L'Academie named one of top 53 businesses in Maryland

The Gazette of Politics and Business selected L'Academie de Cuisine, Gaithersburg, Md., as one of the 53 most exceptional businesses and organizations in the state of Maryland. The award program, now in its third year, was created by The Gazette P&B to acknowledge the top 53 Maryland businesses and organizations based on criteria such as annual revenue and employee growth, noteworthy product or service innovations, community service efforts, how they've weathered the economic downturn and how they've portrayed themselves as good places to work.

L'Academie de Cuisine was recognized for its exceptional growth during the last three years as well as its community service programs including cooking classes and dinners, collaboration with Montgomery County Public Schools, American Heart Association--Hearts Delight event, Best Buddies International, DC Central Kitchen--Capital Food Fight, Heart of America Foundation--Sweet Charity, Share our Strength--Operation Frontline, innovation in developing an evening professional culinary arts program, and expanding the scope of recreational cooking classes based on the economy of the past few years.

Calif. grapes recipe contest: One month left!

The deadline is approaching for the The California Table Grape Commission's 2010 Foodservice Chef's Recipe Contest. Chef-educators have until Nov. 1 to submit entries featuring California grapes to recipecontest@grapesfromcalifornia.com.

The top three winners will each receive cash prizes and national publicity for their recipes. Suggested categories include starters, small plates, entrées, salads, sides and desserts.

For contest rules and entry forms, visit www.grapesfromcalifornia.com.

Winners of Chicago amateur pie contest announced

At the third annual Amateur Fruit and Raisin Pie Competition, hosted by Pastry Chicago and the California Raisins Marketing Board, Carla Cubert (pictured, left) was named the winner with her rhubarb and golden raisin pie. Cubert's pie was selected from 20 submitted by pastry enthusiasts who turned out for the Sept. 18 contest at Whole Foods in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood.

While judges sampled entries, chef Della Gossett of The French Pastry School demonstrated a fall-inspired recipe for pear and mincemeat pie. Following Gossett's demonstration, Andrea Spring, winner of the 16th Annual American Pie Council competition also demonstrated sharing her winning recipe for chocolate walnut raisin pie (find her winning recipe here).

Sandy Bierlein won second place with her creamy raisin and apple pie, and third place went to Renee Ortega for her apple spice pie.

MFHA presents interactive career showcase at ECU

On Sept. 22 and 23, the Multicultural Foodservice and Hospitality Alliance (MFHA) presented its Showcase of the Stars event at East Carolina University. Showcase of the Stars is an interactive career exploration event that promotes career and business opportunities in the restaurant, foodservice and lodging industry.

(l to r) Gerry Fernandez, president of MFHA; and participating panelists Brooklynn Luedke, college recruiting manager for Hyatt Hotels and Resorts; Clayton Dyson, franchise owner and operator for Chick-fil-A; Tia McDonald, program manager for Aramark Education; Robin Lowe, vice president of quality assurance for Golden Corral; and Leslie Wood, senior talent acquisition manager for Aramark

Professionals from various segments of the food and hospitality industry participated in a panel discussion about career opportunities in their companies. Panelists discussed students' employment needs and answered questions about internships and scholarships.

National Restaurant Association partners with Aspen University for online restaurant management degree

Building on its range of career-building training programs, the National Restaurant Association (NRA) has partnered with Aspen University on a new undergraduate degree in foodservice operations and management. This collaboration provides undergraduate degree-seeking individuals an affordable education that focuses on restaurant business administration and front-of-house operations. The NRA is committed to developing careers for the industry's nearly 13 million employees.

"The comprehensive restaurant operations and management degree at Aspen University was developed specifically to fit the workforce characteristics of our industry," Mike McCallum, NRA's chief strategy officer, said in a press release. "The degree is flexible, entirely online, very affordable, and incorporates the association's existing educational programs, including ServSafe and ManageFirst. By obtaining this degree, students and restaurant workers can build strong foundations for their foodservice careers in our industry of opportunity."

Employees at NRA member organizations receive a 50 percent discount on tuition and pay only $90 per credit hour when seeking a bachelors of science in foodservice operations and restaurant management at Aspen University. Additionally, federal financial aid is available for students who qualify.

Aspen will donate 15 percent of all collected tuition to the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) to support scholarships to students, professional development for teachers and mentorship.

The degree incorporates the NRA's well-established training programs and certifications--ServSafe Food Safety, ServSafe Alcohol, ManageFirst and the Foodservice Management Professional--transferred into the degree as credit, or earned as requirements of the degree program. Association member organizations with their own training programs will be able to submit their curricula to Aspen for evaluation of course credits.

Aspen University is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). The Accrediting Commission of the DETC is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency and is a recognized member of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org/careers/education/schools/aspen or www.aspen.edu.

Lexington College to honor KeHE CEO at scholarship benefit dinner

Lexington College will honor Brandon Barnholt, president and COO of Kehe Distributors, at the Annual Scholarship Benefit Dinner. The event will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 2, at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile. The evening's event raises scholarship funds for the next generation of women leaders in the hospitality industry.

Barnholt and Kehe Distributors are a strong supporter of Lexington due to the organizations' shared values. Since 2008, KeHE has partnered with the college through an innovative, strategic-marketing curriculum that brings food-industry representatives into the classroom to assist with learning and product development. The goal of this cutting-edge course is to provide students with practical examples that characterize current hospitality trends. Students gain knowledge from vendor representatives, as well as developing and testing custom recipes using KeHE vendorproducts. As a business leader concerned with developing future industry professionals, Barnholt sees great potential in investing in this learning opportunity.

The event will raise $500,000 for 70 scholarships. Ninety-five percent of Lexington College students need and receive some scholarship support from this fund. For more information, visit www.lexingtoncollege.edu.

IACP calling on cookbook submissions

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) is seeking entries for its 25th annual Cookbook Awards program. Authors and publishers have until Oct. 29 to submit their books.

IACP has added two new awards categories this year: Food Matters for books that focus on the importance of food choices on our bodies and the planet, and Judges’ Choice for an entry that has not otherwise been recognized as a finalist or winner, as selected by the Cookbook Awards Executive Committee.

The 2011 finalists will be announced in March, when IACP members and the general public will be invited to vote on their favorite book from the category finalists for the People's Choice award. Winners will honored at the Awards Gala during the IACP Annual Conference in Austin, Texas, June 1 to 4.

For guidelines, eligibility, category descriptions and entry forms and a list of past winners, visit www.iacp.com.