Sullivan University students cook for U.S. Olympic athletes in Beijing

Sullivan University students, in Beijing to cook for U.S. Olympic athletes and sponsors at the 2008 Olympics, tour the Great Wall of China: (l to r, front row) Kelly Kamin, April Gregory, Marcus Jefferson, Ben Marine; (l to r, middle row) Sullivan’s Professional Catering Chair Kimberley Jones, Kyle McDaniel, Rachelle Hyder; (l to r, back row): Josh Sperry, Brian Abbott, Darnell Ferguson, Nate Gibson.

NRAEF and CKSF create new scholarship opportunities

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), in partnership with the Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation (CKSF), is pleased to announce the launch of the new NRAEF Restaurant Management Scholarship Quiz for current undergraduate students pursuing a degree in the restaurant/foodservice industry. Unlike the NRAEF’s other scholarships, the partnership with CKSF will allow students to compete for scholarship dollars via monthly online multiple-choice quizzes that cover topics related to the restaurant and foodservice industry. Quiz content is taken from the ManageFirst Program, a college-level restaurant and foodservice management program from National Restaurant Association Solutions.

At the end of a monthly scholarship contest, scholarship recipients will be chosen based on their scores on a 15-to-25-question quiz focusing on restaurant management. The 10 students with the highest scores will each win a $500 scholarship award. For the remainder of 2008 and throughout 2009, $60,000 in scholarships will be awarded.

The BCA brings together students and NYC chefs

At the fifth annual Global Food and Wine Experience, held Tuesday, Sept. 23, at New York City’s Tavern on the Green, the BCA (formerly known as the Black Culinarian Alliance) paired more than 50 chefs and wine merchants from the city’s finest food and beverage establishments with minority culinary students from area schools.

“We are pleased to partner with the BCA to offer these kinds of opportunities to young students of color in the culinary field,” said exhibitor Sue Torres, owner of Sueños Restaurant.

Participating schools in the program included the Culinary Training Institute, Food Service Training Academy of New Jersey, Monroe College, South Bronx Job Corps, Culinary Academy of NY/LI, Art Institute of New York and the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE).

“This event [was] incredibly important to increase the awareness of these opportunities within the wine and beverage industry,” said Alex Askew, president of the BCA, which was established in 1998 as a national not-for-profit organization devoted to the enhancement of professional and educational opportunities for people of color within the culinary and hospitality
industries.

Other participating restaurants/exhibitors included Il Porto, Melba’s Restaurant, Hudson River Café, The Seasoned Pot, Calle Ocho and Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge.

The Culinary Vegetable Institute teams up with Lorain JVS Vocational School

A future generation of chefs played in The Chef’s Garden soil and The Culinary Vegetable Institute kitchen recently as part of an educational, team-building exercise. The aspiring culinarians, 45 high school seniors (two of which are pictured here) from the Lorain County Joint Vocational School Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts programs, visited the Northern Ohio farm and chef retreat as part of an annual field trip.

“The goal of this trip is to get these students energized for the year,” said chef Chris Moore, instructor for the school’s pastry arts program. Moore and chef Tim Michitsch, who runs the Culinary Arts portion of the program, arranged the event and accompanied their students.

On the first day of the two-day experience, half of the students toured the fields and greenhouses of The Chef’s Garden specialty product farm, while the other half worked in the kitchen to cook a lunch for their fellow students (see picture below) with the help of Culinary Vegetable Institute chef Johannes Klapdohr, who created the lunch menu. On the second day, the groups switched roles.

ACF president receives leadership award

The American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) national president John Kinsella, CMC, CCE, WGMC, AAC, of Cincinnati, was honored at the Annual American Academy of Chefs (AAC) Dinner, hosted by the ACF Philadelphia Chapter on Sept. 22.

“John’s career has been dedicated to elevating the fields of culinary arts and education, along with his relentless drive to develop young talent,” AAC chair Tom Macrina, CEC, CCA, AAC, said in a press release. “Our chapter is proud to recognize him as our 2008 honoree. He is an outstanding figure in our industry.”

Kinsella is a distinguished leader, published author and an internationally recognized culinary figure, educator and businessman. He is one of only 61 ACF-certified master chefs in the country, a master chef of the City and Guilds of London Institute, as well as an ACF-certified culinary educator and a member of the American Academy of Chefs.

Irena Chalmers’ new book, Food Jobs, hits shelves

Looking for a resource to help culinary students land that perfect job in the food world ? Then be sure to pick up Irena Chalmers’ new book, Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers (Beaufort Books; $19.95/paperback). Chalmers, a Chef Magazine columnist, CIA instructor and highly respected food-industry guru, has words of wisdom for anyone who has ever considered turning a passion for food into a career.

Food Jobs is packed with profiles of fabulous (and funny) foodservice career options—from chef, caterer and bed-and-breakfast owner to wedding cake designer, specialty-food retailer and food photographer to the holy-cow-I-can-get-paid-for-that? (Think yacht chef, chewing gum taster, fortune cookie message writer.) Food Jobs draws from numerous sources—stories from celebrities, quotations, recommended books, Web sites, and information and advice—to put the reader ahead of the competition.

The book describes which professional school to choose, what jobs are available, and where and how to find them. It bursts with real-life wisdom from those who’ve been there, including luminaries such as Alice Waters, Chris Kimball, Betty Fussell and Darra Goldstein, and premier chefs Bobby Flay, Todd English, Gordon Hamersly, Francois Payard, Danny Meyer, Anthony Bourdain and many more.

R.H. Forschner by Victorinox sponsors ACF Convention

R.H. Forschner by Victorinox, world renowned for its professional-grade cutlery, recently participated as a sponsor in the 2008 American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Convention in Las Vegas.

At the convention, an awards ceremony was held to honor various ACF members for their superior performance in several categories. As part of the R.H. Forschner by Victorinox sponsorship, winners of specific categories at the event were awarded R.H. Forschner by Victorinox chef’s sets, containing more than 20 pieces of cutlery and other implements. The winners of R.H. Forschner chef’s sets included: U.S.A.’s Chef of the Year Russell Scott III; National Pastry Chef of the Year R. Andrew Chlebana II, CEPC; National Chef Educator of the Year Wilfred Beriau (pictured, left, with Frank Curty, national accounts manager, R.H. Forschner by Victorino), CEC, CCE, AAC; Chef Professionalism Award winner Charles Carroll, CEC, AAC; Hermann G. Rusch Chef’s Achievement Award winner Roland Schaeffer, CEC, AAC, HOF; Student Culinarian of the Year JohnMichael F. Lynch; and National Student Team Champions Jeff Albers, Michael Castillo, Eva Raquel del Pilar Castanon, Gabriel Gomez, Robert Morales and coach Alex Darvishi, CEC.