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.