JWU pastry chefs, students star in TLC reality show

On Aug. 16, TLC aired "Extreme Food Sculptors," a program on food sculpting that included the unveiling of an 18-foot-high sculpture made completely out of bread by baking and pastry faculty and students at Johnson & Wales University (JWU)--Providence.

Last February, a television crew from Stone & Co. Entertainment came to campus to film chef Ciril Hitz, department chair of the International Baking & Pastry Institute at the JWU College of Culinary Arts and his team as they constructed the 700-pound abstract sculpture. It was made up of 1,000 separate components that were each glazed, painted, baked and sculpted before the finished sculpture was assembled with the help of a forklift.

Chef Mitch Stamm (center, left), chef Ciril Hitz (center, right) and the JWU team assemble the epic bread sculpture while TV crews look on

In addition to Chef Hitz and his team, the Aug. 16 episode of "Extreme Food Sculptors" followed two other food artists--an executive pastry chef in Arizona and a master fruit and vegetable carver in Mississippi. Visit www.tlc.discovery.com for the upcoming TV schedule.

CIA instructor tapped for World Chocolate Masters U.S. selections

Stephen Durfee, pastry chef-instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, Calif., is one of seven of the country's leading pastry chefs and chocolatiers selected to compete in the U.S. selections for the 2011 World Chocolate Masters event in Paris. The competition, organized by Barry Callebaut, will take place Sept. 27 and 28 during the International Baking Industry Exposition in Las Vegas. The contestants will make Aztec-inspired sculptures out of gourmet chocolate.

The winner of the U.S. selections competition will advance to the 2011 World Chocolate Masters, where he or she will compete against culinary artisans from approximately 20 other countries. (Pictured, right, Lionel Clement, former chef chocolatier at the Wynn Las Vegas, was the last U.S. National Chocolate Master.)

The other six pastry chefs joining Durfee in this year's U.S. selections competition are:

• Sylvain Bortolini, assistant executive pastry chef at Bellagio Las Vegas
• Naomi Gallego, executive pastry chef at the Fairmont Hotel in Pittsburgh
• Jove Hubbard, executive pastry chef at the James Hotel in Chicago
• Frederic Loraschi, chocolatier and owner of Chocolat Frederic Loraschi LLC in Hummelstown, Pa.
• Richard Ruskell, executive pastry chef at the Montage Beverly Hills hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
• Orlando Santos, pastry chef at The Duquesne Club in Pittsburgh
  

CIA grad Brandt wins Allure of the Seas Culinary Challenge

Maureen "Molly" Brandt, Culinary Institute of America (CIA) graduate, won the Allure of the Seas Culinary Challenge and a one-year paid contract to be the chef de cuisine of 150 Central Park onboard the Allure of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship.

Maureen "Molly" Brandt plates her dishes during the final challenge

Brandt was one of six chefs--all CIA graduates--to be a finalist in the challenge, a contest open exclusively to The CIA's alumni network. The six chefs participated in a two-part final challenge at the college's Hyde Park campus in New York on Aug. 5 and 6, where they prepared a three-course meal for a panel of judges from Royal Caribbean and The CIA. The panel also interviewed the finalists.

(l to r) Frank Weber, vice president, food and beverage operations, Royal Caribbean International; Maureen "Molly" Brandt; Lisa Bauer, senior vice president, hotel operations, Royal Caribbean International; and Ron DeSantis, director, CIA consulting, The CIA

Brandt's winning dish consisted of chilled lobster with fennel, carrots, citrus, caviar and tempura battered lobster; Provencal lamb loin with Dijon potato purée, ratatouille, pattypan squash and olive tapenade; and pistachio cake with whipped rosewater crème fraîche and carbonated raspberries.

For more information, visit www.allureoftheseas.com.

Napa River Grill Culinary Cup raises $35k

The Napa River Grill Culinary Cup, a golf scramble on Aug. 2 to benefit the Kenneth Black Memorial Scholarship Fund, raised more than $35,000. The scholarship fund will be awarded to a student at Sullivan University in pursuit of a culinary arts degree.

(l to r) Shane Hall, general manager of Napa River Grill; JD Rothberg, managing partner of Napa River Grill and Wild Eggs; Lisa Mines, Kenneth Black's mother; Emily Walz, Napa River Grill's concierge and special events director; and David Malthaner, executive chef of Napa River Grill

The Napa River Grill Culinary Scholarship Fund was created in 2003 to help young people in pursuit of a degree in culinary arts. After Black--a Sullivan University alumnus and sous chef at Louisville, Ky.-based Napa River Grill--was killed in a motorcycle accident on April 23, the scholarship was renamed in his honor.

"My family and I are overwhelmed by the love and support we have received from the wonderful people at Napa River Grill and Wild Eggs," said Lisa Mines, Black's mother, in a statement. "It is comforting to know that my son's memory will live on through this scholarship fund."

Seeking culinary arts director

SPONSORED POST

Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Oklahoma City, is under construction on a 34,000-square-foot school of culinary arts and is seeking a culinary arts director. This individual will be involved in all aspects of opening, staffing and operating this state-of-the-art facility.

Work in an environment where:

• you can share your knowledge and experience of the culinary profession;
• you will have an integral role in the program planning and design and curriculum development for a facility consisting of eight instructional kitchens and an a la carte kitchen as part of our teaching restaurant; and
  
• excellence, innovation and continuous improvement are fostered and where respect and appreciation for "employees as our greatest asset" are part of our core values.

Francis Tuttle Technology Center, located in northwest Oklahoma City is one of the finest technology centers in the nation. Access our Web site at www.francistuttle.edu for information about the school. Annual Salary: $60,000 to $70,000. Comprehensive Benefit Package to include paid health and dental insurance and 100 percent contribution into the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma. Relocation costs are not covered.

Primary Function: Will provide leadership, coordination and supervision for the school of culinary arts. This individual will also play a prominent role in the local culinary industry and is expected to have national connections within this industry.

Qualifications: Bachelor's degree in Culinary Arts or advanced industry-related certifications required. Must have a minimum of five years of culinary experience with at least three years recent experience in a managerial capacity or as an executive chef with supervisory responsibilities. Instructional and supervisory/managerial experience with a culinary educational institution preferred. Must hold or qualify for an Oklahoma Secondary Vocational Teaching Certificate.

Apply Today: Website: www.francistuttle.edu/discover/jobs for additional information and application. Or contact Human Resources at (800) 722-7799, ext. 4331, to obtain application and extended job description. EOE

Job closing date: August 16, 2010

Submit completed application and resume to:
Francis Tuttle Technology Center
Human Resources
12777 N. Rockwell Avenue
Oklahoma City, OK 73142-2789

Questions:
Bill Allen, Director
Personal Services Programs
(800) 722-7799, ext. 4333 · (405) 717-4333
ballen@francistuttle.edu

IRAEF awards $64k in scholarships

The Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (IRAEF) awarded more than $64,000 to 46 Illinois students to further their education in the foodservice and hospitality industry July 24. The scholarships were awarded at a morning ceremony at Café 300 in Chicago.

Group photo of the 46 scholarship winners and sponsors

Annually, the IRAEF awards scholarships to high school and undergraduate culinary students pursuing post-secondary education in foodservice (culinary) and hospitality management programs, some of whom are ProStart alumni. The IRAEF's Scholarships & Mentoring Initiative has provided more than $1.5 million in scholarships to qualified students since 1973.

Student winners pose with Michael Rotondo (center), chef de cuisine at Charlie Trotter's

Career Search: Starting a job search

by Irena Chalmers

Editors' note: "Career Search," a column exploring of the vast range of culinary careers awaiting culinary graduates, appears in each quarterly issue of Chef Educator Today. For the Autumn 2010 issue, CET has split "Career Search" into two parts. Look for the remainder of this column later this month in CET's digital edition, at www.chefedtoday.com/digital.htm.

For many of us, determining what to do next in our careers can be rife with uncertainty and doubt. Luckily, the food industry is full of jobs if you take the time to look around.

You could think about becoming a private chef for a movie star, a sports hero or a television anchor. A private chef is not the same thing as a personal chef. A chef can also earn $80,000 per year--tax free--working on a luxury yacht, cruising the Greek Islands. The perks here are: there is no rent to pay, no car payments to make and there are plenty of people to sleep with every night.

Recipe developers working for NASA come up with ideas for dinner for astronauts. They can also find employment with food companies and restaurant chains and supermarkets. Recipe testers check the accuracy of recipes for magazines, cookbook authors and food processors. Recipe developers are not the same thing as recipe testers.

A food lover with a vibrant palate and the ability to write well but with no formal culinary degree may find happiness as a restaurant critic or restaurant biographer.

Perhaps, you could consider a career as: a literary agent, a cheese shop owner, a food and travel writer, an artisanal bread baker, a wedding cake designer, a food photographer, a bed and breakfast owner, a food entrepreneur, investor or a teacher. There are more jobs opportunities to explore than you may have imagined.

As former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, famously observed: “There are known knowns: These are things we know we know. There are known unknowns: These are things we know we don't know. There are unknown unknowns: These are things we don't know we don’t know."

Whether you are interested in science or supermarkets, in engineering or accounting, human relations or writing, in traveling or staying at home, there is a job in the food field for you. Better yet, you can dream up something that had never been done before and make it happen. After all, the food world involves history and geography, science and technology, economics and finance, art and design, marketing and publicity and literally dozens of other disciplines. Your task is to decide which path to take.

I came across a lovely quote from Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh. He said, "Promise me you'll always remember you are braver than you believe and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think."

And do you remember Dr. Benjamin Spock, who comforted generations of anxious mothers by saying, "You know more than you think you do."

You can start your journey to find a new career by imagining you are Santa Claus. Make a list of all your qualifications. What have you done so far? Where have you been. What have you learned? Who do you know? The last thing on this list may be the most important.

Fill several sacks with all this information and pile them on the sled. Rewrite your resume. Compose a cover letter. Have a new photograph taken. Put on your Santa's suit frame of mind. Climb into the driver's seat and take the reins of the reindeer. They will run neck and neck with one animal getting his nose ahead with a surge of hope, and the other falling a little behind as his stomach churns with fear. Whichever gains the ascendancy will determine the road you take.

As Suze Ormand tells us: "You own the power to control your own destiny."

Now I have one more piece of advice. "Illegitimi non carborundum," which freely translated means, "Don't let the bastards get you down."

Irena Chalmers is a columnist for Chef Magazine and a Culinary Institute of America faculty member. Her latest book is Food Jobs: 150 Great Jobs for Culinary Students, Career Changers and Food Lovers. Visit www.foodjobsbook.com.