In this episode of ADK Talks, we sit down with Chef Robert Dumas, Director of the Institute of Adventure, Hospitality, and Food at Paul Smith’s College.

Chef Dumas brings a remarkable perspective to the table. His career has taken him from washing dishes in a neighborhood Chinese restaurant to cooking aboard a Navy submarine, serving at the White House, teaching at the collegiate level, and now helping shape the next generation of culinary and hospitality professionals in the Adirondacks.

What does “adventure hospitality” mean? At Paul Smith’s, it’s where food, lodging, recreation, and the natural world meet. Chef Dumas shares how the college’s culinary, baking, hospitality, and resort management programs are rooted in hands-on learning, local food systems, and the unique setting of the Adirondack Park.

What you’ll hear in this episode

• How Paul Smith’s College is training chefs for today’s hospitality world.
• Chef Dumas’s path from New Orleans kitchens to the Navy, the White House, and higher education.
• Why local farms, regional ingredients, and seasonality matter in culinary training.
• What students learn from visiting Adirondack producers and cooking with local ingredients.
• How kitchen leadership has changed, and why today’s students respond to teaching, purpose, and respect.
• What visitors should look for in a great Adirondack dining experience.
• A peek inside Paul Smith’s student-run bakery and restaurant, plus plans for future lakefront dining.
• Why Paul Smith’s VIC and the St. Regis Canoe Area are among Chef Dumas’s favorite Adirondack places.

Resources:

• Paul Smith’s College Culinary Management
• Paul Smith’s College
• Paul Smith’s Visitor Interpretive Center
• Adirondack Harvest
• Deer’s Head Inn 
• Juniper Hill Farm
• Harmony Hills Farmstead
• Farmer Ground Flour
• Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation

Produced by NOVA