OCCI to host two summer culinary competitions

The Oregon Coast Culinary Institute (OCCI) will be hosting two culinary competitions on back-to-back days this summer.

The Bay Area Chef’s Association of Southern Oregon will present Cold Salon on July 31. The event is sanctioned by the American Culinary Federation (ACF). Contestants will present cold platter, pastry desserts, buffet showpieces and other dishes for judging. The OCCI-hosted event offers setup at 7 a.m. and judging at 10 a.m. Applications and an entry fee ($50 for ACF members, $100 for non-ACF members) are required for participants. The deadline to submit the registration form (PDF available here) is July 10.

The next day, Aug. 1, OCCI will host the ACF-sanctioned Albacore Tuna Cooking Competition. Competitors will receive one whole 12- to 15-pound albacore tuna. They need to provide the rest of the ingredients to complete ten portions of their signature dish--three portions for the judging panel, one for photography and six for the public to consume at the event. Competitors must provide their own equipment and china. They will have two hours to complete their dishes--one hour, 50 minutes for cooking and a 10 minute window for plating and serving. Competitors must provide recipes for their signature dish at the time of the event. These may be used in promotional material by the Oregon Albacore Commission. An entry fee ($50 for ACF members, $100 for non-ACF members) and a registration form (PDF available here) are required. Awards will include ACF medals, trophies and $1,000 in cash prizes.

For more information about either event, contact chef Tom Roberts at (541) 888-1545.

International Gold & Silver Plate Society awards internship stipend

The International Gold & Silver Plate Society awarded East Carolina University Department of Hospitality Management senior Timothy Stewart Smith a $1,000 stipend to help finance the cost of his internship this summer at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C.

Criteria for the internship stipend include consistently high academic achievement, financial need and a strong commitment to a career in hospitality management. The Gold & Silver Plate Awards program, sponsored by the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association, helps develop industry programs and projects that emphasize the need for improved education and training in the next generation of foodservice industry leaders.

CSU launches hospitality initiative

The California State University (CSU) system has partnered with hospitality industry leaders to launch a Hospitality Industry Initiative, which aims to create excitement about career opportunities in the hospitality industry and prepare the industry's next generation of managers.

California's hospitality industry accounts for more than 5 percent of the state's Gross Domestic Product and provides jobs for approximately 10 percent of the workforce, according to data from CSU.

On May 29, the CSU and industry executives held the inaugural meeting of the Hospitality Industry Advisory Board to discuss industry trends and workforce expectations. Fourteen of the 23 CSU campuses are taking part in the initiative. Participating board members include:

• Bob Alter, executive chairman and CEO of Sunstone Hotel Investors;
• Bruce Baltin, senior vice president of PKF Consulting;
• Caroline Beteta, CEO of the California Travel and Tourism Commission;
• Paul J. Brown, president of Global Brands and Services for Hilton Hotels Corp.;
• Jim Burba, president of Burba Hotel Network;
• Jot Condie, CEO of the California Restaurant Association;
• Tom Davin, CEO of Panda Restaurant Group;
• Daniel Haag, president of Sysco Los Angeles;
• Jeff King, co-founder and chairman of King's Seafood Co.;
• Mark S. Liberman, president of LA Inc.;
• Lynn S. Mohrfeld, CEO and president of the California Hotel & Lodging Association;
• Robert Martin, tribal chairman of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians;
• J. Michael Ortiz, president of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona; and
  
• Julia Stewart, chair and CEO of DineEquity Inc.
  

Chefs of Grey Poupon culinary competition results

Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) student Kamal Rose (above left, with Dave Wilcox of Kraft Foodservice) was awarded a $20,000 culinary scholarship by Kraft Foodservice for winning the 2009 Chefs of Grey Poupon Student Culinary Competition, held on May 6, 2009, at the Chopping Block in downtown Chicago. Rose won the grand prize with his original recipe, Crisp Chicken Duo with Dijon and Hazelnut Crust, Morel Jus Lié, Baby Beets, Wilted Greens and Fines Herbes Salad (pictured below), and his surprise Mystery Basket Challenge dish, Cheese Bacon Crumble.

Now in its fourth year, the Chefs of Grey Poupon program was developed to celebrate the accomplishments of chefs who embody the spirit of culinary creativity and to spread the inspiration of Grey Poupon mustard (see previous post on Stirrings, the blog for CET's sister publication Chef Magazine). A student culinary competition was added to the program three years ago to inspire the great chefs of tomorrow, and to strengthen the partnerships Kraft Foodservice has with the nation’s top culinary schools. The judges for the student competition were the three 2009 Chefs of Grey Poupon: Tim Curci, co-founder of Bonefish Grill; Christopher Cristiano, corporate executive chef of Fox Restaurant Concepts; and Lenny Scranton, CEC, vice president of culinary of Morrison Healthcare Food Services.

Rose, who will start his second year at ICE in New York City in July 2009, moved to Brooklyn, N.Y., from the tiny island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean when he was 15 years old. During high school, Rose participated in a four-month externship at Tribeca Grill, which five years later led to his current position as sous chef at the restaurant under executive chef Stephen Lewondowski.

(l to r) Kamal Rose presents his winning dish to Christopher Cristiano, Lenny Scranton and Tim Curci, the competition judges and 2009 Chefs of Grey Poupon.

“The $20,000 scholarship from Kraft Foodservice makes a big difference in my future,” Rose said in a recent press release. “I can focus on getting the most out of my classes at school and receiving the education that will allow me to achieve my dreams.”

Three other culinary students from top culinary schools across the nation also went home with scholarship prizes: Dion Jumapao, a first-year student at Kendall College, received a $5,000 scholarship for second place; Roy Sloan, a first-year student at The Culinary Institute of America, took third place and a $3,000 scholarship for his recipe; and fourth-year Johnson & Wales University student William Long took fourth place and a $2,000 scholarship for his recipe.

For more details about the Chefs of Grey Poupon program--the 2009 chefs, student winners and original recipes--please visit www.chefsofgreypoupon.com.

Hass Avocado Board culinary instruction CD

The Hass Avocado Board (HAB)--who, on behalf of 20,000 producers and 100 importers, works to ensure the brand value of fresh domestic and imported Hass avocados sold in the United States--recently released an updated Hass Avocado Culinary Instruction Kit CD.

The instructional CD aims to boost your knowledge of the Fresh Hass Avocado and give your operation (or culinary curriculum) a leg up on the competition with creative, nutritious menu ideas. Become familiar with the various ripeness stages and the optimum cooking procedures to use at each stage: from fresh to deep-fried to broiled applications.

The Fresh Hass Avocado is the most widely consumed avocado on the market. Easy to peel and available year-round, this oval-shaped fruit has a smooth, nutty taste that accents and complements cuisine from Asia to the Mediterranean to the Americas. Teach your students how to work with avocados and experience why Fresh Hass Avocado is the preferred avocado for menu creations.

For a free copy of the Culinary Instruction Kit CD, contact the HAB at (949) 341-3250.

Executive chef stays the course, earns City Tech degree after seven years

(photo by Alberto Vargas)

Feliberto (Fili) Estevez, executive chef at New York's historic Gracie Mansion, was one of more than 1,000 graduating seniors who participated in New York City College of Technology's 69th commencement, held June 1 at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Balancing his education and professional life, Estevez--pictured here with with his professor and mentor Lynda Dias (hospitality management)--graduated seven years after first enrolling at the college.

Estevez, whose mother flew up from the Dominican Republic to attend his graduation, was awarded an associate degree. He plans to continue his studies in pursuit of his bachelor's degree and would eventually like to become a teacher himself.

Unilever chef receives honorary doctorate

Unilever Foodsolutions executive chef Steven Jilleba, CMC, CCE, AAC, received an honorary Doctor of Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University in Denver, on May 23. Jilleba, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., is a 33-year foodservice industry veteran and one of only 61 Certified Master Chefs in the world.

Chef Steven Jilleba

Jilleba is a member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), American Academy of Chefs (AAC) and World Association of Chefs' Societies (WACS). He manages ACF Culinary Team USA for the 2009-2012 term. Among the awards he has received are: the AAC Chair’s Medal in 2008, the ACF Regional Chef of the Year in 2001, the ACF Regional Chef Professionalism Award in 2000 and the Herman Rusch Lifetime Achievement Award for the central region.

For the past three years, Jilleba has worked directly with the Culinary Institute of America on behalf of Unilever Foodsolutions to co-produce and host the Savoring The Best of World Flavors DVD series, which received the James Beard Foundation award for best Webcast in 2007 and 2009.