Hass Avocado Board culinary instruction CD

The Hass Avocado Board (HAB)--who, on behalf of 20,000 producers and 100 importers, works to ensure the brand value of fresh domestic and imported Hass avocados sold in the United States--recently released an updated Hass Avocado Culinary Instruction Kit CD.

The instructional CD aims to boost your knowledge of the Fresh Hass Avocado and give your operation (or culinary curriculum) a leg up on the competition with creative, nutritious menu ideas. Become familiar with the various ripeness stages and the optimum cooking procedures to use at each stage: from fresh to deep-fried to broiled applications.

The Fresh Hass Avocado is the most widely consumed avocado on the market. Easy to peel and available year-round, this oval-shaped fruit has a smooth, nutty taste that accents and complements cuisine from Asia to the Mediterranean to the Americas. Teach your students how to work with avocados and experience why Fresh Hass Avocado is the preferred avocado for menu creations.

For a free copy of the Culinary Instruction Kit CD, contact the HAB at (949) 341-3250.

Executive chef stays the course, earns City Tech degree after seven years

(photo by Alberto Vargas)

Feliberto (Fili) Estevez, executive chef at New York's historic Gracie Mansion, was one of more than 1,000 graduating seniors who participated in New York City College of Technology's 69th commencement, held June 1 at the WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden. Balancing his education and professional life, Estevez--pictured here with with his professor and mentor Lynda Dias (hospitality management)--graduated seven years after first enrolling at the college.

Estevez, whose mother flew up from the Dominican Republic to attend his graduation, was awarded an associate degree. He plans to continue his studies in pursuit of his bachelor's degree and would eventually like to become a teacher himself.

Unilever chef receives honorary doctorate

Unilever Foodsolutions executive chef Steven Jilleba, CMC, CCE, AAC, received an honorary Doctor of Culinary Arts degree from Johnson & Wales University in Denver, on May 23. Jilleba, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., is a 33-year foodservice industry veteran and one of only 61 Certified Master Chefs in the world.

Chef Steven Jilleba

Jilleba is a member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), American Academy of Chefs (AAC) and World Association of Chefs' Societies (WACS). He manages ACF Culinary Team USA for the 2009-2012 term. Among the awards he has received are: the AAC Chair’s Medal in 2008, the ACF Regional Chef of the Year in 2001, the ACF Regional Chef Professionalism Award in 2000 and the Herman Rusch Lifetime Achievement Award for the central region.

For the past three years, Jilleba has worked directly with the Culinary Institute of America on behalf of Unilever Foodsolutions to co-produce and host the Savoring The Best of World Flavors DVD series, which received the James Beard Foundation award for best Webcast in 2007 and 2009.

Textbook's newest edition offers f&b cost control measures

The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute last month published the seventh edition of the textbook Planning and Control for Food and Beverage Operations, which includes the most current control processes used by professionals to reduce costs at every stage of food & beverage operations.

The book, written by Jack D. Ninemeier, Ph.D, CHA, CFBE, CHE, professor at The School of Hospitality Business at Michigan State University, includes chapters on controls for purchasing and receiving, storing and issuing, production, serving and labor. Readers will learn how to calculate actual food and beverage costs, prevent revenue theft and perform cost-volume-profit analysis. The newest edition also updates manual controls that have since been replaced by technology-based controls procedures. For more information, visit www.ahlei.org.

Sullivan grad wins grant for bakery business model

Pastry chef and Sullivan University graduate Alisha Hardison recently won a $15,000 grant and six months’ free rent for an original bakery concept through the city of Owensboro Ky.'s first annual eMerging Ventures Challenge, a citywide economic development competition that seeks to sponsor start-ups and expansions of existing businesses.

Hardison entered her bakery business plan--Dalisha's Desserts--into the competition in January, and after being selected as the competition's only culinary business finalist, she beat out three technology-based contenders to claim the grand prize. Hardison is using the grant money to move her baking operations out of her home and into a new commercial space.

In an e-mail to her alma mater, she credited much of her success to Sullivan and chef-instructors like Scott Turner. Of Turner, she wrote: "He's an amazing teacher. I had him for most all of my baking classes, and I wouldn't be here without him. He pushed us to be our best and gave us all the skills that we needed to succeed.”

The French Pastry School offers professional continuing education courses in pastry arts

En-Ming Hsu, a pastry chef-instructor at The French Pastry School and a former Pastry World Champion, will conduct a hands-on continuing education pastry class--The Art of Pre-Desserts and Plated Desserts--June 8–10, 2009, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day.

The recipes in this three-day course will take advantage of fresh, local ingredients found at farmers markets. Among the seasonal recipes attendees will prepare with Hsu’s guidance are Rosemary Glazed Figs with Homemade Fromage Blanc, Lavender-scented Red Haven Peaches with Wildflower Honey Frozen Soufflé; Shaved Melons with Muscat Ice; and Wild Borreal Blueberry and Lemon Biscuit Verrine. The course also will cover such topics and trends as sustainable agriculture, organic products and their impact on your dessert menus, and planning your menu economically.

Part of The French Pastry School's ongoing Summer Collection of professional continuing education offerings, the course also will include a three-course lunch. For more details, visit www.frenchpastryschool.com.

Vilcek Foundation seeks applicants from the culinary arts for 2010 Creative Promise prize

The Vilcek Foundation--whose mission is to honor the contributions of foreign-born scholars and artists living in the United States--on May 19 announced that the culinary arts will be the 2010 category for its annual Creative Promise prize in the arts and humanities, and opened the call for application submissions. Chefs, artisans and innovators are all eligible to apply; the application deadline is July 31, 2009.

The Foundation expanded its awards program in 2008 with the Creative Promise prize to recognize exceptional contributions of younger immigrants to the United States in the biomedical sciences and the arts and humanities. The latter category changes annually to reflect the broad range of disciplines it encompasses. The choice of culinary arts is a timely one, given the controversial nature of immigration in the United States today.

“Nothing is more basic to humanity than food, and nothing is [more] successful at bringing people together than a shared meal,” said Vilcek Foundation executive director Rick Kinsel in a recent press release. “Furthermore, the culinary arts flourish in America in large part because of its immigrant practitioners. We have them to thank for the fact that we in this country have only to step outside our doors to sample the foods of the world. As a result, more than ever before, Americans are taking a greater interest in food--where it comes from and how it is grown--and have a deeper appreciation for the art and science behind a carefully prepared and beautifully presented meal.”

The Creative Promise winner will receive a $25,000 cash award and a certificate of recognition designed by Stefan Sagmeister, which will be presented during the foundation’s annual awards ceremony and dinner held in New York City next spring. In addition, four other finalists will each receive $5,000 cash awards. To be eligible for the Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise, applicants must have been born outside the United States and be 38 years or younger as of December 31, 2009. The application deadline is July 31, 2009. Additional award details and an online application are available at www.vilcek.org.