Cameron Whitlock had only taken three courses in the Salt Lake Community College culinary-arts program when he volunteered to take part in a public cooking competition. The competition was part of an event at the college’s main campus announcing a $30,000 grant from the The Dannon Company, Inc. Three students from the program were paired with local celebrity chefs to see who could prepare and present the best dish for a college audience.

Of course, the chefs had to use yogurt in each of their dishes.

Sarah Lowe had no experience in cooking competitions of any kind prior to the Dannon event. “I have never competed before; it sounded fun,” she said. “This event was a great way to get some experience competing.”

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is launching a new major in Culinary Science beginning in February 2013—one of a series of new academic programs in bachelor’s-degree studies at the college. The programs will advance the culinary profession and position CIA graduates for career success in the dynamically evolving foodservice industry.

“This innovative program will further prepare CIA students to shape the future of cooking and the foodservice industry,” said Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, president of the CIA. “And more specialized studies are in development. We are expanding the scope, depth, and diversity of our students’ knowledge base, so that their leadership as graduates will extend in all sectors of food and hospitality.”

The Culinary Science degree will be taught at the CIA’s Hyde Park, N.Y., campus. The curriculum will include such advanced techniques as precision temperature cooking and other advanced culinary techniques made possible through emerging technologies and scientific discovery. Students will learn directly from leaders in the culinary-science field about the scientific method and the use of modern techniques and equipment. They will discover new ingredients; experience product development, including sensory and flavor evaluations; and gain critical-thinking skills and science-based knowledge that will help them become industry innovators.

The mouthwatering handiwork of Florence-based University of North Alabama culinary students Vanessa Gerig and Eero Wilson will be seen on the big screen in the upcoming film, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

Gerig, a senior from Towanda, Ill., and Wilson, a senior from Longview, Texas, assisted food stylist and 1978 UNA alumnus Jack White, who has created on-camera food for more than 75 major motion pictures and television shows since 1992.

The students arrived in Atlanta Sept. 23 and got right to work on set early the next day. They worked throughout the week preparing extravagant gourmet dishes like Cornish hens, roasted ducks, suckling pigs, vegetables and cakes to cover nearly 100 feet of a banquet table, they said.

Grand Valley State University Executive Chef Paul Mixa said cooking for Olympic athletes in London was the experience of a lifetime.

Mixa, a Chicago native who joined Grand Valley based in Allendale, Mich., in 2004, was part of a team of international chefs selected to prepare dishes for athletes who competed in the Olympics from August through September.

“It really was a great experience,” said Mixa. “I think the most amazing thing about it was that all these different chefs and people who never worked together came together to pull off a huge event. We were feeding 18,000 people a day.”

Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer, cofounder of The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago, has been named many things in his exceptional career in pastry: Pastry Chef of the Year at the 2004 World Pastry Forum; Celebrity Pastry Chef of the Year at the 2005 Jean Banchet Awards; and a Kings of Pastry in the 2009 documentary, “Kings of Pastry,” to name a few.

In recognition of his achievements, the Chicago Culinary Museum inducted Pfeiffer into the Chefs Hall of Fame at its Seventh Annual Fundraising Dinner and Awards Presentation. Pfeiffer is the first pastry chef to be inducted into the Chefs Hall of Fame, joining ranks with Charlie Trotter, Rick Bayless, Carrie Nahabedian, Priscila Satkoff, Art Smith, Jimmy Banos and his fellow 2012 inductee, Graham Elliot. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel provided the metaphorical icing on the cake by proclaiming September 20, 2012, to be Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer Day in the City of Chicago, in commemoration of one of the chefs who is turning the town into an international hub for pastry arts.

New England Culinary Institute announced Sept. 10 the hiring of celebrity chef Jean-Louis Gerin as its new campus executive chef.

Fresh off his win as Food Network’s 2012 “Chopped” champion, the appointment of Gerin is a huge coup for New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier and the State of Vermont. He comes to NECI from Greenwich, Conn., where he and his wife, Linda, have enjoyed a successful 28 years with their own Restaurant JEAN-LOUIS. Since opening in 1985, Restaurant JEAN-LOUIS has earned a reputation as perhaps the finest restaurant in Connecticut, and one of the best in the United States. It has been recognized by Wine Spectator for more than 20 years for its excellent wine list and as one of the “most romantic restaurants for wine lovers in the country” for five years running. The restaurant has consistently earned top ratings by Zagat, and has received Zagat’s “Best in Value” accreditation for the past three years.