International Culinary Tourism Association announces resources for Certified Culinary Tourism Professional program

Students of the International Culinary Tourism Association's Certified Culinary Tourism Professional Program are now able to listen to recorded interviews from industry professionals who are able to give them first hand information about the ins and outs of the culinary tourism industry. Included in these interviews are such culinary tourism professionals as:

• Tommy Klauber, chef/owner, Polo Bar and Grill and Fête Catering, Lakewood Ranch, Fla. - Dine Category
• Pamela Sheldon Johns, owner, Food Artisans, Italy - Culinary Education Category
  
• Sean Doucet, executive chef, Delta Halifax and Delta Barrington, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Culinary Lodging Category
• Renee Areng, executive vice president of sales & marketing, Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Baton Rouge, La. - Destinations Category
• Robert O'Keefe, executive producer and partnership marketing executive, Vegas Uncork'd, Las Vegas - Culinary Events Category

For more information on the CCTP program, visit www.culinarytourism.org.

USA Rice introduces teaching tool for chef educators

The USA Rice Federation has introduced "U.S. Rice in the Culinary Classroom: A Complete Guide for Food Educators and Professionals," a rice curriculum for culinary educators. The tool includes all the essential information for teaching culinary students how rice is grown; its role in foodservice operations and international cuisine; and how to properly select, cook and handle rice.

The learning tool is divided into four modules that include objectives, lesson plans, activities, topic content and review and quiz questions. Educators can use each module individually to complement their own syllabus or together to form a complete curriculum. The tool also includes PowerPoint presentations on with video clips from cooking demonstrations.

"U.S. Rice in the Culinary Classroom" and the accompanying PowerPoints can be downloaded from www.menurice.com/teachingtool.

DePaul University opens hospitality school

DePaul University in Chicago opened the doors to its School for Hospitality Leadership at the university's College of Commerce on Sept. 9. The curriculum includes hotel, wine and casino management courses.

The college received a $7.5 million gift last fall from the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to establish the school, which will prepare students for management jobs at hotels, restaurants, convention and tourism ventures, spas and related leisure industries. The school is offering an undergraduate major in hospitality leadership this fall and plans to introduce additional majors, an international study program and a hospitality research center in the future. Chris Roberts, director of the School for Hospitality Leadership, took the helm of the school in July. Roberts has 20 years of hospitality experience.

Other new faculty members include Misty Johanson, who comes from the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality at Georgia State University; Michael Lynch, director of loyalty marketing and market research for Lettuce Entertain You's 65 restaurants; Barry A.N. Bloom, principal of Abacus Lodging Investors LLC, a private equity firm focused on hospitality industry investments; and adjunct faculty member Mary Beth Leone, who worked for 18 years in hotel and tourism management.

For more information, visit hospitality.depaul.edu.

New book helps hospitality professionals identify trends

Amid a time of continued economic uncertainty, a new book published by the American Hotel & Lodging Association's (AHLA) Educational Institute will help hospitality industry executives anticipate trends that are likely to affect the hospitality and travel industry. Hospitality 2015: The Future of Hospitality and Travel, by Marvin J. Cetron, Frederick DeMicco and Owen Davies, offers a primer of business forecasting and details 55 specific trends and how they likely will affect restaurants, tourism, airlines, the cruise industry, meetings and expositions in the next several years.


The book is available from AHLA's Educational Institute. For more information, visit www.ahlei.org.

Sullivan U presents chef Daniel Orr with Distinguished Visiting Chef award

Sullivan University's National Center for Hospitality Studies presented chef and cookbook author Daniel Orr, of FARMbloomington in Bloomington, Ind., with the Distinguished Visiting Chef award at an award presentation on Aug. 27.

(l to r) Sullivan University NCHS director Tom Hickey presented chef Daniel Orr with the Distinguished Visiting Chef Award. NCHS Professional Catering Department chair Kimberly Jones and Culinary Arts Department chair Allen Akmon were on hand with congratulations.

To read more about Chef Orr and the Distinguished Visiting Chef series at Sullivan in a previous Online Tool Kit post, click here.

Team Navy wins first-ever Military Chef Grill-Off Challenge

Team Navy took first place in the inaugural Coca-Cola Military Chef Ultimate Summer Grill-Off Challenge, hosted by Coca-Cola North America, Military.com and The Culinary Institute of America. The event, which took place Aug. 30 at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C., called on top military chefs from four service branches to compete in a grilling competition and incorporate Coca-Cola products into their recipes.

(second from left to right) The Navy Team celebrates a victory: CS2 Paul Brown, CSCM Eddie Galit, CS1 Michael Hanford, CS1 Lynval Weise, CS1 Michael Edwards, CS1 Christy Gay and consumer winner Maryann Post.

Team Navy was led by Petty Officer First Class Michael Edwards, who currently is the associate chef for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other Navy team members included Master Cheif Petty Officer Eddie Galit, Petty Officers First Class Christy Gay, Michael Hanford and Lynval Weise, Petty Officer Second Class Paul Brown and military consumer winner Maryann Post. The winners received a Coca-Cola Summer Grilling Championship belt and a week of ProChef classes and certification by the CIA.

August 2009 CET digital edition online

The digital edition of the August 2009 issue of Chef Educator Today (CET) is now online through the CET Web site. This digital edition features all the same great content as the print edition, plus it includes online-exclusive articles on educational culinary tours and teaching math skills.

To access the August digital edition, click the icon below.