New CIA podcast examines food industry jobs

In the latest "Insight from the Inside" podcast, Culinary Institute of America (CIA) instructor and author Irena Chalmers and CIA career development manager Ron Hayes discuss the exciting possibilities for people who want to make a career in food and hospitality.

Chalmers is the author of Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers (Beaufort Books, 2008), which won a 2009 World Cookbook Award. In the podcast, she explains that the possibilities are endless when it comes to finding a job in the food industry for those who have the passion. "The food world is constantly changing and expanding," she says. "The diversity of jobs really is a question of looking into one's own heart and saying, 'What would I really love to do?'"

Hayes, a 2002 CIA graduate, says he didn't see himself with a "food job" of helping others find their niche. "I'm now working with a lot of people who graduated in the mid-'90s who are at a point in their career where [they say], 'I've elevated myself. Now where do I go from here?'"

"Insight from the Inside" features CIA graduates with exciting jobs in the food industry. Past podcasts have featured industry names including Grant Achatz, Nate Appleman, John Besh and Charlie Palmer. To download the 23-minute podcast featuring Chalmers and Hayes, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts/#jobs.

The Chef's Academy names regional president

The Chef's Academy, the culinary division of Harrison College, has named Jayson M. Boyers regional president. Boyers (pictured) is charged with heading up both the Indianapolis and Triangle, Ind., campuses.

Before joining The Chef's Academy, Boyers most recently was a disbursement specialist at American United Life Insurance Co. in Indianapolis.

For more information about The Chef's Academy, visit www.thechefsacademy.com.

Kendall dean teaches educators about sustainability

During the American Culinary Federation (ACF) National Convention last month in Anaheim, Calif., Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, dean of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and vice president of culinary arts for Laureate International Universities network, presented a sustainability master class to foodservice educators. The class was designed to help educators integrate sustainability throughout their curriculum and operations to make sustainable practices integral to their students' daily lives.

Christopher Koetke, dean of Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, addresses attendees of sustainability master class during the ACF National Convention

The class featured units on teaching energy and water conservation, waste stream reduction, green building and the complexities of sustainable food. The interactive session included group activities and several exercises that educators can adapt to their own classroom, including an energy and water audit of a commercial kitchen, learning games that increase interest and enthusiasm and specific activities for each area of sustainability.

Kendall College launched its sustainability education initiative for working foodservice professionals and educators in 2008 and is an official educational partner of the National Restaurant Association's Conserve: Solutions for Sustainability initiative.

September 'Culinary Nutrition News' examines organic claims

Organic. Natural. Local. Sustainable. These terms are ubiquitous in the foodservice industry today, though there is still plenty of confusion about what they truly mean. The September issue of "Culinary Nutrition News: Organic, Natural, Local and Sustainable: Trends or Mainstays?" helps define the terms, explains the different types of organic classification and offers examples of restaurants leading the movement. The article, presented by the American Culinary Federation Chef & Child Foundation (CCF) and Clemson University, Clemson, S.C., is now available for download at www.acfchefs.org/CNN.

In the article, author Dr. Margaret Condrasky, R.D., CCE, of Clemson University, discusses the pros and cons of conventional vs. organic farming and gives examples of organic fruits and vegetables that you should consider purchasing, including bell peppers and celery, because they have little or no protective skin, and apples, nectarines and peaches because they are plagued with pests and are exposed to more pesticides.

The American Culinary Federation's Chef & Child Foundation and Clemson University partnered in May 2009 to offer a series of monthly articles designed to bridge the nutrition gap for chefs by providing up-to-date research information. Upcoming topics include genetically modified foods, medicinal herbs and spices and quality carbohydrates.

LCB Austin student wins Chilean Hass Avocado recipe contest

Juan Duboue, a student at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts--Austin, Texas, won the first-ever Chilean Hass Avocado recipe contest for culinary students. Students from across the country sent in a range of avocado recipes suitable for foodservice, from appetizers to desserts, entrées to snacks.

Duboue's $1,000 winning recipe was a Chilean Hass Avocado Charlotte (pictured, below), made from avocado slices fitted into a ring and filled with avocado mousse and a mousse of smoked salmon, goat cheese and roasted garlic, with black bean ancho chili sauce, black tobiko pico de gallo and red corn tortilla chips.


Second place and $750 went to Ayanna Johnson, a student at L'Ecole Culinaire, Memphis, Tenn., for her avocado bites recipe. Third place went to Nick Furlan, a student at Le Cordon Bleu--Las Vegas, for his recipe for avocado poppers. For more information, visit www.chileanavocados.org.

National Food Safety Education Month kicks off with training tools and posters

September is National Food Safety Education Month. This campaign from the National Restaurant Association focuses on the importance of food safety education for the restaurant and foodservice industry, while raising awareness of the industry's commitment to food safety. The theme of this year's National Food Safety Education Month is "High-Risk Customers: Serve Your Fare with Extra Care."

The program offers five weeks of free training materials, available for download at www.servsafe.com/nfsem. The weekly training activities and posters can be used to supplement existing in-unit food safety training. All materials reinforce the theme and focus on the special needs of children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with weak immune systems.

The curriculum for National Food Safety Education Month is broken down into five weekly themes, with each theme stressing a different aspect of food safety and high-risk customers. These themes cover topics such as recognizing high-risk customers, children and food safety risk, foods to avoid, minimum internal cooking temperatures and food safety risk factors.

All NFSEM materials are based on the National Restaurant Association's ServSafe food safety training and certification program. The materials communicate food-safety concepts efficiently and all the activities can be completed in less than 10 minutes.

RMU instructor awarded 3rd annual Chefs of Tomorrow grant

Laurette Stefani, chef-instructor at Robert Morris University's Institute of Culinary Arts, was selected to receive a $1,500 grant from Olson Communications' Chefs of Tomorrow initiative. The third annual grant was given in honor of the grant program's 20th anniversary.

(l to r) Rachel Tracy, Olson Communications; Chefs of Tomorrow grant recipient Laurette Stefani; and Sharon Olson, Olson Communications

Stefani used the grant to help fund an educational immersion trip through the Northern California's Bay Area and Napa Valley. For more than a week in August, Stefani biked through Healdsburg's boutique olive estates, wineries and chicken co-ops, and toured Hog Island Oyster Co. in Tomales Bay. She sampled freshly made salumi at chef Paul Bertolli's Fra' Mani in Berkeley; participated in a tea ceremony at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center on Muir Beach; tasted goat's-milk cheese, yogurt and kefir at Redwood Hill Farm in Sonoma Valley; and shopped for produce at Ferry Building Marketplace in San Francisco.

"My grandparents exposed me to the sweet taste of freshly picked basil from the garden, the waft of homemade bread being baked in the oven, and the communal event of making ravioli at the kitchen table," Stefani said in a statement. "Since I became an instructor at Robert Morris University, I learned that many of our students did not have the same opportunities I did. Processed cheese supplied their lunches, while dinners came from a microwavable carton. There is no connection to the food, and no respect for its origin or maker. As an educator, I want to teach them that there is more to cooking than what you can prepare out of a box."

Chicago-based Olson Communications founded Chefs of Tomorrow in 2008 to fund grants to high school and postsecondary culinary educators.

Check back on Online Tool Kit later this month for Laurette Stefani's journal of her educational immersion in Northern California.