Sullivan University students cook for U.S. Olympic athletes in Beijing

Sullivan University students, in Beijing to cook for U.S. Olympic athletes and sponsors at the 2008 Olympics, tour the Great Wall of China: (l to r, front row) Kelly Kamin, April Gregory, Marcus Jefferson, Ben Marine; (l to r, middle row) Sullivan’s Professional Catering Chair Kimberley Jones, Kyle McDaniel, Rachelle Hyder; (l to r, back row): Josh Sperry, Brian Abbott, Darnell Ferguson, Nate Gibson.

NRAEF and CKSF create new scholarship opportunities

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF), in partnership with the Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation (CKSF), is pleased to announce the launch of the new NRAEF Restaurant Management Scholarship Quiz for current undergraduate students pursuing a degree in the restaurant/foodservice industry. Unlike the NRAEF’s other scholarships, the partnership with CKSF will allow students to compete for scholarship dollars via monthly online multiple-choice quizzes that cover topics related to the restaurant and foodservice industry. Quiz content is taken from the ManageFirst Program, a college-level restaurant and foodservice management program from National Restaurant Association Solutions.

At the end of a monthly scholarship contest, scholarship recipients will be chosen based on their scores on a 15-to-25-question quiz focusing on restaurant management. The 10 students with the highest scores will each win a $500 scholarship award. For the remainder of 2008 and throughout 2009, $60,000 in scholarships will be awarded.

The BCA brings together students and NYC chefs

At the fifth annual Global Food and Wine Experience, held Tuesday, Sept. 23, at New York City’s Tavern on the Green, the BCA (formerly known as the Black Culinarian Alliance) paired more than 50 chefs and wine merchants from the city’s finest food and beverage establishments with minority culinary students from area schools.

“We are pleased to partner with the BCA to offer these kinds of opportunities to young students of color in the culinary field,” said exhibitor Sue Torres, owner of Sueños Restaurant.

Participating schools in the program included the Culinary Training Institute, Food Service Training Academy of New Jersey, Monroe College, South Bronx Job Corps, Culinary Academy of NY/LI, Art Institute of New York and the Institute of Culinary Education (ICE).

“This event [was] incredibly important to increase the awareness of these opportunities within the wine and beverage industry,” said Alex Askew, president of the BCA, which was established in 1998 as a national not-for-profit organization devoted to the enhancement of professional and educational opportunities for people of color within the culinary and hospitality
industries.

Other participating restaurants/exhibitors included Il Porto, Melba’s Restaurant, Hudson River Café, The Seasoned Pot, Calle Ocho and Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge.

The Culinary Vegetable Institute teams up with Lorain JVS Vocational School

A future generation of chefs played in The Chef’s Garden soil and The Culinary Vegetable Institute kitchen recently as part of an educational, team-building exercise. The aspiring culinarians, 45 high school seniors (two of which are pictured here) from the Lorain County Joint Vocational School Culinary Arts and Baking and Pastry Arts programs, visited the Northern Ohio farm and chef retreat as part of an annual field trip.

“The goal of this trip is to get these students energized for the year,” said chef Chris Moore, instructor for the school’s pastry arts program. Moore and chef Tim Michitsch, who runs the Culinary Arts portion of the program, arranged the event and accompanied their students.

On the first day of the two-day experience, half of the students toured the fields and greenhouses of The Chef’s Garden specialty product farm, while the other half worked in the kitchen to cook a lunch for their fellow students (see picture below) with the help of Culinary Vegetable Institute chef Johannes Klapdohr, who created the lunch menu. On the second day, the groups switched roles.