To maximize professional involvement, every local board should have at least one professional on its board who is committed to fostering programs that benefit and involve its professionals and who is seasoned, accessible, and easy to get along with. This person often holds the office of Vice Conseiller Culinaire (which must be filled by a professional member).

Most bailliages would benefit from an increase in this important membership category. Bailliages where professionals number 40% or more of the total membership are among the strongest in the country.

It is highly desirable to have administrators and/or faculty of local culinary educational institutions as members. They have significant expertise to share and can help recruit Jeune Commis competition competitors.

Every bailliage should send its entire membership, on a regular bases, a list of its local professional members and their affiliations. Members, once informed, like to patronize their local Chaîne establishments and appreciate knowing the names of fellow members. Loyalty develops.

To disseminate materials and information, a personal visit by a member who knows the professional is recommended. This person should be sure to let prospective professional members know the names and affiliations of the bailliage’s present professional members.

Make use of the full-color Chaîne brochure and the brochure developed especially for professional members. The testimonials of present professionals speak the most eloquently. Copies of both brochures are available through the National Administrative Office.

Be sure professionals know there are 7,300 Chaîne members in the U.S. and 21,000 worldwide who like nothing better than to patronize Chaîne establishments.

Let them know that when they join they receive a plaque to display, a distinctive ribbon they can wear on Chaîne and other occasions, a listing in our publication Chaîne Members’ Restaurants & Hotels Guide, and the possibility of a story about functions they host, with photos, in Gastronome magazine.

On our national Website, we list all Chaîne-affiliated hotels, restaurants, and cruise ships. Here we provide links, at no charge, to affiliated establishments. All professional members will appreciate the business such links generate. For an establishment, this is one of the most important benefits of membership.

Be sure to describe opportunities at the local level to host events and any special programs your bailliage has developed that might be of special interest to them.

Many local bailliages have scholarship programs that provide support for area professionals. Be sure prospective professional members are aware of these programs and how they and their employees can benefit from them personally.

Some bailliages set up a Council of Chefs, whose main purpose is to recruit other chefs.

Because of high turnover, bailliages in cities with Chaîne-affiliated hotels find it wise to have several members at each hotel.

As bailliages plan their dinners with an establishment, they should take advantage of the good feelings of working together to solicit new professional members on the spot.

Professional members move around a lot. You'll find that it's some times hard to keep track of them. Obviously, the closer your rapport with your professional member establishments, the easier the job is.

As a matter of courtesy, you should contact transferees as soon as you know about them. While you are not obliged to invite them to join your bailliage, there will probably be very few you would not wish to have as members.

When you know one of your professional members is moving, it is a bailliage’s responsibility to advise the National Administrative Office. The Bailli in the location where the member is relocating would appreciate this information as well.

Most professionals expect their employers to pay their dues (dues paid to professional organizations are deductible as business expenses and are often part of a compensation package). You need to give these professionals the information they need to convince management that the establishment will receive value for money or a return on its investment.

At large hotels, Chaîne membership may be limited to the General Manager, or perhaps the General Manager and the Food and Beverage Director. Try to have the Executive Chef included as well.

An excellent time to get professionals on board is when hotels and restaurants are going through good economic times. Once the first induction/dues expense is approved, it often becomes a regular budget item.

Summer months are considered the best for soliciting professional memberships as budgets are being made up then. The worst time is when establishments are busy with holiday events.

Some professionals who must pay their own dues have trouble doing so. Bailliages have their own way of handling these situations on an individual basis, which sometimes involves waiving all or part of local dues.