Le Cordon Bleu offers online culinary management program

For individuals who have already earned an associate degree in culinary arts, pastry arts or hospitality and restaurant management from an accredited school, Le Cordon Bleu Schools is now offering a bachelor of arts in Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Management online program.

This 15-month program is designed for people looking to advance their career potential with the flexibility that comes with studying online. It focuses on a wide range of advanced topics relevant to the industry such as facilities and event management, financial management and cost control, marketing, research and writing, small business development and organizational psychology. For more information, visit www.chefs.edu/programs.

Certified Food & Beverage program updated

The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (EI) revised its Certified Food & Beverage Executive (CFBE) professional certification program to better reflect current food and beverage trends and standards.

After receiving input from industry experts and the EI Certification Commission, EI added new content areas and competencies to all six CFBE topics covered in the program. These topics are are: managing food operations, managing beverage operations, marketing and sales management, financial management, leadership and human resources management.

In addition to content changes, the CFBE resource materials have been reformatted. Candidates now receive a competency-based exam preparation booklet with three-volume resource materials on CD. There is also a new review session with PowerPoint presentations, new sample exam questions and new certification exam questions.

Candidates for the CBFE program must hold a position as an executive level manager or food and beverage director of a hotel food and beverage operation, general manager of a freestanding restaurant or executive chef with at least two years' experience in one or more qualifying positions. For additional information or to download an application, visit www.ahlei.org/cfbe.

For the Love of Chocolate Foundation receives support from businesses

For the Love of Chocolate Scholarship Foundation, which provides scholarships to qualified students of The French Pastry School at City Colleges of Chicago, has formed partnerships with home/work furnishings provider Coalesse and mask and costume provider Zagone Studios. Coalesse has donated $1,500 to the foundation, and Zagone Studios will contribute 5 percent of Internet sales from now through Halloween.

This is the second straight year that Coalesse has sponsored For the Love of Chocolate Foundation. On Oct. 14 Coalesse will team up with The French Pastry School for a special sugar sculpting demonstration from French Pastry School chef John Kraus in the Coalesse showroom at The Merchandise Mart. For more information, visit www.coalesse.com.

McDonald's executive vice president and COO to address Lexington College

Jan Fields, executive vice president and COO of McDonalds USA, will be speaking to Chicago's Lexington College students, staff and faculty Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. in the college's Library.

In her current role, Fields oversees operations for the more than 13,700 McDonald's restaurants in the United States, and she began her career as a crew member in 1978. She has been honored with many awards, including McDonald's President's Award, the Golden Arch Partners Award, the Women Operators Network Recognition Award and the Women's Leadership Award.

Fields, an advocate for people development, is actively involved in the company's mentoring and diversity programs, acting as executive sponsor for the career development program and speaking at many Diversity Network meetings.

On Nov. 2, Lexington will also honor Fields and her continuing leadership in the hospitality field at the "Building Scholarships for Service" Annual Benefit Dinner at Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile (previously posted about here). For more information, visit www.lexingtoncollege.edu.

Wedding cakes course offered at the French Pastry School

How a wedding cake tastes is just as important as how it looks. Chef Donald Wressell, in his fourth year at The French Pastry School of Chicago, will teach Wedding Cake Construction and Tasting from Oct. 6 to 8, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. The course will cover how to create a cake that tastes extraordinary and is well-constructed, even when you are under pressure to produce a high volume. In this three-day hands-on class, participants will focus on the baking, filling and building of wedding cakes. Chef Wressell will guide participants through flavor profiles and textures, along with a range of cakes and different filling combinations. Once you have all the components, it is time to build your cake ensuring the structure is safe and stable. Chef Wressell will share invaluable tips and tricks to producing high-volume quality cakes in the shortest time possible.

This course is accredited by the American Culinary Federation for 24 Continuing Education Hours (CEHs). For more information, visit www.frenchpastryschool.com.

(photo courtesy of The French Pastry School)

And for more great opportunities to learn about wedding cakes--as well as many other topics, from baking and pastry to savory preparations and culinary education advancements--visit www.fenisummit.com to learn more about the 2010 Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI) Educators Summit, Feb. 12 to 15, 2010, in Chicago!

Diversified Foods gives $20,000 to ECU hospitality

Diversified Foods Inc. (DFI) presented the Department of Hospitality Management at East Carolina University (ECU) with $20,000 at its Tournament of Friends Golf Outing at the Lane Tree Golf Course in Goldsboro, N.C., on Sept. 19. The funds, which were raised through tournament entry fees and sponsorships, will be used for scholarships for hospitality management students in the current school year.

This is the ninth year that DFI has donated proceeds from the Tournament of Friends for hospitality student scholarships. In that time, the restaurant management concept has donated more than $100,000 total. Approximately 135 golfers attended this year's event. At a dinner following the tournament, DFI owner H.M. Poythress presented a check to chair of ECU's Department of Hospitality Management, Bob O'Halloran.

CHIC pastry instructor earns CMB designation

Nancy Carey, a baking and pastry instructor at The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago (CHIC), was granted the Certified Master Baker designation by the Retail Bakers of America (RBA). This is the highest level of baking certification.

Carey has been an instructor at CHIC since 2002. Before that, she founded and developed Red Hen Bread, a wholesale and retail artisan bakery in Chicago. In order to earn the designation, Carey worked a minimum of eight years in the industry and passed several written and practical tests and participated in seminars.