM 3414 (SP06,SS106,F06)
Biography
Chef Instructor James Sexton, M.S., CPFM, CCE,
http://www.chefsexton.com
Chef Sexton holds an Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from Joliet Junior College, Joliet, Illinois, his Bachelor’s Degree in Professional Arts with Emphasis in Business from the College of Saint Francis, Joliet, Illinois and his Master’s Degree in Education from Ohio University, Athens, Ohio.
Chef Sexton has over 30 years of experience in the food service industry. Prior to becoming a teaching chef he worked in industry at a variety of food operations including hotels, restaurant, and clubs. From 1983 – 1988 Chef Sexton taught Culinary Arts at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio. From 1988 to 2005 he held a dual roll at Virginia Tech, Lecturer in the Department of HTM for Purchasing, Production and Management of food operations and as the Executive Chef and Coordinator of Special Activities for the Office of the President of Virginia Tech. For the Office of the President of Virginia Tech he catered dinners, receptions and many other functions associated with the Virginia Tech president, his office and other administrative offices at the Grove, on campus residence of the President of Virginia Tech.
Chef Sexton’s Certifications include the American Culinary Federation Certified Culinary Educator and Certified Chef de Cuisine, the National Restaurant Association ServSafe Instructor, and Experior Assessments, LLC Hazard Analysis, and Critical Control Points Instructor.
Chef Sexton has received awards from various culinary competitions that include a Silver and 3 Bronze medals and the Tim Ryan Judges Award for Culinary Competitions in the Cold Food category. He was also awarded the Chef of the Year Award by the New River Valley Chef’s Association. Chef Sexton was a member of the National Chef of the Year Award committee for the American Culinary Federation from 1990-1996, served on the Validation Committee for Skills Standards Research for the American Culinary Federation in 1996-97 that developed nationally recognized standards for the Culinary/Foodservice profession, held officer positions in professional organizations including Secretary of the Southwest Virginia Chef’s Association, President, Vice-President and Chairman of the Board for the New River Valley Chef’s Association.
Chef Sexton remains involved with the food industry in other areas including programs, projects and demonstrations. He has been involved with kitchen planning and layout, developing HACCP programs and teaching and certifying local area businesses operators in ServSafe. Chef Sexton’s food demonstration’s include Gingerbread Houses, Vegetable Carvings, Breads, Cooking, Garde Manger, Operations Management, ServSafe, Garnishes for Volume Food Operations and How to Standardize Recipes among others.
In July of 2005 Chef Sexton became a full time Instructor in Virginia Tech’s HTM department. He now operates the Food Production lab and instructs the HTM 3414 Purchasing, Production and Management course