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S P R I N G 2 0 2 1 / W O R K F O R M E 35 in hospitality and tourism and hopefully stay in the state. One of those partnerships is happening with Kennebec Valley Community College's cu- linary program and Waterville's newest restaurant Front & Main, which opened last month and is part of the Lockwood Hotel, slated to open later this year. "One of the most important things for our students and graduates is to continue learn- ing under a chef who provides mentorship and who challenges them," says chef Stephanie En- jaian, chair of the culinary arts department at KVCC. "I believe [Front and Main Executive] Chef Jesse [Souza] is providing that opportunity." Enjaian says some ways the program gives students a farm- to-table focus, besides work- ing with local restaurants, are sourcing locally, discussing the value of sustainable and ethical ingredients and offering full animal butchery classes. "We're eager to continue that partnership," says Jordan Rowan, general manager of the Lockwood Hotel and Front & Main. He adds that the chal- lenges of finding hospitality staff were great even before COVID 19, but that the pandemic caused a lot of the laid-off work- force to move to other industries when restaurants had to shut down. "And they're not all com- ing back, making a serious labor shortage only worse." While getting ready to open a hotel and restaurant during the pandemic has certainly had its challenges Rowen says in many ways their timing was fortunate because they were able to learn from colleagues who were facing the challenges head-on from needing to adapt quickly to guidelines changing almost daily to troubleshoot- ing new safety and cleaning procedures. Ginny Petrovek, the former general manager of the Press Hotel and now general manager of the newly opened Canopy by Hilton, both in Portland, was in the thick of these rapid changes last year. She says the hotel's day-to-day operations shifted significantly as staff were re- quired to scale back and restrict many services that limited in- teractions with guests. "It was challenging to pro- vide those moments to guests and show value in a stay with those restrictions in place," says Petrovek, who studied hospital- ity management in college and H o s p i t a l i t y / R e t a i l C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L O W I N G PA G E » /LiveWorkMaine @LiveWorkMaine Search for: Live and Work in Maine Get a sticker that's as free as Maine's clean air, fresh water, open spaces and pride of place: Employers are looking for talented people ready for the year-round, world-class quality of life Maine offers. Bring your career and work remote in one of our fiber-connected communities, or explore opportunities at a Maine-based employer to keep it local. Either way, Welcome Home to Maine! In Partnership with the Maine Department of Economic & Community Development LiveWorkMaine.com/sticker Make Maine Your HoME Office P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F F A T H O M C O S . Ginny Petrovek, general manager at the Canopy By Hilton, a new hotel in Portland. Consumer sentiment studies indicate people are ready to consider traveling again. — Steve Lyons Maine Office of Tourism

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