City Tech alumna Brown to be honored

Diane Harris Brown, director of educational and community programming for the James Beard Foundation (JBF), will be awarded the distinguished alumna and outstanding industry professional awards by New York City College of Technology's hospitality management department.

Diane Harris Brown (photo courtesy of Andy Ryan)

Brown, a 1982 graduate of City Tech, will receive the award at the hospitality management department's reception for the June 2009 graduating class, to be held May 11. While attending City Tech, Brown, along with some classmates, started a community service initiative to feed the hungry on Christmas, a program that is still available to City Tech hospitality management students in collaboration with Christian Help in Park Slope.

At JBF, Brown administers scholarship money to institutions offering culinary studies and manages JBF's monthly literary series, "Beard on Books." She also serves on the board of directors for Spoons Across America, a nonprofit organization that teaches about the benefits of healthy eating.

Kendall's Artlip earns recognition from ACF Chicago chapter

Mike Artlip, CEC, CCE, chair of the associate of applied science degree program at The School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College, earned the 2009 Chef Professionalism Award from Windy City Professional Culinarians (WCPC), a chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF).


Artlip, in addition to overseeing Kendall's two-year culinary arts program, manages the Café at Kendall College, a student-run cafeteria serving students, faculty and staff at the school's Riverworks campus. A member of Kendall's faculty since 1987, Artlip also chairs the culinary school's Faculty Senate.

The WCPC Chef Professionalism Award recognizes exemplary character and achievement throughout a chef's career.

Taste Down Under culinary competition winners unveiled

Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) and Johnson & Wales University announced the winners of the 2009 Taste Down Under culinary competition held recently at the Johnson & Wales Charlotte, N.C., and North Miami, Fla., campuses. Students submitted original bar food or appetizer recipes using Australian beef or lamb and no more than six total ingredients. The winners received a share of $12,000 total in scholarship money across both campuses. The winners and runners up at both campuses were as follows:

Charlotte

• winner: Ed Jobin, Australian Lamb Three Ways (photo below)

• second place: Justin Andrew Gregory, Australian Beef Strip Loin Make Salad

• third place: Michael Watson, Tamarind Citrus Glazed Australian Lamb Loin Kebobs and Sweet Citrus Salad

Miami

• winner: Anthony Dominguez, Coriander Seared Australian Lamb with Lamb Tartare and Baby Greens (photo below)

• second place: Peter Morales, Mini Australian Lamb Wellingtons

• third place: Asasha Roberts, Sweet Corn Polenta Cakes with Cumin Crusted Australian Beef Strip Loin

ACF SE Regional Conference winners announced

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) announced the 2009 award recipients at the ACF Southeast Regional Conference held April 18 to 20. The winners will compete for national titles against their winning regional counterparts at the 2009 ACF National Convention in Orlando, Fla. July 11 to 14.

And the winners are:

• Chef of the Year P. Richard Brumm (photo below), CEC, executive sous chef, La Gorce Country Club, Miami Beach, Fla.

• Pastry Chef of the Year Heather Hurlbert (photo below), executive pastry chef, Cherokee Town & Country Club, Atlanta

• Chef Educator of the Year David Weir (photo below), CEC, CCE, associate professor at Daytona State College, Daytona Beach, Fla.

• Hermann G. Rusch Chef's Achievement Award Wolfgang Bierer (photo below), CMPC, CEC, CCE, AAC, retired, Hilton Head Island, S.C.

• Chef Professionalism Award Edmund Chinners (photo below), CEC, CCA, operations manager, Sodexo, Columbia, S.C.

• Student Chef of the Year Andrew Addleman II (photo below), sous chef, Chowders Seafood/River Rocks, Rockledge, Fla.

• Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl ACF Greater Miami Chapter Epicurean Club, Johnson & Wales University-Miami, North Miami, Fla.: Alissa Ebel; Catherine Gonzalez, CC; Victoria Gonzalez; Rebecca Lerman; and Marisa Roussell. The team is coached by Alan Lazar, CCE

• Student Team Regional Championship ACF Western North Carolina Culinary Association; Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College, Asheville, N.C.: Michael Aanonsen, Shannon Ginn, Steven Goff, Anna McClintock and Travis McCloud. The team was coached by Charles deVries, CEPC

• Joseph Amendola Outstanding Member Award Geoffrey Blount, CEPC, executive pastry chef, Bakery Bistro Initiative at Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, N.C.

• Chapter of the Year ACF Midlands Chapter, Columbia, S.C.

• Chapter Achievement Award ACF Midlands Chapter; ACF Middle Tennessee Chapter, Nashville Tenn.; ACF Tampa Bay Culinary Association, Tampa, Fla.

• ACF President's Medallions Edmund Chinners; Winslow Goodier, CEC, ACC, executive chef, Hermitage Technical Center, Richmond, Va.; John Kacala, CEC, AAC, executive chef/culinary consultant, Sysco Foodservice, Columbia, S.C.; Audrey Lennon, posthumously, president/executive chef, The Sauceress Inc., Orlando, Fla.; Herman Packer, CEC, CCE, AAC, executive chef-instructur, Bishop State Community College, Mobile, Ala.; J. Kevin Walker, CMC, AAC, executive chef, Cherokee Town & Country Club, Atlanta

• American Academy of Chefs Chair's Scholarship Russ Thayer, pastry chef, River Hills Country Club, Lake Wylie, S.C., and student, Central Piedmont Community College, Charlotte, N.C.

Tabasco opens 2009 Hottest Chef Contest

McIllhenny Co., maker of Tabasco Pepper Sauce, has launched the 2009 Hottest Chef Contest, inviting culinary students and professional chefs in the United States and Canada to create and submit an original menu item using easily sourced, fresh ingredients. To qualify, entries must include Original Tabasco Pepper sauce, Tabasco Green Jalapeño Pepper Sauce or Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce. Additionally, featured dishes must be considered profitable for a restaurant to sell. Entries can be submitted online at www.tabascofoodservice.com until July 17.

The culinary student with the winning recipe will receive a $2,500 prize. The winning professional chef will receive $10,000. For more information, visit Tabasco's Web site, or call 1-888-HOT-DASH.

Monroe College names Tottenville senior Best High School Chef

Best High School Chef Kerry Pace

The Monroe College School of Hospitality Management awarded Kerry Pace, a senior at Tottenville High School in Staten Island, N.Y., the title of America's Best High School Chef at a competition from April 17 to 19. Pace and three of her classmates competed in the finals on April 19 after their team was named the best of seven.

(l to r) the Tottenville team: Nikki Rizzo, Anna Belfiore, Kerry Pace and Steve Young

Pace's winning dish of chicken rollatini, tarragon mushrooms, roasted potatoes and sautéed green beans won her a full scholarship to the Monroe College Culinary Arts program and admission into the college's study-abroad program in Italy.

LDEI launches Legacy Awards competition

Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI) is holding its first-ever Legacy Awards competition. The competition is open to women in the United States and Canada who have been working in the food, beverage or hospitality industry for at least two years. Applications are due May 15, and the winners will be announced on June 15.

The LDEI Legacy Awards winners will receive week-long internships with accomplished dames in the food, beverage and hospitality industry in New York City's catering scene, Washington State's wine country or at a premier hotel property in Dallas. For more information, visit www.ldei.org.

CIA and CanolaInfo launch e-learning module

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), in association with CanolaInfo, launched The Professional Chef Discovers Canola Oil, a Web-based learning module available on CIAProChef.com, the CIA's Web site for foodservice professionals.


The e-learning module includes information about the health benefits of canola oil as well as strategies and techniques for using it in baking, grilling, frying and using it to make vinaigrettes or emulsions. The module demonstrates canola oil's versatility offering Latin-, Mediterranean- and Asian-style recipes. It also offers 16 downloadable recipe demonstrations by CIA chef-instructors in streaming videos.

Produced by the CIA's New Media group, the learning module can be found at www.ciaprochef.com/canola.

Haney selected as top Massachusetts ProStart educator

The Massachusetts Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (MRAEF) selected Nancy Haney of Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School (TCRVTHS) as the Massachusetts 2009 ProStart Educator Excellence Award recipient. Haney, a graduate from Johnson & Wales University, has been teaching for 23 years. She also runs a Gourmet Club and is the student council adviser for TCRVTHS.

(l to r) Tri-County Regional Vocational Technical High School student Evan Paine with Nancy Haney

Haney will join 31 other top educators at the National Restaurant Association Solutions (NRA Solutions) ProStart Educator Excellence Awards weekend, May 15 to 16. The NRA Solutions Educator Excellence Awards recognize educators using the ProStart program in their classrooms.

MSU's School of Hospitality fund-raising campaign under way

The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University announced there are still "naming opportunities" available for sponsoring its Culinary Business Learning Lab (CBLL) revitalization project, ranging from the teaching and research kitchen to the kitchen’s workstations. The School of Hospitality Business launched a two-year fund-raising campaign last May to support the CBLL.

Successful completion of the $5.8 million campaign will allow the 11,000-square-foot facility to be rehabbed and updated to include a teaching and demonstration theater, teaching and research kitchen, Alumni Association Hall of Fame, entryway and display gallery, gathering space and dining room. For more information, visit the School of Hospitality Business Web site.

Culinary Business Learning Lab teaching and research kitchen

ACF Northeast Pastry Chef of the Year to compete in Food Network Challenge

Megan Ketover, CPC, pastry chef of retail bakery outlet Bakery Hill at the Midwest Culinary Institute in Cincinnati and Midwest Culinary Institute pastry-arts instructor, was selected to compete in an upcoming episode of Food Network Challenge. The American Culinary Federation named Ketover the Northeast Region Pastry Chef of the Year after she won the ACF Northeast Regional Conference competition in February.

Ketover will compete in Food Network's Cereal Bridges 2 Challenge, to be filmed April 30. "I am excited to have been chosen to compete for Food Network's Cereal Bridges 2 Challenge, and I am gearing up to try to create something that seems impossible--a bridge primarily made of Rice Krispies," she said in a statement.

After filming the Food Network Challenge, Ketover will continue preparing for the national ACF Pastry Chef of the Year competition, which will take place during the 2009 ACF National Convention July 11 to 14 in Orlando, Fla.

CIA partners with institutions in Catalonia

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has partnered with the Alícia Foundation and Prodeca, both based in Catalonia, Spain, to facilitate an exchange of culinary faculty, students and experts.

El Bulli chef Ferran Adrià (second from left), CIA president Tim Ryan (second from right) and Spanish chef José Andrés (far right), toasting with Catalonian officials

The agreement, signed March 25, will allow CIA faculty and students to study at the Alícia Foundation, a research center devoted to the technological innovation in cooking. Additionally, visiting CIA students and faculty will be able to experience first-hand the top kitchens, markets and producers of Catalan food and wine. The agreement also will fund a 2009-2010 program series of visiting guest chefs and other leaders in Catalan gastronomy at the New York and California campuses of the CIA. For more information, visit www.worldsofflavorspain.com.

(Photo courtesy of the CIA/Keith Ferris)

University of Gastronomic Sciences to hold information session

On April 22 Italy’s University of Gastronomic Sciences will hold an information session at Bethesda Green in Bethesda, Md., for prospective students interested in learning more about the school’s programs and application procedures. Staff and alumni will be available to explain the university's educational philosophy, present the undergraduate and graduate degrees and discuss internships and work opportunities. The session is open to all students, professionals and members of the public.

Co-founded in 2003 by the international nonprofit Slow Food Movement and the Italian regions of Piedmont and Emilia-Romagna, the school's approach is to create a new understanding of gastronomy, linking eating and producing. For more information, visit www.unisg.com.

UC students take first in RCA Student Culinology Competition

A student team from the University of Cincinnati took first place in the Research Chefs Association's (RCA) third annual Student Culinology Competition, held March 7 during the RCA Annual Conference & Culinology Expo at the Sheraton Dallas Hotel.

The UC students received a $5,000 cash award for their Texas Prairie Duo meal, which was made up of braised chuck flat beef strips in a sweet, tangy sauce accompanied by a medley of fire-roasted vegetables. The UC team was led by faculty adviser Christopher Keegan, CEC, senior research chef at Cargill Flavor Systems; and team leader Christian A. Serrato, CC. Team members included Robert Coltrane, CC, John Parsons, CC, and Andrew Scholle, CC.

A student team from Johnson & Wales University, in Providence, R.I., took second; and Louisiana State University placed third. For more information, visit www.culinology.com

Breaking news: FENI Summit 2010 in Chicago!

The 12th Annual FENI Summit will be held in Chicago Feb. 13 to 15, 2010. Make plans to attend and obtain more information by visiting www.fenisummit.com! FENI is produced by Chef Educator Today magazine and Talcott Publications, in cooperation with leading culinary institutions.

A primer on cutting onions

Onions are a mainstay in many recipes for the layers of flavor and texture they impart. Thus, the Greeley, Colo.-based National Onion Association has developed steps on how best to cut an onion and how to reduce tearing. The step-by-step sheet shows how to dice onions or how to cut onions wedges or rings. For more information or to receive a copy, visit www.onions-usa.org or send an e-mail to kreddin@onions-usa.org.

How much do you know about sustainability?

The National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF) has launched the Conserve Scholarship, which tests students pursuing careers in the foodservice industry on their knowledge of environmental sustainability.

Participating college students can register with the Common Knowledge Scholarship Foundation and take online multiple choice quizzes on sustainability drawn from information found on the NRA's Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability Web site. The quiz is open through April 26, and 10 $500 scholarships will be awarded to the students with the highest scores.

For more information, visit conserve.restaurant.org.

Foodservice industry sees a surge amid tough times

Amid continued layoffs and budget cuts, more and more people are seeking careers in the food industry, according to a Monday story on MSNBC's Web site. The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) saw 20,000 inquiries for enrollment last year, up more than 12 percent from the previous year.

Culinary Institute of America students
(photo courtesy of Anne Rettig/CIA)

Additionally, the restaurant industry alone is expected to add 1.8 million positions over the next 10 years, boosting the industry’s workforce by 14 percent to 14.8 million people in 2019. Still, the 2008 jobless rate among food preparation and related occupations was 9.5 percent (compared to last year's overall national unemployment rate of 5.8 percent), so additional competition in the industry may force aspiring cooks and chefs to seek jobs outside of restaurant kitchens.

Luckily, the opportunities abound, from personal chef positions in people’s homes, to cooking behind-the-scenes at supermarkets, which are offering more prepared food for time-crunched consumers, says Irena Chalmers in the article. Irena Chalmers says in the article. Chalmers, a CET and Chef Magazine columnist, is also the author of Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers. Non-cooking jobs include nutritional expert jobs and food safety jobs, Chalmers adds.

To read the story in its entirety, click here; to see the video, click here.

Registration opens for CIA's Worlds of Flavor festival

General registration has opened for the 12th annual Worlds of Flavor Conference & Festival, to be held November 12 to 14 at the Culinary Institute of America's Greystone campus in Napa Valley, Calif.

This year's theme is Frontiers of Flavor: World Street Food, World Comfort Food, which reflects today's embrace of informal dining and food amid pressure to cut costs and tighten budgets in a global recession. More than 60 culinary experts will present, including street food vendors; market cooks; barbecue masters; grandmothers; fine-dining chefs inspired by street and comfort foods; cookbook authors; and street food chroniclers from Mediterranean, Asian, Latin and American food cultures.

For more information, visit www.ciaprochef.com/wof2009.

Charlie Trotter donates $15,000 to ACFEF for new scholarships

Charlie Trotter, chef/owner of Charlie Trotter's in Chicago, announced a $15,000 donation to the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) on behalf of the Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation at the ACF Central Regional Conference on Feb. 23. These funds, in addition to the $25,000 donation from the Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation last July, will be used to create eight $5,000 scholarships for culinary students.


ACFEF has changed its scholarships program, and it now reviews applications on a point scale. Grade point average, culinary competition participation, volunteer work, ACF involvement, essays and references are reviewed by the American Academy of Chefs Scholarship Review committee.

Trotter requests that students who receive scholarships contact him after they complete culinary school and are looking for externships or jobs. Deadline to apply for 2009 scholarships is May 1. More information on the scholarship is available at www.acfchefs.org.

Ferran Adrià shares his passion with CIA community

Ferran Adrià—chef and co-owner of Spain's famed El Bulli, which has been deemed "best restaurant in the world" four times in the last six years by England's Restaurant magazine—recently spent a day with students at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in Hyde Park, N.Y.

On the morning of Wednesday, March 25, about 1,100 students came to hear Adrià speak about his culinary background and cooking philosophy. The 90-minute presentation included an opportunity for students to ask questions of the man who is widely considered the best and most innovative chef in the world today.

In the afternoon, Adrià's cooking style—which he calls "deconstructivist"—was on full display as he showed how he develops recipes with unexpected contrasts in flavor, temperature and texture. The two-hour demonstration was a treat for the more than 1,300 students and faculty attending, as Adrià rarely cooks away from elBulli and his test kitchen in Barcelona.

The following day, Adrià received the college's Augie Award as Chef of the Year during the annual CIA Leadership Awards dinner at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City.

Chef Ferran Adrià talks with CIA students (Photos: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Four female students honored at WFF conference

The National Restaurant Association Education Foundation (NRAEF), Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) and Wendy's International Inc. awarded the Reaching Your Dreams Scholarship to four female students at the WFF's Annual Leadership and Development Conference held March 15 in Dallas.

The four University of North Texas students--Keitha Farrow, Kelley Krost, Melissa Portocarrero and Hannah Snowden--each received $2,500 to help finance their education in a restaurant and foodservice course of study.

(l to r) Bill Hyde, vice chairman, NRAEF Board of Trustees; Hannah Snowden, student; Melissa Portocarrero, student; Kelley Krost, student; Keitha Farrow, student; Frances Wright, vice president, corporate human resources, Wendy's International Inc.; and Carlton Curtis, treasurer, NRAEF Board of Trustees

The annual Reaching Your Dreams Scholarship, created in honor of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, is presented to four female college students enrolled in a restaurant or foodservice-related program who excel academically and express an interest in continuing their education in the industry.

It's almost fiddlehead greens season...

And the start of fiddlehead season means Norcliff Farms Inc. has launched its annual Fiddlehead Greens Culinary Contest for culinary students or recent culinary school graduates in the United States and Canada.

buttered fiddlehead greens

Students and two-year graduates have until May 6 to submit recipes online that incorporate fresh or frozen fiddlehead greens, which have been compared in flavor to asparagus, broccoli and green beans. Entry forms are available here.

Recipes will be judged based on taste, appearance, simplicity and appeal. The grand prize winner will cook his or her recipe at an event on May 13. More information is available on NorCliff Farms' Web site.

(Photo courtesy of NorCliff Farms)

Joliet Junior College instructor takes 3rd at U.S. Pastry Competition

At the 20th annual U.S. Pastry Competition held March 1 at the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York, Ajith AJ Saputhanthri, of Russo's on the Bay in Howard Beach, N.Y., took first and was named 2009 Pastry Chef of the Year. Salvatore Settepani, of Pasticceria Bruno Bakery & Restaurant, Staten Island, N.Y., took second place; and Andrew Chlebana, chef-instructor at Joliet Junior College, Joliet, Ill., took third place in the competition.

chef Andrew Chlebana

The three winners competed against nine other finalists, creating showpieces in the theme of "Give my regards to Broadway." The U.S. Pastry Competition is presented by Paris Gourmet.