IRAEF awards $64k in scholarships

The Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (IRAEF) awarded more than $64,000 to 46 Illinois students to further their education in the foodservice and hospitality industry July 24. The scholarships were awarded at a morning ceremony at Café 300 in Chicago.

Group photo of the 46 scholarship winners and sponsors

Annually, the IRAEF awards scholarships to high school and undergraduate culinary students pursuing post-secondary education in foodservice (culinary) and hospitality management programs, some of whom are ProStart alumni. The IRAEF's Scholarships & Mentoring Initiative has provided more than $1.5 million in scholarships to qualified students since 1973.

Student winners pose with Michael Rotondo (center), chef de cuisine at Charlie Trotter's

Career Search: Starting a job search

by Irena Chalmers

Editors' note: "Career Search," a column exploring of the vast range of culinary careers awaiting culinary graduates, appears in each quarterly issue of Chef Educator Today. For the Autumn 2010 issue, CET has split "Career Search" into two parts. Look for the remainder of this column later this month in CET's digital edition, at www.chefedtoday.com/digital.htm.

For many of us, determining what to do next in our careers can be rife with uncertainty and doubt. Luckily, the food industry is full of jobs if you take the time to look around.

You could think about becoming a private chef for a movie star, a sports hero or a television anchor. A private chef is not the same thing as a personal chef. A chef can also earn $80,000 per year--tax free--working on a luxury yacht, cruising the Greek Islands. The perks here are: there is no rent to pay, no car payments to make and there are plenty of people to sleep with every night.

Recipe developers working for NASA come up with ideas for dinner for astronauts. They can also find employment with food companies and restaurant chains and supermarkets. Recipe testers check the accuracy of recipes for magazines, cookbook authors and food processors. Recipe developers are not the same thing as recipe testers.

A food lover with a vibrant palate and the ability to write well but with no formal culinary degree may find happiness as a restaurant critic or restaurant biographer.

Perhaps, you could consider a career as: a literary agent, a cheese shop owner, a food and travel writer, an artisanal bread baker, a wedding cake designer, a food photographer, a bed and breakfast owner, a food entrepreneur, investor or a teacher. There are more jobs opportunities to explore than you may have imagined.

As former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, famously observed: “There are known knowns: These are things we know we know. There are known unknowns: These are things we know we don't know. There are unknown unknowns: These are things we don't know we don’t know."

Whether you are interested in science or supermarkets, in engineering or accounting, human relations or writing, in traveling or staying at home, there is a job in the food field for you. Better yet, you can dream up something that had never been done before and make it happen. After all, the food world involves history and geography, science and technology, economics and finance, art and design, marketing and publicity and literally dozens of other disciplines. Your task is to decide which path to take.

I came across a lovely quote from Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh. He said, "Promise me you'll always remember you are braver than you believe and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

And do you remember Dr. Benjamin Spock, who comforted generations of anxious mothers by saying, "You know more than you think you do."

You can start your journey to find a new career by imagining you are Santa Claus. Make a list of all your qualifications. What have you done so far? Where have you been. What have you learned? Who do you know? The last thing on this list may be the most important.

Fill several sacks with all this information and pile them on the sled. Rewrite your resume. Compose a cover letter. Have a new photograph taken. Put on your Santa's suit frame of mind. Climb into the driver's seat and take the reins of the reindeer. They will run neck and neck with one animal getting his nose ahead with a surge of hope, and the other falling a little behind as his stomach churns with fear. Whichever gains the ascendancy will determine the road you take.

As Suze Ormand tells us: "You own the power to control your own destiny."

Now I have one more piece of advice. "Illegitimi non carborundum," which freely translated means, "Don't let the bastards get you down."

Irena Chalmers is a columnist for Chef Magazine and a Culinary Institute of America faculty member. Her latest book is Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers. Visit www.foodjobsbook.com.

FENI Summit 2011 unveils Culinary Tours!

The Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI) is pleased to introduce our exciting lineup of Chicago Culinary Tours taking place Monday, Feb. 21 on the final day of the 13th annual FENI Educators Summit!

Attendees will have their choice of the following tours:

• Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy tour. Visit Chicago's premier training center for chocolate artisans and professionals who want to learn the latest trends, techniques and recipes in chocolate production, flavoring and decoration.
  
• Chicago Chinatown tour and luncheon (in conjunction with the City of Chicago, who brought you 2010's Chicago Cultural Tour and luncheon at the South Shore Cultural Center). Tour the bustling streets of Chicago's storied Chinatown neighborhood and visit the stores, markets and bakeries for a taste of Little China. Cap off the morning with lunch at an authentic Chinatown restaurant.
  
• Chicago museums tour and luncheon (in conjunction with the City of Chicago). Experience some of Chicago's rich and thriving culture with a tour of the museums that have achieved international acclaim. Stops could include The Field Museum and The Art Institute of Chicago (museums TBA). Lunch will be provided.
  

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Dining tours require additional fees
For registration questions, contact Naurice Olivera
nolivera@talcott.com • (800) 229-1967, ext. 46

Visit www.fenisummit.com.

Chan named dean of Cornell hospitality school

Chris Chan has been named the dean of the Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management (CNI), as well as professor of accounting at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.

Chan is currently an associate professor of accounting as well as assistant dean and director of MBA programs at the University of Hong Kong. At Cornell, Chan will provide academic, intellectual, strategic and administrative leadership as well as further elevate the CNI brand in Asia. He also will direct CNI's 12-month master of management in hospitality program and strengthen corporate relations. Chan, who will be based in Singapore, will begin his duties in November.

The Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management is an alliance between the Cornell School of Hotel Administration and the Nanyang Technological University's Nanyang Business School. For more information, visit www.cni.ntu.edu.sg.

AI Cincinnati culinary program accredited by ACF

The associate of applied science in culinary arts program at the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Ohio--Cincinnati has been accredited by the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation's Accrediting Commission.

Culinary or foodservice programs that are accredited by the ACF have been reviewed against established standards. In order to receive ACF accreditation, The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Ohio--Cincinnati underwent a self-evaluation and hosted a visit from the ACF accreditation team earlier this year.

"Accreditation by the American Culinary Federation is a significant milestone for our culinary program," said Paul Resetar, interim academic director for AI Cincinnati's culinary program, in a statement. "Through earning this prestigious distinction, we have provided our students and graduates with a universally recognized acknowledgment of our commitment to excellence in culinary education."

Drexel culinary student wins Fresh Hass Avocado recipe contest

Students in Drexel University's Hospitality Management, Culinary Arts and Food Science programs competed for cash awards at the June 3 Fresh Hass Avocado Student Recipe Competition in Philadelphia. Jessica Leung, a junior in the Culinary Arts program, took first place and $750 with her avocado plantain trio.

Student winner Jessica Leung with her winning dish

Food Science major Zack Goldstein won second place and $500 for bacon wrapped avocado served on fried corn tortilla. Chris Paul's Haitian revolution maki and Rob Fournier's Pacific summer rolls tied for third place, with each student taking home $125.

(l to r) Drexel student winners Chris Paul, Jessica Leung, Zack Goldstein and Rob Fournier

Renowned cookbook author and Emmy Award-winning TV host of "Christina Cooks!" Christina Pirello joined Drexel faculty and staff to judge the 12 semifinalist recipes. For more information about Drexel, visit www.drexel.edu.

U.S. Foodservice donates culinary scholarship funds to S. Florida high school

In celebration of the recent expansion of its South Florida division, foodservice distributor U.S. Foodservice hosted a cooking event featuring some top U.S. chefs. Members of the West Boca Raton Community High School culinary team assisted the chefs during the event. In recognition of their efforts, U.S. Foodservice--South Florida provided $2,400 in scholarships to fund culinary curriculum at West Boca Raton Community High School.

The participating chefs included:

• Walter Scheib, executive chef at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., the Boca Raton Club and Resort and the Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C.
• Johnny Rivers, culinary consultant
• Allen Susser, owner of Chef Allen's Seafood Grill, Aventura, Fla., and Taste Gastropub, Delray Beach, Fla.
• Rudy Speckamp, CMC, senior culinary consultant to the Culinary Institute of America
  

For more information about U.S. Foodservice, visit www.usfoodservice.com.