Professor Albert Schmid, chair of Sullivan University’s Hotel-Restaurant Management, Beverage Management and Hospitality Management Departments, has won a Gourmand Award for his book, The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook. The awards committee, headed by Edouard Cointreau, president of the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, announced that Schmid won in the category of Best Book on Cooking with Wines, Beers and Spirits for the United States. The award makes Schmid’s book eligible to win the category in the international level of the competition. The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Paris, France, on March 2 as part of the opening of the Paris Cookbook Fair.

“I was hoping that the Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook would be a finalist in the competition so I could help increase awareness of the great culinary culture of Kentucky,” said Schmid. “I was so surprised and thrilled to win for the U.S.!”

The National Restaurant Association’s “What’s Hot” survey of more than 1,500 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—reveals that local and hyper-local sourcing, healthy children’s meals, sustainable seafood, and gluten-free cuisine will be among the hottest trends on restaurant menus in 2011. In addition, the chefs said that mobile food trucks and pop-up restaurants will be the top operational trend in restaurants next year.

“How can I afford college?” is a common question for many high-school students considering plans for the futures amid rising tuition costs and a challenging economy. The American Academy of Chefs (AAC), the honor society of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the nation’s largest professional chefs organization, and Baltimore International College (BIC), one of the mid-Atlantic's leading colleges, are pleased to announce two new scholarships available for students accepted to BIC, totaling $20,000 over four years.

Tyson Foods' Food Service division announced on December 16 that it will donate 30,000 pounds of food to two metro New Orleans organizations, Café Reconcile and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans. Donations are being made in support of the International Foodservice Editorial Council’s (IFEC) community-outreach efforts in New Orleans during its annual conference.

Chefs from leading foodservice and retail chains met at The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley in October for a custom seminar centered on U.S. Potatoes. Themed “Mediterranean Inspiration, Culinary Innovation,” the seminar took chefs through a culinary odyssey along the 38th parallel—the latitude line that runs right through the Mediterranean and the California Wine Country.

Representatives from influential operations such as Denny’s, Carrows Restaurants, Shoney’s and Bon Appétit Management Company participated in hands-on innovation sessions and participated in demos by special guest chefs Aaron London of Ubuntu in Napa, Anne Gingrass of Brix in Napa, and Joyce Goldstein, food writer and restaurant industry consultant. All together, the seminar attendees represented more than 8,800 units and $3 billion in annual sales.

The California Milk Advisory Board recently announced a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to educate students about the benefits of milk and offer awards for collecting Real California Milk seals. The Real California Milk Supports Real California Schools program provides information to elementary students in the state’s largest school district about healthy eating and drinking choices and offers a chance to win prizes for themselves and their classrooms. LAUSD students and their families are encouraged to look for the Real California Milk seals in their local stores and are challenged to collect these seals for a chance to win Wii Fit™ game consoles, books and $500 classroom awards.