HCCC to hold memorial celebration for chef James Crowley

Hudson County Community College (HCCC), Jersey City, N.J., will hold a memorial reception on Jan. 14 in honor of James Paul "Jimbo" Crowley, a former chef-instructor at HCCC who passed away on Dec. 12, 2009.

A Newark, N.J. native, Crowley earned his degree in culinary arts from HCCC's Culinary Arts Institute. He also was awarded the title of Certified Executive Chef and Certified Culinary Educator from the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Institute and received his New Jersey teaching certification from St. Peter's College in Jersey City.

During his career, he served as executive chef at Silver Creek Country Club in Hellertown, Pa.; Shackamaxon Country Club in Scotch Plains, N.J.; and Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, N.J. He worked adjunct instructor at HCCC from 1995 through 2007 and most recently was a chef-instructor at West Side High School in Newark. Crowley was a board member and past president of the Northern New Jersey Chapter of the ACF, and collaborated with HCCC on several trainings and competitions through ACF.

The reception will take place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in the school's Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center. There is no charge for admission to the reception, though attendees are encouraged to make donations to fund a scholarship that has been established in Crowley's name.

Announcing an exciting new class for the FENI Summit

The 12th Annual FENI Educators Summit

February 12-15 in Chicago
www.fenisummit.com

The premier culinary education event for over 11 years

NEW: CMB-taught Master Class focusing on whole-grain baking

Boost the nutritional content in your baked goods without sacrificing texture or taste! Learn how to put your mainstream products on the whole-grain track, with instruction from Certified Master Baker (CMB) Chef Manfred Schmidtke. FENI attendees will explore how to bring whole-grain nutrition to pastries, cookies, pizza and laminate dough applications using Ultragrain®, the revolutionary, all-natural whole wheat flour with the look, taste and texture of refined white flour.

Sunday, Feb. 14, 1:45-4:45 p.m.
Explore Whole-Grain Baking with a Certified Master Baker
(lecture/demo/hands-on)
Chef Manfred Schmidtke, CMB, CEPC, Lincoln Culinary Institute
Sponsored by ConAgra Mills

For more information or to register for the FENI Summit, visit www.fenisummit.com TODAY!

About Chef Manfred Schmidtke
Manfred Schmidtke, CEPC, CMB, developed his passion for baking began at a young age in a small town in Northern Germany. He pursued an apprenticeship in baking and pastry in Germany from Master Pastry Chef Karl Menke. After successful completion of his apprenticeship, Schmidtke expanded his culinary horizons by traveling the globe to gain extensive baking and pastry experience in cities such as London, Jakarta, Rome, Sydney, New York and Philadelphia. In Philadelphia, he was executive pastry chef for the William Penn Inn Country Club and later opened his own European-style pâtisserie. Several years later, Schmidtke relocated to South Florida and became a pastry chef-instructor at Florida Culinary Institute (now the Lincoln Culinary Institute) in West Palm Beach. He has since been promoted to Department Chair of the International Baking and Pastry program. Schmidtke's accomplishments include achieving the title Certified Master Baker in 1997, receiving a leadership award in industry service in 1999 and attaining the title of Certified Executive Pastry Chef through the American Culinary Federation in 2003.

ICTI World Summit: Calling all academics

The International Culinary Tourism Institute (ICTI) is accepting submissions from academics who want to present their culinary tourism industry research at the 2010 Culinary Tourism Thought Leadership World Summit taking place Sept. 18 to 23 at the World Trade and Convention Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

ICTI is seeking research relating to culinary tourism, wine tourism and industry trends. It can be completed research, current research or research that will be completed by September. The selected applicants will discuss their findings during 30-minute presentations on Sept. 20 and Sept. 21 during the summit.

The deadline is Jan. 30. Click here for more information.

CA Wild Rice: It's time to Rumble

Chefs in training are invited to compete in The California Wild Rice Rocks My World Recipe Rumble, a recipe contest featuring wild rice and wild rice blends. The contest, sponsored by the California Wild Rice Advisory Board (CWRAB), is open to culinary students and culinary professionals living in California and Nevada.

A total of $5,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winners. The recipe categories are starters, salads and sides. Prizes will also be awarded for best recipe photo. The grand prize winner will receive $1,500.

Submissions are due no later than Feb. 28, and CWRAB will announce the winners by March 31. For more information including entry forms, visit www.cawildrice.com.

RCF announces two new scholarships

The Research Chefs Foundation (RCF), the educational outreach arm of the Research Chefs Association (RCA), has added two new scholarships to be funded by CuliNex LLC. The CuliNex Organic and Natural Foods Culinology Scholarship is a $4,000 higher education scholarship for qualified individuals who show interest in developing organic and natural foods. The CuliNex Certified Research Chef (CRC) and Certified Culinary Scientists (CCS) Scholarship will provide financial assistance in the form of up to two $550 scholarships in 2010 for qualified professionals who meet the certification eligibility criteria. These scholarships are funded by Mark Crowell, CRC, who founded CuliNex in 2005.

"Education is at the heart of the RCA's mission," Crowell said in a statement. "My career has benefited greatly from Culinology and I hope these scholarships will encourage students to pursue a Culinology degree and career. ... I want to encourage members already practicing Culinology to take that extra step to increase their competitiveness. Certification credentials have proven invaluable to me in sending a strong signal of professionalism to employers and the development community. Lastly, I am hopeful this gift will spur others to support the RCF's mission in providing financial assistance to qualified students and professionals."

For more information or to apply, visit www.culinology.com/scholarship-opportunities.

'Culinary Nutrition News' sets '10 resolutions

In the January issue of "Culinary Nutrition News: Nutrition Resolutions for 2010," nutrition experts discuss important nutrition topics for the new year. The three-page article, presented by the American Culinary Federation Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) and Clemson University, Clemson, S.C., is now available for download at www.acfchefs.org/CNN.

The article outlines several topics that include nutrition for the baby boomer generation, healthful cooking and nutritional ingredient substitution and balancing the plate. The authors also share the results from a 2009 nutrition survey of ACF chefs.

The February “Culinary Nutrition News” article will be posted online Feb. 8. Visit www.acfchefs.org/CNN for more information.

Attain your New Year's Resolutions at the 12th Annual FENI Summit!

12th Annual Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI) Educators Summit February 12 to 15, 2010

Chicago, IL
www.fenisummit.com

New year, new goals!
It's that time of year again when we all make resolutions. Perhaps your goal is to bring avant garde techniques into your classroom. Or find new inspiration in international cuisines. Or master advanced baking and pastry skills. Or learn new ways of connecting to and motivating your students.

Our goal at Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI) is to help you attain yours. Attend the 12th Annual FENI Educators Summit next month to reach your goals in professional development and continuing education--including earning CEUs--through FENI's offerings of more than 30 Master Classes by acclaimed educators and world-famous culinarians!

Charlie Trotter, chef/owner of Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago, will speak at FENI on "Lessons in Leadership."

You won't want to miss out on all these great FENI Summit events:

• SPEAKERS Celebrity Chef Charlie Trotter and Kendall College's Dean, Chef Christopher Koetke
• Reception and awards ceremony for Educators of the Year
• Poster board presentations on the latest developments in culinary education
• Panel discussion, breakout sessions and roundtable sessions
• Silent auction to benefit French Pastry School's For the Love of Chocolate scholarship foundation
• Info fair and exhibits with products and resources for the culinary classroom
• Green and sustainable tour at Hotel Allegro (optional; free)
• City of Chicago Culinary Tour and Luncheon (optional; additional fee)
  

Make the first step toward achieving your goals in 2010: Visit www.fenisummit.com TODAY to register. Master Classes are filling up fast, so don't delay!