Goodwin College adopts NRA Solutions' ManageFirst program

To better prepare its students for management careers in the restaurant and foodservice industry, Drexel University's Goodwin College has adopted the ManageFirst program offered through National Restaurant Association (NRA) Solutions. The ManageFirst program focuses on the essential topics to train students in real-world skills for management in the restaurant, foodservice and hospitality industry. NRA Solutions provides an exam for each guide topic, and students who pass each exam receive a customized certificate.

The ManageFirst Program includes 10 competency guides published by Pearson Education, exams, certificates, a new ManageFirst Professional (MFP) credential, scholarship opportunities and support activities. It also includes ServSafe Food Safety and ServSafe Alcohol certifications. For more information on the program, please visit www.prenhall.com/managefirst.

Florida Strawberries recipe contest now open

Culinary students nationwide are invited to compete for a total of $6,000 in cash prizes in the first Florida Strawberries--A Taste of Summer All Winter Long Recipe Contest.

Entries are due by Feb. 28. The categories for entry are starters and salsas, salads, sweets and best photo. For entry forms, rules and frequently asked questions, visit www.floridawinterstrawberrycontest.com. The contest is sponsored by the Florida Strawberry Growers Association (FSGA) and Taste of the South magazine.

JWU expands baking and pastry program

Johnson & Wales University (JWU) has expanded its baking and pastry program and added a new textbook. As more foodservice establishments require employees have crossover culinary and baking skills, JWU added courses to its baking and pastry program such as fundamental skills and techniques and artisan bread work to give pastry students more experience with basic cooking skills and artisan bread production skills. In addition, all foods prepared by students are now free of trans fats, and the program offers new focuses on health, wellness and nutrition.

PCI hires president and CEO

The Professional Culinary Institute (PCI), Campbell, Calif., appointed chef Gary Prell as its new president and CEO. Prell joins PRI from hospitality company Centerplate, where he was vice president. He also previously worked for The Art Institutes.

"I am so excited to join the team at PCI and to be a part of their future," Prell said in a statement. "The staff and faculty's passion to impart knowledge and make a difference in the lives of their students is unparalleled. They are truly successful."

PCI provides career training in the hospitality field focusing on culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, wine sommelier training and hospitality management. For more information, visit www.professionalculinaryinstitute.com.

Bronwen Weber to teach cake sculptures at FPS

Bronwen Weber, award-winning baker and pastry chef of Frosted Art Bakery in Dallas, will teach a three-day cake sculpting class at The French Pastry School of Chicago in January. Weber will demonstrate her signature cake carving and fondant modeling techniques in this hands-on professional continuing education course. Students will learn such techniques as stable internal structure systems, cake construction and carving methods, covering irregularly shaped cakes in fondant, fondant modeling, chocolate modeling, sculpting and painting and airbrush techniques. Each student will create two finished showpiece projects during the class, which they will be able to take home at the end.

A cake created during the 2009 cake sculpting class*

This course, which takes place from Jan. 11 to 13, 2010, is accredited by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) for 24 Continuing Education Hours. For more information, visit www.frenchpastryschool.com.

*Photo courtesy of The French Pastry School

HCCC to host inaugural "Sound Bites" event

Hudson County Community College, Jersey City, N.J., will host the first of a series of "Sound Bites" events on Jan. 15, 2010, a meet-and-greet gathering and buffet with blues singer and guitarist John Hammond. Hammond will be appearing at the event to speak with guests prior to his concert with the Duke Robillard Band at The Landmark Loew's Jersey Theatre that evening. The event will include a Louisiana blues-style buffet and complimentary glass of wine or beer.

"The Hudson County Community College Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center was built to serve the many needs of the community," said HCCC president Glen Gabert in a statement. "We see 'Sound Bites' as opportunities for the community to become better acquainted with the College and the Journal Square area, meet some highly acclaimed performers, savor some of our delicious cuisine and enjoy the company of neighbors."

"Sound Bites," which has been organized in cooperation with the Journal Square Special Improvement District, will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the college's Culinary Arts Institute/Conference Center. More information can be found at www.hccc.edu.

Culinary technology program offered at Schoolcraft College

As technological advances make further headway in commercial kitchens, Schoolcraft College, Livonia, Mich., has responded by offering a culinary technology certificate program to train chefs in accelerated cooking methods and equipment. The Innovative Culinary Technology Certificate program is a three-course curriculum that will focus on equipment and topics like combination ovens, rapid-cook ovens, impingement, induction, holding blast chilling and freezing, sous vide, green energy use, kitchen design for various business channels, quality control and food cost savings.

Registration for the winter semester is under way, and class sizes are limited. Interested candidates can attend an open house Jan. 11 in the Culinary Arts Demonstration Lab at the main campus, where they will tour the facilities and meet the instructors. For more information, visit www.schoolcraft.edu/cepd/culinarytechnology.