The French Pastry School adds instructor

Pastry chef Joshua Johnson

The French Pastry School of Chicago added pastry chef Joshua Johnson to its faculty as a chef-instructor, where he will teach in the school's 24-week certificate program, L'Art de la Pâtisserie, starting in January 2010. He will teach the chocolate theory, technique and confectionery part of the program and will teach in the Continuing Education program.

Before joining The French Pastry School, Johnson co-founded and co-owned Cocoa Bean Fine Desserts in Geneva, Ill., for several years. He worked for several years at the Ritz-Carlton Four Seasons Hotel in Chicago with French Pastry School co-founder Sébastien Canonne, MOF, In 2003, he helped Canonne prepare for the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (Best Craftsman in France) competition. Canonne was awarded the title in 2004. He also has worked at François Payard's patisserie, Payard in New York City.

CIA launches Manager-In-Training program for select graduates

Thirty graduates of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) are working at the college as managers-in-training in various kitchens and dining rooms. The new manager-in-training (MIT) program at the CIA expands upon the previous graduate fellowship and teaching assistant programs. MITs include both recent graduates and those who have spent more time in the industry.

"The term 'manager-in-training' is recognized throughout the foodservice industry. Employers know that the CIA is providing further education to truly prepare these select alumni to be managers and leaders," Jennifer Purcell, associate dean for restaurant education and coordinator of the program, said in a press statement. "Our graduate fellows and teaching assistants shared with us that they wanted more education and more depth to enhance their training. We are now providing that depth."

Purcell says the program is very hands-on, as participants work side-by-side with a faculty mentor and assist in supervising the efficient function of operations in their designated area. To successfully fulfill their duties in the program, each manager-in-training must complete self-directed learning modules and demonstrate they have met specific educational objectives. There are also opportunities for these graduates to earn professional development certifications.

During their one-year terms, managers-in-training are employees of the CIA. (As fellows and teaching assistants, they were considered students.) They can apply for additional stints as managers-in-training in other areas of the college.

"It is both a leadership opportunity and a great way to continue my education in an area that interests me," says Kevin McCann, 30, an MIT in Meat Fabrication. The Syracuse, NY native hopes to soon open an Internet-based sausage company. "I work with meat and charcuterie every day. I would never be able to get this much hands-on experience working with any other butcher. This is as much a part of my education as anything I've done at the CIA."

Managers-in-training at the CIA are working in the kitchen and dining rooms of all five public restaurants on the college's Hyde Park, NY campus; the baking and pastry arts department; Quantity Food Production classes; Meat Fabrication; and Seafood Fabrication.

Kevin McCann '09 (left), manager-in-training at the CIA, works closely with associate professor Thomas Schneller in the college's Meat Fabrication room. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

NACE expanding scholarship program

The Foundation of the National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) has expanded its Vince DeFinis Scholarship program for undergraduate students and will award two $10,000 scholarships at the 2010 NACE annual convention, July 25 to 28 in Austin, Texas.

The scholarship recipients also will receive complimentary student membership in NACE. In order to be eligible for the scholarship, students must maintain a 3.0 grade point average and be enrolled full time (12 credits or more) in a accredited hospitality, culinary or related program. Students must have completed 60 credits to be eligible. The application deadline is April 1. The winners will be selected April 30. For more information, visit www.nace.net/cs/foundation_scholarship_2009.

Kendall College to host Share Our Strength dinner

On Nov. 2, Kendall College's School of Culinary Arts will hold a tasting dinner and auction to benefit Share Our Strength (SOS). The event is part of SOS' A Tasteful Pursuit, a touring dinner series taking place in cities across the country to raise funds to help end childhood hunger in America.

Dean of the School of Culinary Arts Christopher Koetke, chef-instructor Massimo Bosco and dining room instructor Steve Grand Pre will host the event, which will feature a multi-course meal from well-known chefs and wines from guest sommelier Angela Roman, the wine director at The Signature Room at The 95th in Chicago. The featured chefs are: Kendall alum Steven Chiappetti, Viand, Chicago; Kendall alum Matt McMillin, 3Sixty Dining Intelligence; Kendall alum Mindy Segal, Hot Chocolate, Chicago; Kendall alum Kristine Subido, Wave, W Hotel Lakeshore, Chicago; and Andy Husbands, Tremont 647 and Sister Sorel, Boston.

The event begins with a reception and silent auction at 6 p.m. in The Dining Room at Kendall. Click here for more information or to order tickets.

Best of military foodservice members attend CIA education program

During the third annual Armed Forces Forum for Culinary Excellence, 21 top Air Force Airmen and four Marines from around the world were selected to spend the week of Oct. 3 to 10 refining and expanding their culinary skills at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone, St. Helena, Calif., working under CIA chefs Thomas Wong and Victor Scargle. This annual forum is sponsored by the Hennessy Travelers Association Educational Foundation. The 25 Airmen and Marines were selected during their service's foodservice excellence evaluation program--the John L. Hennessey Awards Program for the Air Force, the Major General W.P. T. Hill Award for the Marine Corp and the Senior Master Sergeant Kenneth Disney Award for the Air National Guard.

(l to r) Air Force Senior Airman Clabirel Najera-Torres and Marine Corporal Michael Williams

During the forum, the students attended lectures in the morning followed by intensive hands-on preparation of complex recipes in the Greystone kitchens, which were then critiqued by the CIA chefs. At the end of the week, the Airmen and Marines were each awarded diplomas. For more information on the event, visit www.hennessyaward.org.

(l to r) Hennessy Travelers Association president Carmen Anthony Vacalebre, Air Force Senior Airman Angel Ramirez and CIA chef Thomas Wong

Delmar releases latest book in Kitchen Pro Series

Delmar Cengage Learning has published Poultry: Identification, Fabrication and Utilization, by chef Thomas Schneller, the third book in the Kitchen Pro Series from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).
Poultry describes both time-honored and state-of-the-art methods of identifying species and cuts, purchasing, fabricating and storing of a wide range of poultry ranging from domestically raised turkey and duck to quail, poussin and wild birds. This full-color, hard-bound text is designed for culinary students, instructors, chefs, foodservice managers, purchasing agents, suppliers, vendors, retailers and food enthusiasts. It demonstrates basic preparation methods and tested recipes reflecting classic and contemporary cooking in a step-by-step format.

For culinary instructors, each subject component in the Kitchen Pro Series comes with an instructor's manual, which provides review and test questions, course outline, teaching tips and guidelines, objectives and key terms. The first two books published in the Kitchen Pro Series were Fish and Seafood and Meat. Schneller, an associate professor at the CIA, also wrote Meat. The final three books in the series will be released later this year and next. For more information, visit www.culinary.delmar.com.

HCCC lecture series begins with Buddy Valastro

For the first of a series of free lectures, Hudson County Community College (HCCC) will host Buddy Valastro, fourth-generation baker and owner of Carlo's City Hall Bake Shop in Hoboken, N.J., on Nov. 19. The theme of this year's series is Reaching New Heights. The other speakers, due to appear early next year, are: Michael Eric Dyson, author and cultural observer; and actress Rita Moreno.

Valastro's lecture begins at 6:00 p.m. at HCCC's Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center. For more information on the HCCC Lecture Series, please visit the college's Web site.

Baker Buddy Valastro and his bakery are the stars of "The Cake Boss," a show that premiered on The Learning Channel last spring