The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. Executive Paramus, NJ Team December 10th, 2025
My Executive Team Team picture
Every semester for my Business Marketing, Management and Communications classes, I create one big Team assignment for my students. In a Commuter College, it is a lot tougher for students to get to know one another between their studies and their jobs, so I create these projects to foster learning, creativity and especially Teamwork.
This semester I taught three sections of Business 101-Introduction to Business, which is the entry level course to the Business/Hotel Management School. This is a tough course to teach as you always have students of various age groups and various levels of industry experience.
The Fall semester was no different. This makes the class more interesting yet more challenging to teach. I still challenge them and test them to see what type of future executives they will become.
This semester I created three restaurant concept projects for my students, “Sounds and Subs”, a music store and sub/sandwich shop concept based on Mike’s Sub Shop in Boonton, NJ, “Farmer’s Market”, a farm to table concept based on The Corner Counter in Red Hook, NY and then “Pasta and Pies”, a sweet and savory pie concept with pasta dishes based on Nobel Pies out of Beacon, NY.
My evening Business 101 class worked on the “Pasta and Pies” concept where they were challenged to create a restaurant with a menu of sweet and savory pies, creative pasta dishes, a mocktail menu and a gift shop selling items from their menu plus clothing and gifts. The results were amazing to see and what students with a little creativity, a lot of time (six weeks) and a little push can accomplish.
In the past, I have created these projects under the Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. banner, the main consulting company, the Orion Malls banner, a Mall design company and the Buscomonzefi.com banner, my Tech Division. Each business does its best to be creative, forward thinking and have a thought producing presentations. I also challenge the students to top on another in their presentations and build on what they have seen others do in the past.
The Bergecco-Parc Banner is an acronym for Bergen Community College Paramus Campus where I work. I use this concept to teach the lessons in the book.
Professor Justin Watrel, CEO Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc.
Our Corporate site (created my one of my former President’s:
This class created menus with creative pies and what delicious ingredients that can be tucked into them, selective pasta dishes with side salads and unique signature desserts. Some students kept the menus safe while others really put their heart and sole into it and showed how creative they were with their menus.
One Wednesday night, December 10th, 2025, the class presented their ideas to me and these are the results of the individual Teams.
Each of the Team members are required to be in Professional dress when presenting their project to the fictional client as they would in task life.
Team Four starting their presentation
Team One presenting their presentation
Team Two’s winning presentation and I wanted to add the best dressed Team
Some of the creative Gift Shop ideas from Team Two
Team Four presenting their project featuring their logo
Team Five making their presentation of their Team
Some very creative advertising from Team Five
At the end of the presentation and after the Q& A, we take the Corporate picture, which I do to show feature recruiters what these students are made of and what seasoned executives they will make in the future. I really am proud of the students that accomplish this project.
Our Corporate picture at the end of the evening
At the end of the evening, I always have a small reception after the presentation. Many of the groups brought samples of their pies for extra credit and our President was the manager of a bakery and brought this beautiful sheet cake with the company logo on it. I thought this was very clever.
The President’s Cake at our reception after the presentation
I bake a variety of cookies, brownies and rice crispy treats along with providing a variety of chips, sodas and waters for the reception. It is my way of recognizing a job well done.
The students did a nice job interpreting what the ideas and theme of the project was and what the client might be expecting.
It was a very interesting evening of which I hope the students carry with them in the future not just to other classes but into the workplace as well.
One of the highlights of my industry and my favorite amongst the big shows geared towards the hospitality field is the New York Fancy Food Show held at the Javits Center every June.
The Specialty Food Association sponsors the show every year at the Javits Center
The Fancy Food Show is aisle after aisle of the latest products that will be stocking our grocery stores, specialty shops and gift stores. From the latest cheeses and pates to snack foods, flavorful drinks and waters to the latest heat and eat prepared foods to almost anything else to stock your pantry with, they are being showcased at this show. It takes me the full three days to get through the show just to walk down the aisles and see what new products there are to sample. That is not enough time plus you get over-whelmed with all the foods to taste and flavors to experience.
My first day I concentrated on the first floor of the show. The first several aisles were dedicated to vendor after vendor of cheeses. I have learned over the years to pace myself when I start the show, or you go into system overload. You have to take your time in the first three aisles of the show or else you will not be able to enjoy all the other samples you need to experience to form an opinion.
I was funny that I felt this way because when I said this to a cheese merchant, she repeated that comment back to me. She said, “You know, I keep asking everyone to try our cheese, but they keep saying they have to pace themselves. Why do they keep saying that?” I reminded her that we have aisles and aisles of food to see and a lot of first timers start to fill themselves up on the first three aisles and then can’t handle the rest of the show. She did not seem pleased with that answer and went back to work.
I continued to take my time walking the Food Show. Traveling aisle after aisle of cheeses, crackers, cookies and olive oils. The snack foods selection was extensive this year. I guess the pandemic got people creating food items that they liked, and they want to make a cottage business out of it. The problem is that there are only so many different ways to make caramel popcorn or chocolate chip cookies.
The biggest problem with food items at the show is when vendors are trying to be too specific who they want their customers to be or catering to a niche customer who is gluten intolerant or looking for all natural foods. I have had to keep a straight face when I had to sample all natural sodas with no sugar or cookies without eggs, wheat, sugar and are dairy free that tasted like saw dust. I know what the vendor is trying to achieve but when an item has no flavor no one will want to buy it. Some products can achieve this but somewhere in the recipe they will have to put a few ingredients back.
I found a lot of successful items at the show that did not agree with judges when it came time to give awards out. Some of their choices just had no flavor, taste or appeal to a lot of customers. I judged products by a couple of standards, how different was it in product, how it tasted and was the flavoring different from other items on the market and creativity in packaging. Some of the snack foods and sodas that won awards boggled me because they had no flavor and no enticing packaging.
I found that some of the best products in the French and Korean Food Pavilions. The Asian countries really had the pulse of appealing to a younger customer or an older customer who liked things from their childhood. The French always know packaging. They are famous for it. The color schemes and the pictures just appeal to a sophisticated customer. It is also the taste of their foods. The flavors are direct and intense. Their snacks had more unusual flavors and better cooking methods. There just seemed like they wanted to bring gourmet foods to the snack masses of the United States. I was impressed by a handful of items that I highly recommend to those who want to indulge in a treat.
The following were the best products I sampled on the first day of the 2024 Fancy Food Show and I want to share them with other foodies and culinarians. These products stood out the most for their taste and packaging:
In the French Pavilion, the first brand I highly recommend is the potato chip brand Simply Gourmand brand Brets, whose crispy flavorful snacks were the best potato chips at the show. in the Snack Food category, I thought they were the best I tasted. With their unique flavors, the best being the Camembert Cheese and the Miel Moutarde, the honey Dijon mustard flavors and colorful packaging, were outstanding. I had to beg the vendor for two bags to take home to sample. The crispy fried French potatoes were perfectly flavored and salted and they filled the bag with chips and not air like American companies.
The Brets brand of potato chips by Simply Gourmand
The samples I took home were excellent. I loved the crunch and the perfect seasonings.
The other item from the French Pavilion were the cookie brands by Gozoki Deceures, both the Maison Jacquemart and the Noots. These buttery delights were a treat when I tried the different varieties.
The cookies from Maison Jacquemart were excellent
I sampled the various flavors of cookies from Maison Jacquemart and the cookies look as good as they taste. I was able to try their Les Petits Lunettes, a small type of Linder tart cookie filled with strawberry jelly and chocolate cream and their mini Almond cakes, that tasted like a Madeline. You could taste the sweet butter in the cookie dough and the fresh jelly in the cookie. The crunchiness of the cookie with the sweetness of the filling was a delectable combination.
It was the same with their tartlets as well. There was a thick layer of chocolate, strawberry and apricot jelly on the top of their cookies with a buttery cookie base that showed me that they did not skimp anywhere when producing their product.
Gozoki Douceurs products were my pick for best baked products at the show
The samples they gave me of the Strawberry Jelly and the Chocolate filled tarts were delicious
In the Canadian Pavilion, around lunch time on my first day of the show, I sampled the Chicken Nuggets by Al Safa Foods and these were impressive especially the spicy ones. They were juicy on the outside and crisp on the inside and the spicy flavor had a nice kick to it.
The Al Safa Chicken nuggets were one of the best chicken products I tasted at the show
What I like about Al Safa Chicken products is the quality and taste of the chicken. The product cooked up nicely and the taste would appeal to children and adults alike.
in the Italian Pavilion, there were many honey products being sampled at the show but the best flavored honey was from Casa Folino were stood out for flavor and packaging.
The Casa Folino flavored honey is a different alternative to jellies when topping toast or biscuits
The Casa Folino line of honeys had a zippy set of flavors and were unique to the show. Other vendors offered different flavored honeys due to the bees or the region they were produced but this company added the flavorings to the high quality honey making a unique accompaniment to biscuits an
The Asian Pavilion offered so many amazing products and these are the best of the best when I walked this part of the show:
I was very impressed with food items from both Korea and Thailand with a few vendors from Taiwan as well. What I liked about the Asian food products is the unique flavors and bright packaging of their products. They made their food products appealing to the eye and engaging to the senses and the packaging was fun. Once they reeled you in with the engaging packaging, the flavors were very intense with different tastes like Rose, Melon and Mango for sweets and peppers and cheeses for their savory products.
These Cheeseburger popcorn snack from HBAF were very impressive. The seasonings really did taste like a cheeseburger and you could taste the beef and tomato flavorings in the popcorn. Their other snacks had unusual flavors as well. I think these innovative snacks will work well in the American market. They also sampled a Cookie & Cream Malt balls and Honey Butter Almonds that were also delicious. All their products had a delicious taste and engaging packaging. The perfect stocking stuffer at the holidays.
Yummy LOL has the most interesting packaging
Yummy LOL candies had some of the most creative packaging in the candy category. The vibrant colors and the way that the company combines the use of candy as a toy makes this packaging all the more fun. The product was candy and a toy all in one package.
The quality of the candy is very good. The flavors of the candy have a high level of sweetness and I notice sometimes that the Asian made candies have a more intense flavor than their American counterparts. I think it is the use of different fruit flavors being used and the way these taste.
In the Thailand Pavilion, the Sappe products had the top beverage of the show. I have not tasted such refreshing sodas in a long time with such unique flavors. The use of unusual fruits and things like rose petal gave the sodas a bite and a flavor that I had never had before. I loved the Aloe Vera sodas, the Mogu Mogu beverages but the standout of their products was these floral Keaf sodas that were so refreshing and had such a bite to them that they were the perfect accompaniment with any spicy dish.
Keaf Sodas have an amazing and zesty taste to them
The Keaf sodas Relaxing Mood, Day Dreamer and Romantic Date Night flavors when well chilled have refreshing flavor due to all natural ingredients and just the way the tastes combine together. These sodas will not be on the market until next year but should be a huge hit in the specialty soda category. Their sodas were the best at the food show.
Of the American made products that I was most impressed with I have talked about in previous blogs on the food show such as Wein-Chuan Chinese Dim Sum products which are such high quality and taste homemade like they are made in the restaurant. Another was Goodie Girl cookies with their packaging and cookie flavors almost mimic Girl Scout cookies. I have found the high quality and consistency and packaging to be excellent.
Goodie Girl Cookies I have mentioned in past blogs as being a high quality brand of cookies and crackers. These delightful treats remind me of a version of Girl Scout cookies and even the Rep told me everyone gets confused by them. Even the packaging and flavors of the cookies are very similar to the latest versions of the scouts cookies.
The best part about Goodie Girl cookies is that you do not have to wait until once a year to buy them. Their Birthday Cake cookies have a creamy sweetness to them and the Fudge Stripped are a crisp sweet cookie and both can satisfy any sweet tooth.
I spent a lot of time visiting the Wei-Chuan booth at the show during meal times to sample all their products and I highly recommend the whole assortment.
The Wei-Chuan products of Dumplings and Spring rolls
Wei-Chuan is another American based company that makes high quality Chinese-American Dim Sum products. They were sampling two types of dumplings, the Chicken and the Pork along with their delightful crisp Spring rolls. I have always been impressed by the quality and taste of their appetizers. They are a product that are restaurant quality and you would have thought they were made in front of you.
A new standout product that I thought was fun and had a lot of promise was Sweetapolita, a specialty sprinkle set for kid’s parties.
Sweetapolita packaging of their specialty sprinkles for children’s birthday parties I think would be a huge hit with adults as well.
When I talked with the founder of the company, she said that when she used to have parties for her kids and said the best part of the party is when the kids had their own toppings. She said she created the product because she found that kids loved sprinkles and the creativity of decorating their own cakes. She found no product that fulfilled the need the way she wanted it so she imagined her own line and that was how she created her brand.
After the first day of the show, I had covered the whole first floor which is like walking four football fields of food. The SFA sponsored on the first night of the show the ‘Five Boro Block Party’ for all the attendees of the show. I was so stuffed from all the sampling that I had been doing at the show that I had no appetite whatsoever. There was a series of food trucks offering complimentary to all the vendors and attendees’ things like tacos, quesadillas, hot dogs and ice cream. Of all the times that something like this was free.
The Five Boro Block Party at the end of the first night of the show
They gave the attendees who wanted to have something to eat a generous sample of the different ethnic foods. Even though everything looked and smelled delicious, all I could manage after a day of sampling foods was a soft serve ice cream cone with a cherry dipped topping.
The variety of food trucks made for a nice light meal
This gave attendees a chance to socialize after the first long day of the show. They had a great DJ at the food truck festival and an actress walking around as the Statue of Liberty on stilts doing photo ops with all the guests. I thought that was fun evening and stayed for bit before I dragged myself back to Port Authority.
The Statue of Liberty who walked around the show greeting guests
I was so tired and stuffed with food that leaving early was no problem for me. So many of my friends imply that it must be so much fun to sample free food all day. It is a lot of work not to be tempted to try everything and to walk what is about four football fields of different types of food can really throw off your body. Too much of too many different things. I had to walk around the City for a bit before I went home that first day of the show.
I love walking around the City during the early evening
The second day of the food show I was raring to go and started the show on the bottom level of the Jarvis Center, where parts of the show was broken down by category and by country and state not just by product, so it gave me a chance to spend some more time in the country pavilions.
The dumplings or Momo’s were a Nepali dumping that were spicer than than their Chinese counterparts
The Momo’s had a spicer flavor to them due to the chilies in the dough and meats
The selection of Momos had a fiery flavor to them and reflected the colder climate where these types of dumplings originated. They are a different twist to typical Asian food. They used different spices and were hotter than most dumplings I tried at the show.
In the Chinese pavilion, one of the most popular vendors was ACC Foods LLC. The women who worked there were making everything fresh and right in front of us.
ACC Foods out of China had some of the best quality Dim Sum at the show
They had employees making fresh pork dumplings and soup dumplings as we watched and then cooking them fresh as we waited for them to come out of steamers and frying pans.
All the samples for ACC Foods were prepared right in front of us
Everything at this booth was made from scratch and then cooked and served under the heat lamps. Trust me, nothing lasted that long where food sat at this booth. The quality, consistency and taste were all excellent.
In the Taiwan Pavilion, Pocas Foods had some of the most amazing food products from the show
Pocas Foods had a fantastic display of items at the show in both the beverage and the candy categories. I was blown away by the quality of their beverages and flavors of their candies. I have not tasted products that have such a vivid taste and in such unique flavors like melon, pineapple and mango.
The Tik Tok beverages to me were some of the best in show at the Food Show. Not only were each of the flavors I tried delicious, but each had small pieces of gelatin inside the bottles to add another sweet treat to each beverage. These were made in Vietnam.
Their freeze-dried candy was so intensely sweet and crunchy. Such a delicious and unusual candy and with each bite it seems to get sweeter. I loved crunching on these and they are addictive.
Another excellent spread that I had tasted was by Trai foods. This brand of sauces were fiery and flavorful.
Their sauces had amazing taste. They gave me a sample of the Amarillo Pepper to take home and delicious hot sauce added a nice kick to chicken and hot dogs.
There were several small batch snack makers I met in the Innovation and New Products Pavilion on my last day of the show. The popcorn from Little Lad’s was delicious and had flavors that I did not see in the more commercial brands.
Little Lads is a high quality product
The representative from Little Lad’s was so impressed by my comments of his product that he sent me home with a big bag of his Sea Salt & Olive Oil Popcorn which was a delight. I loved the subtle flavor of the popcorn and their was a nice saltiness to it.
Another unique and delicious snack were the Caulipuffs snacks. These puffed snacks were made with dried cauliflower flour and then air puffed into a type of ‘doodle’ snack.
Caulipuffs were a big surprise to me at the Food Show and one of the most delicious snacks. Not only were they lighter than most of the snack foods I sampled but they were flavored so nicely. Both the honey barbecue and the white cheddar had a rich flavor and the had a nice crunch in every bite.
The Jaju Pierogi had delicious fillings and great flavor
I had tried a variety of pierogi at the show, but the brand Jaju stood out the most. These small batch dumplings had a variety of fillings, and the Sweet Potato with the Caramelized Onions had a sweet and savory flavor in every bite. They were also the perfect size for a side dish or a snack and cooked up well.
There were many frozen and fresh pizzas that I sampled at the Food Show but PiOOa Pizza stood out not just for the quality and taste but for the ethical stance they took in the company.
PiOOa pizza frozen pizzas stood out not just for their delicious flavor and consistency in the crust but the owner is deaf, and the company gives opportunities for those who are deaf employment in the company. The staff here works together to create these wonderful frozen pizzas.
One of the friendliest vendors I met were the Mother/Daughter team at Miss Hannah’s Gourmet Popcorn.
The mother/ daughter team behind Miss Hannah’s Gourmet Popcorn
One of the surprising popcorn snacks I sampled was in the New Products Pavilion were the deliciously sweet Miss Hannah’s Tutti Frutti and Caramel Popcorn. Made in small batches by hand it is right now only available online. This decadent popcorn tastes like each individual popped kernel was coated individually with a touch of sweetness in every bite. It’s delicious taste and simple but fun packaging will make a wonderful gift or host present.
The candy from UpTop Treats was very unique both in packaging, taste and in the logo. I thought this was a great product for children especially ones who were interested in the Space Age. The candies were freezes dried fruits that were sweet and crunchy and were the perfect snack for kids. Even this big kid (me), was impressed by the flavor and quality as well as the portion size of the product.
I loved the logo and the little space creature they created for the candy. I told the vendor that these would wonderful to sell in the Natural History and Children’s Museums. This is their get selling point. She had not even thought of that angle for the product. I also liked the little stuffed animal the had and said it was another good selling point.
On my last day of the show, the vendors were trying to get rid of their samples because no one wants to travel home with boxes of samples. The vendor from O Sole Mio was explaining his product to me that it was a refrigerated, fully prepared meal that just needed to be unwrapped, mixed in the enclosed container and then microwaved and served. He offered me two samples and I foolishly took only one. It was delicious and easy to prepare.
The packaging and the dinner I prepared at home
The product was delicious and so easy to to put together. Each part of the entree, the sauce, grilled chicken and the pasta were fully prepared and in their own individual bags. I just put them into the microwaveable container, mixed it up and cooked it for four minutes and dinner was done.
The quality of the entree was excellent and it had a nice creamy rich flavor
I thought the product was a nice alternative to these expensive food kits and if you are in a rush or tired after a long day at work, this is a very nice alternative to eating out.
The best for last was a vendor that I have featured a few times before in my blogs on the Food Show. Featured in the Korean Pavilion, Melona frozen desserts. These were excellent and some of the best frozen ice pops and novelties of the show. These fruit purée ice pops are the best at the Food Show but hard to find at the supermarkets.
They have about a dozen different flavors of ice pops and not your typical flavors. Melona frozen foods have some of the most original and creative flavors like honeydew melon, mango, watermelon, banana and green tea. Their ice cream products, some in the shape of fish which has symbolism in Korea, were filled with vanilla ice cream and fruit syrup wrapped in a sweet rice flower dough. Not just beautiful to look at but delicious in taste.
Melona’s version of an ice cream sandwich filled with Vanilla ice cream and sweet strawberry syrup
The selection of frozen treats by Melona products put other ice cream companies to shame with their unique flavors, beautiful packaging and delicious taste. I had to keep coming back to their booth just to try all the flavors all three days of the show. They could not have been more generous with their samples and their representatives encouraged you to try more.
The New York Fancy Food show had many other quality products to sample and purchase for stores but these were the products that really stood out to me in taste, flavor, packaging and originality in the product itself. If I owned a grocery store, these are the products that I would stock and recommend to customers. In the three days I attended the show, these were my set of winners. They were wonderful in every way.
I will be looking for them in grocery stores soon. I look forward again to the Fancy Food Show in 2025.
The entrance to the Art & Design Gallery at FIT at 227 West 27th Street
The exhibition space showcases the work of students, faculty, and distinguished alumni, as well as invited guest artists. This new gallery space is located at the entrance of the Pomerantz main building and the back room exhibition space. This features smallers theme shows and showcases the talents of the FIT professors, professionals and Alumni. The shows are constantly rotating offering a fresh approach to contemporary art.
The Current Exhibition:
Creative Industry: The Alumni Journey Lobby and Gallery
Diverse in medium, this exhibition spotlights the career trajectories of several illustrious FIT alumni, highlighting their innovations and interesting journeys through the creative industries. Co-curated by Troy Richards…
I don’t know what made me walk into Ooh Baby by Artist Anika Ignozzi at 21 Greenwich Avenue in Greenwich Village but I was curious because of the colors and designs I could see from the window. I met the artist who was hard at work that afternoon and introduced myself as a student at NYU. She looked up and said that she was thinking of taking some business classes at the school.
I looked at her and said that she looked like she already found her calling and made a successful business of it. She was already doing what most business students want to be doing, creating a business, finding their passion in it and making money at it. I told her she was already…
I visited the Mauricetown (pronounced ‘Morristown’ like its northern neighbor) on a trip to visit historical societies in southern New Jersey. Mauricetown comes from the Dutch word ‘Mauritus’ for the Mauritus River that flowed through the town. “Maurice’ is the English version of the word.
The town itself was used for shipping and trade up and down the East Coast and between 1830 and 1902, 61 ships were built in the boatyard in the village. The home that the Society is housed in is one of many ship captains homes that was built on this side of town being closer to the river for the other ship captains. Founded in…
The Atlantic County Historical Society at 907 Shore Avenue
The Atlantic County Historical Society
I recently visited the historical sites of Somers Point and took my time to tour the Atlantic County Historical Society, which tells the story of life in Atlantic County from the beginnings to today with a major concentration the early history of the County with the Native American Lenape Indians and into the late 1700’s and 1800’s with the founding of the town, the Revolutionary and Civil Wars, shipbuilding, fishing and the start of the Victorian Age. Each floor has interesting displays that sometimes have been over-decorated with too many objects.
When you walk in the door, you enter the library where people study the history of the town and…
I have to share this new snack I found on the grocery shelf. These puffs are amazing! I love munching on these for my walks.
The Cheddar and Sour Cream puffs are the best!
Don’t miss these treats when shopping for the home. They are gluten free and Kosher for those of you who have dietary restrictions. They also taste so good!
I recently came across Munch Rights snacks on a recent trip to Dollar Tree and have enjoyed the quality and taste of the three flavors that I have tried. Going from bag to bag I wanted to try them more.
First what I like about the Munch Rights snacks is that they have 0 trans fats, very low in saturated fats and low in calories. For people with special dietary concerns, the snacks are gluten free (due to their corn meal base) and Kosher. These guilty pleasures are a welcome to someone who absolutely loves Fried Extra Cheddar Cheetos. The problem I have like most snackers is that once I open the bag, I have to eat the whole thing because they are so addictive. Munch Rights takes that guilt away.
Don’t miss this interesting student dining experience from the Culinary students at Bergen Community College.
The Bergen Room for the Thanksgiving Dinner buffet.
Don’t miss the student run dining room, “The Bergen Room Bistro” at Bergen Community College for a four-course meal priced at $12.00. It’s a great dining experience.
One of the table set ups for our Team Project “Feasting at the Bergen Room: The Ultimate Dining Experience”.
Our class field trip to the Bergen Room
The Project: “Dining at the Bergen Room: The Ultimate Dining Experience”:
The Bergen Room Bistro is the student run dining room that is part of the Hotel Management Program. The dining room is open depending on the semester. The restaurant is serves both lunch and dinner depending on the semester. The restaurant is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the school year.
The Hotel Management Program at Bergen Community College
For $10.00 you get a four course meal cooked and served by the students. You are served a soup or a salad to begin with freshly baked breads that are made by the Baking students.
The Hotel & Restaurant Students
You are next served an appetizer, a choice of two entrees, one a meat and the other a fish dish…
mywalkinmanhattan 