Olives from Spain and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) have selected the winners of their 2014 Scholarship Competition and Recipe Challenge. The competition, open to CIA students in all three U.S. campuses, challenged students to submit recipes featuring Olives from Spain shown in innovative, versatile new culinary applications, from starters and tapas to flavorful entrees.

The inspiration behind the contest was to educate the future generation of culinary professionals on the benefits and virtues of sourcing Olives from Spain, the largest exporter of table olives worldwide. With a wide variety of presentation forms and varieties available, Olives from Spain are versatile, nutritious and work across many cuisines. While only three winners were selected, creativity and passion were demonstrated across all of the students' applications.

The Club Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2014 Joe Perdue Scholarships:

• Zoe LaClair, Cornell University
• Matthew Rodgers, Johnson & Wales, Charlotte
• Patrick Reilly, Niagara University
• Amanda Tidwell, Niagara University
• Rachel Zilka, Niagara University

The Club Foundation established the Joe Perdue Scholarship in honor of Joe Perdue, CCM, CHE, a long-time educator and pillar of the club-management industry. The scholarship provides tuition support to students who are pursuing careers in club management. Since its inception, The Club Foundation has awarded 177 student scholarships totaling more than $320,000. Any individual who is actively seeking a managerial career in the club industry and is currently attending an accredited, four-year college or university undergraduate program may apply to The Club Foundation for scholarship aid.

A sugar chandelier partially created using a 3D printer was just one of the components of the cutting-edge display The Culinary Institute of America entered in the 146th Salon of Culinary Art during the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York City on Nov. 9. Competing in six categories, the display earned five gold medals—including three “Best of Show”—and one silver medal.

Half of the CIA’s presentation consisted of culinary-science elements and the other half featured baking and pastry displays evoking formations found in nature. This year marks the first time the CIA used three-dimensional technology in its display, with some of the sugar work being produced on a machine from 3D Systems.

Culinary-science majors in the Advanced Concepts in Precision Temperature Cooking course prepared fish, meat and hors d’oeuvre displays, using hydrocolloids and cooking with sous-vide and controlled-vapor technology. Culinary-science instructor J.J. Lui said the display demonstrated the preparation of classical cuisine using innovative modern techniques.

A primer on baking with apples, from someone who should know (or at least knows whom to ask).

By Wendy Brannen

I know that Bed, Bath & Beyond is a great resource for purchasing household goods—and for 20% off, at that, with those ubiquitous coupons—but until recently I didn’t realize the big-box retailer has an excellent blog.

“Above & Beyond” blipped on my radar when a fun and friendly freelancer called to ask me about baking with apples for a consumer blog story. That’s also when I realized, “You know, I work for the U.S. Apple Association. I really should know more about baking with apples!” Thus, I tried to go “above and beyond” to find out a little more from a handful of subject-matter experts.

Jane Bonacci is a dear friend and food blogger from San Francisco who has a tsunami-sized love of food—and creating good food recipes. I love her advice for a simple-but-saucy baked apple. (No crisps or crumbles needed here, folks!) Says Jane, “If you want to make baked apples, leave them whole, peel them about halfway down from the top, leaving the bottom half with peel on for structure. Remove the core and fill the hole with hard sauce—Oh, my!”

For a seventh year, Kendall College will sponsor the CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award, the industry’s premiere program lauding successes of culinary-arts and hospitality-management programs that practice and train students in ecological responsibility.

Kendall College proudly announces it has renewed its partnership with CAFÉ for 2015 and a seventh consecutive year.

Through its partnership, Kendall College will continue to sponsor the annual CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Awards—the first national awards to recognize secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts, baking/pastry and hospitality-management programs for their commitment to sustainability and teaching its tenets. The objective of the awards is to build the body of sustainability resources in foodservice and hospitality education. Selection criteria are based on the integration of sustainability into educational programs and/or operations.

The annual menu-trends survey of chefs conducted by the National Restaurant Association discovered that culinary cocktails, doughnuts and brown rice are gaining in popularity among customers, while kale salads, housemade sodas and hybrid desserts are cooling down. 

Local sourcing, environmental sustainability and healthful kids’ meals keep gaining steam as the top trends on restaurant menus in 2015, according to the National Restaurant Association’s (NRA) annual What’s Hot culinary forecast.

The NRA surveyed nearly 1,300 professional chefs—members of the American Culinary Federation (ACF)—to find which foods, cuisines, beverages and culinary themes will be hot trends on restaurant menus next year.

“As consumers today increasingly incorporate restaurants into their daily lives, they want to be able to follow their personal preferences and philosophies no matter where or how they choose to dine,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the NRA. “So, it’s only natural that culinary themes like local sourcing, sustainability and nutrition top our list of menu trends for 2015. Those concepts are wider lifestyle choices for many Americans in other aspects of their lives that also translate into the food space.”  

15^th-annual report highlights top tastes driving the future of flavor and menu innovation.

Sparks, Md.-based McCormick & Company releases its McCormick® Flavor Forecast® 2015, highlighting eight enticing trends that will shape the future of flavor. Now in its 15^th year, the much-anticipated report drives flavor innovation and exploration throughout the food industry and in professional kitchens everywhere.

Reflecting the rapidly increasing demand for bolder, more intense flavor experiences, the McCormick Flavor Forecast 2015 pinpoints adventurous global tastes on the rise. The report also showcases new ways to elevate pantry essentials to starring roles.

AI Pittsburgh instructor Culp helped Culinary Team USA place third overall in Luxembourg, while U.S. chef-educators in individual competition represented their nation well.

Shawn Culp, CEC, department chair of culinary arts, baking/pastry and HRM at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Pa., was part of the outstanding performance of ACF Culinary Team USA at the 12^th-annual Villeroy & Boch Culinary World Cup 2014 in Luxembourg, Nov. 22-26. Garnering two gold medals and the highest score in the cold-food competition, the ACF team representing the United States placed third overall in one of the largest international culinary competitions in the world.

Culp (pictured) and five other chefs comprising ACF Culinary Team USA competed in the hot-food kitchen Nov. 22, where they prepared a three-course dinner for 110 people in six hours. On Nov. 25, the team competed in the cold-food portion of the competition, where they presented finger foods, a cold buffet platter, starters, a three-course vegetarian menu and a pastry-arts menu and showpiece.

An award-winning pastry chef and talented baker and cake artist bring their seasonally inspired, artisanal confections to life at this Parisian-style Rhode Island bakery.

As a young teen Melissa Denmark, CC, was constantly reading cookbooks and applying what she learned in the kitchen. An avid baker, she joined a mentorship program at a French restaurant during her final year of high school. That early training led her to the pastry-arts program at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., where she graduated summa cum laude.

After working at a Ritz-Carlton property in Florida, Denmark went on to work with a cake decorator in Maryland and for Bobolink Dairy Farm and Bakeyard in New Jersey. It was during her latter stint that she came to appreciate the importance of sustainability and using farm-raised foods.

’Tis the season, says Chef Weiner, who among other things suggests a “Build a Gingerbread House” station to raise needed funds for programs.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

My article on teaching Thanksgiving side dishes was so well received by “Gold Medal Classroom” readers that Mary Petersen, president of CAFÉ, suggested I consider writing how to make gingerbread houses.

I toyed with this sweet suggestion (pun intended) and decided to twist it a bit. Instead of writing about how to make gingerbread houses, I am going to write how you can have fun with them, as well as possibly make some money.

First, let’s make gingerbread houses for fun.

1.Have your class make their own gingerbread houses. This is a multi-task activity that includes, among other things, baking and decorating. The easiest way to do this is to make the gingerbread pieces on one class day and assemble on the next.