ACF-approved continuing education courses at Barry Callebaut Chocolate Academy

Barry Callebaut, a leading manufacturer of high-quality cocoa and chocolate products, announced that 15 courses at its Chocolate Academy in Chicago have been approved for continuing education hours through the American Culinary Federation (ACF). From introductory courses on the origins of chocolate to specialized classes on molding, enrobing and sculpting techniques, the Chocolate Academy’s one-of-a-kind training is specifically designed to encourage participants to apply and broaden their technical skills under the guidance of trained master chocolatiers. The small classes are taught in a personal setting that encourages participants to share their unique experience and knowledge about the latest chocolate-making trends with other participants.Courses at Barry Callebaut's Chicago Chocolate Academy are also eligible for continuing education credit through the Research Chefs Association.

National Honey Board hosts "Iron Chef" competition for NECI students

On Nov. 19, 2008, New England Culinary Institute (NECI) students braved both winter snow and tough ground rules to compete in two National Honey Board-sponsored recipe competitions: (1) Savory Culinary Arts and (2) Baking and Pastry. In the former competition, students culinarians produced three courses from a market basket of seasonal ingredients under "Iron Chef" rules; in the latter, students worked from an original recipe.

As a reward for their honey research and menu creativity, the top three winning teams/individuals in both categories received cash prizes, including a $1,000 reward for the grand prize, from the the Honey Board. Chef Tom Bivins, NECI dean of Culinary Affairs, and Jami Yanoski, representing the National Honey Board, announced the winning students in each division. Here are the two grand prize winners:

Savory Culinary Arts
$1,000 Grand Prize: (pictured, l to r) Benjamin Dorr and Blair Johnson
Menu: Black pepper and rosemary honey-seared scallop with celeriac purée, oyster mushroom duxelles, honey lemon and carrot emulsion; honey and sage-infused fried cornish game hen and acorn squash, black pepper waffle, braised kale and chard, honey white wine and chestnut gravy; apple blossom honey-soaked semolina cake, honey citrus syrup-soaked solden raisin currants and Gran Marnier whipped cream

Baking and Pastry
$1,000 Grand Prize: Chee-Ling Francoise Ip
Item: Honey Trio—Papaya-honey chrysanthemum tea, honey caramelized persimmon puff pastry, honey-Earl Grey ice cream with honey-toasted almond brittle

For more information about the National Honey Board's culinary education programs and student recipe competitions, visit the Honey Board's Web site or contact Bruce Wolk at brucew@nhb.org.

A mushroom a day ...

by Evan Noetzel, Chef Educator Today

With as many possible culinary applications as varieties—portobellos (pictured), chanterelles, shiitakes and white buttons, to name a few—mushrooms have long been an ingredient of choice among chefs (and chef-instructors) around the world. And while much of the popularity of mushrooms can be attributed to their range of complex tastes and textures, the Mushroom Council is quick to point out that edible fungi also are prized for their nutritional benefits.

On its Web site's "Nutrition" page, the Mushroom Council recently published a series of downloadable PDFs and other resources detailing why mushrooms "deserve attention for their unique contributions to a healthful diet." One such PDF, entitled "Mushrooms: Light in Color, Dark in Nutrients," shows a side-by-side comparison of the percentage of certain nutrients in mushroom varieties versus those in other healthy foods, like carrots and broccoli. Another available PDF, "How Mushrooms' Nutrients Stack Up," gives a complete breakdown of the many nutrients packed into mushrooms.

For additional educational resources provided by the Mushroom Council, visit their Web site.

CPR training and quick action saves CIA student

Two campus safety officers and a registered nurse at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) saved the life of an 18-year-old student on Dec. 1, 2008, by performing immediate cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and administering a shock from an on-campus automated external defibrillator.

At 7:34 a.m., as students were beginning their first classes after Thanksgiving break, a freshman from Missouri collapsed in a kitchen classroom. As the chef called the Safety Office to request assistance, a student ran to Health Services to summon a nurse. Within a minute, nurse Kelly O'Connor and safety officer Carl Wilson were on the scene. O'Connor initially found a pulse, but when it was lost, the two began performing CPR. Moments later, safety supervisor Lyle Burnett arrived with a defibrillator. After Burnett attached the shock pads, the machine advised that the student had a "shockable rhythm." Shortly after a shock was administered, the patient began breathing on his own, and his color returned.

This all took place before an advanced life support ambulance arrived on the scene with a paramedic. By 8:01, the student was on his way to St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie, where he continued to recover. By Monday evening, his parents were at his side.

City Tech sweeps prizes at prestigious culinary competition

A team of student culinary all-stars from New York City College of Technology (City Tech) blew away all competitors at the culinary salon of the annual International Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Show, held recently at the Javits Center in Manhattan.

When the dust—and the confectioner’s sugar—had settled, the City Tech team had taken the Marc Sarrazin Cup for the best overall entry at the show (team members pictured above with the Sarrazin Cup). Two faculty members (Louise Hoffman and Jean Claude) and one alumnus (Randolph Hernandez) had each won gold medals. Two other recent alumni were honored: Ebow Dadzie with the Gold Medal of the Association of Chefs de Cuisine et de Patisserie du Quebec and Anthony Smith with the International Chefs Association Gold Medal.

Culinary salons have been sponsored by the French Société Culinaire Philanthropique for 142 years and are a regular feature of the Jacob Javits Center show. Seeing City Tech atop the list of winners has become an increasingly regular aspect of the three-day event; its students have won the Sarrazin Cup—signifying best overall performance in the competition—in three of the last four years.

Victories of this sort do not come easily. Each fall, as the show approaches, one can find the student competitors, and the several faculty who mentor them, in City Tech’s culinary labs until late at night. Professor Louise Hoffman, who works most closely with the students creating pastry and confectionery entries, says of the process, “The Salon of Culinary Arts is a professional arena where our City Tech students can demonstrate their skills, probably the toughest ‘practical exam’ our students will ever take. They do magnificent work. I am amazed every year at the level of excellence that is created in my class. I am very proud of them.”


Photo: For her confectionery artistry in constructing “Timeless Kiss,” which recalls the famous photo of the nurse and the sailor kissing in Times Square in celebration of the end of World War II, 20-year-old Brooklynite Ashley Alioto won the competition's "Best in Show" title and received a $1,000 award. (Photo courtesy of NYCCT)

Real-world skills put to test during Illinois ProStart competition

On Saturday, November 15, over 200 high school students from across Illinois gathered at Kendall College in Chicago to participate in the 8th annual Illinois ProStart Student Invitational, a series of culinary and management competitions in which students display their gastronomic abilities and knowledge. During the program, which also included a college fair and cooking demonstration, more than $200,000 in scholarships were awarded to students.

Hosted by the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (IRAEF) and sponsored by Sysco Foodservice-Chicago, this year's top competition winners were West Aurora High School in the culinary competition and Lake County High School Technology Campus in the management competition. Lake County High School Technology Campus also placed second in the culinary competition. Both teams will now go on to compete in the National ProStart Student Invitational competition, which is scheduled to take place April 24–26, 2009, in San Diego, Calif.
Technology Center of DuPage was the third place winner in both the culinary competition and the management competition. The second place winner of the management competition was Wilco Area Career Center. Each first place team member was awarded over $16,000 in scholarships to culinary colleges including: Clemens College, Cooking & Hospitality Institute of Chicago, Culinary Institute of America, Illinois Institute of Art, Johnson & Wales University, Kendall College and Washburne Culinary Institute.

During the culinary competition, students were judged on creativity of presentation, knife skills, cleanup and sanitation. The management competition challenged teams of students to answer questions taken from the ProStart curriculum during the knowledge bowl. The final phase of the event, the case study, required students to demonstrate their ability to analyze management situations involving business dilemmas, using solutions from both the front-of-the-house and back-of-the-house perspectives.

"These teams are all winners in our book because everyone knows that in this industry your work ethic is just as important as the end result," said Roxanne Charles, IRAEF executive director. "West Aurora High School and Lake County High School Technology Campus should be proud of their winning teams. What they've accomplished at the Invitational will prepare them for success in today's hospitality industry."

Whole Bakers presents Best Cookie Award at Healthy Schools Campaign event

Whole Bakers, a certified gluten-free as well as kosher-certified specialty baked goods company, was chosen to announce the winner of the Best Cookie Award during the Healthy Schools Campaign's annual Cooking up Change event, held on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008. During the event, Chicago area public high school students studying culinary arts received the opportunity to showcase their original healthy student-designed menus in front of some of Chicago's elite chefs.

Whole Bakers Founder Patty Stewart was pleased to be a part of the program, which awards contest winners by preparing their unique meals at Chicagoland schools. "Cooking up Change is such a great way to get kids involved in culinary creativity," said Stewart. "I'm happy to be a part of teaching kids the importance and benefit of healthy cooking."

Stewart awarded the Best Cookie Award to Richards High School in Oak Lawn, Illinois for their delicious Carrot Cake Cookie. Richards High School also won first place in the School Meal contest with their delicious trio of entrées which included Carrotquedilla, Chorizo Relleno and Refrescante.

Whole Bakers plans to be involved with Cooking up Change again next year as Stewart may be educating the culinary teachers and students about the gluten-free lifestyle. Stewart also plans to provide participants with gluten-free flours so that they may create entrées for those with wheat allergies.

Pictured: Patty Stewart (center) stands with Rochelle Davis (right), head of the Healthy Schools Campaign, while presenting the award for Best Cookie.