FIU Hospitality hosts Common Threads

Florida International University's (FIU) School of Hospitality and Tourism Management is now one of the four national sites hosting Common Threads, an organization that teaches low-income children how to cook wholesome and affordable meals.

During the 2009-2010 school year, 32 students from North Miami's William Jennings Bryan Elementary School and North Miami Elementary School are participating in the program "Cooking Skills and World Cuisine," taught by restaurant owner/chef Michelle Bernstein and FIU chef-instructor Mimi Chacin. The hands-on cooking classes emphasize learning about new fruits and vegetables and the techniques to cook fresh, quality ingredients. Each lesson focuses on a different culture, and each class is designed to gradually build upon the student's skills. By the end of the 12-week session, the students will have learned how to prepare complete, healthy meals.

Children cook, eat and learn in the FIU kitchen

"We are so proud to host Common Threads at FIU School of Hospitality, said Dr. Diann Newman, who brought Common Threads to FIU. "As a university, we are dedicated to our mission of investing in our community. Change comes with vision, time, courage, experience and tenacity. We are gratified to work with chef Michelle Bernstein, students and administrators of William Jennings Bryan Elementary School and North Miami Elementary School and our School of Hospitality students to be part of the solution."

Common Threads was founded by chef, author and television personality Art Smith. For more information, visit www.commonthreads.org.

Online Extras for November CET

• Sautéing mushrooms tutorial
• Teaching students the farm-to-table-to-craft beer connection
• Extended Q&A with Matthew Kenney of 105Degrees Academy

Michael Ruhlman shares stories, lessons in new CIA podcast

In the latest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), honorary graduate Michael Ruhlman talks about the unexpected path his career took after he came to the CIA in the 1990s to research his book, The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat the The Culinary Institute of America. Ruhlman has since written a dozen more books about food, chefs and cooking, and worked temporarily in a restaurant kitchen. He received an honorary degree from the CIA in 2006.

"Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world. Previous podcasts have featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon. To hear the 17-minute interview with Michael Ruhlman or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Wolfgang Puck Worldwide donates cookware to ECU

Wolfgang Puck Worldwide (WPW) Inc. recently donated nearly 300 pieces of its professional-grade cookware to the Department of Hospitality Management at East Carolina University (ECU). The cookware will be used in the department's new state-of-the-art kitchen laboratory by students preparing for careers in lodging, food and beverage and convention and event planning.

James Chandler, associate professor of hospitality management, worked closely with WPW to facilitate the gift. "We are more than grateful to Wolfgang Puck Worldwide for the generous donation," Chandler said in a statement. "WPW has been an advocate of higher education for hospitality industry professional business managers, and this gift is further evidence of that commitment."

ECU's Department of Hospitality Management is in the college's School of Human Ecology. For more information, visit www.ecu.edu/che.

RMU cooks for a cause

Robert Morris University (RMU) Institute of Culinary Arts students belonging to the school's service group Cooks for a Cause will bake 10,000 Christmas cookies on Dec. 4 and 5 to donate to The DuPage County People's Resource Center (PRC)'s Share the Spirit program. The PRC is gathering donations of new toys and gift certificates for more than 750 low-income families in DuPage County, which it will distribute in December. A pack of Christmas cookies from Cooks for a Cause will be included with all the gifts.

Culinary students from the Chicago, Orland Park and DuPage campuses will be baking from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the RMU main campus in downtown Chicago. For more information, visit www.robertmorris.edu.

HCCC to honor Jersey City superintendent

At the 12th annual Holiday Scholarship Extravaganza at Hudson County Community College (HCCC), HCCC Foundation will give its 2009 Distinguished Service Award to Jersey City Public Schools superintendent Charles T. Epps Jr. The award was created to recognize the efforts of individuals and organizations to improve life for the people of Hudson County.

Epps served as a member and the chairperson of HCCC's board of trustees for 18 years, making him one of the longest serving trustees in the school's history. In addition to founding the Opportunity Knocks Twice program that enables qualifying graduates from Jersey City Public Schools to attend college for free, Epps has served as a trustee on trustee on boards including Hudson County Schools of Technology, the National Conference for Community & Justice and Jersey City Medical Center.

The event will take place Dec. 3 at 6:00 p.m. in HCCC's Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center.

California culinary students invited to compete in garlic challenge

In honor of the upcoming Super Bowl XLIV, Christopher Ranch LLC is challenging culinary students at The California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles and The Art Institute of California - Orange County to enter its Garlic Gridiron Challenge with an original Super Bowl party recipe incorporating garlic.

Students can submit recipes between Dec. 1 and Jan. 18. They must use at least five cloves of Christopher Ranch heirloom garlic in the recipe, and Christopher Ranch will provide $200 for ingredients. The first, second and third place winners will be announced during halftime of the Super Bowl on Feb. 7 via Christopher Ranch's social media outlets. The first place winner will receive $500, the second place winner will receive $200, and the third place winner will get $100.

For more information, send an e-mail to Angie Hanson at angie.hanson@christopherranch.com.