Using games to teach will get both you and your students out of a rut. A round of Hangman, anyone?

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

As teachers we get into ruts. If we are teaching one-month classes, one-semester classes or one-year classes, we tend to do the same thing every month, every semester, every year. Even if it works well, we get bored. When we get bored, the students get bored. When the students get bored, their education and our enjoyment of teaching both go downhill fast.

At the June Leadership Conference of CAFÉ I was able to attend a seminar entitled “You Can Lead Students to the Classroom, but Can You Make Them Think?” It was led by assistant professors Deet Gilbert and Sunil Atreya, both of Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte. The thrust of that seminar was that in today’s world, standing up and giving a lecture will not get the attention of most students, and even fewer will retain the material. In other words, lecturing to your students in the academic portion of your curriculum is dooming your students and yourself to failure. The seminar went on to cover at least 10 or more different games and formats you can use to liven up your class.

What really hit me like a bucket of cold water about this was that the second article I wrote for “The Gold Medal Classroom,” in March 2009, talked about creating word puzzles, crossword puzzles and other games to get the students thinking and interacting. I even listed a number of websites that had these items available for free. To my horror, I realized at the Leadership Conference that I had gotten myself into a rut and that I was not doing any of these games any more. It didn’t take more than a few moments of reflection to realize that my students absorbed and learned the material faster and more thoroughly when I was using the games. It was also clear that I was having less fun teaching the class.

“The Gold Medal Classroom” launches a new editorial department and forum for deans and directors in 2014: a leadership think tank.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

These are challenging times for culinary-arts programs. Administrators are faced with demands for measureable outcomes from various accrediting agencies, the cost of equipping and operating viable programs is increasing exponentially, and the price of education for students has increased far greater than other indexes (one leading culinary school reported that its yearly tuition alone increased from $8,490 in 1990 to $24,550 in 2010--or 290%) while financial aid and personal loans have become more difficult to obtain.

The ever-increasing number of culinary programs across the country has skewed conversions for admissions departments and increased their cost of identifying candidates (qualified or unqualified), and faculty are faced with teaching a student body that is oftentimes ill prepared for the rigors of a career in food. On the bright side, the restaurant industry in America is strong and growing and demand for qualified graduates remains high.

How do we sift through these challenges, face them head on, differentiate between cause and effect and prepare programs and students for a successful future? This is the most important task that faces program deans and directors. Too often we find ourselves dealing with the operational challenge of today and losing sight of the issues that will keep our programs viable and our students employable.

Courtesy of The Culinary Institute of America’s ciaprochef.com

Finally, Americans are getting the message: Some dietary fats are good for you and some fats should get the boot. Clearly, choosing fats wisely is the first step toward a more healthful diet, which is why canola oil is now in the limelight. No culinary oil has more nutritional merit ... or more potential to improve the quality of the American diet.

In this online educational segment produced in conjunction with www.canolainfo.org, your students can learn why canola has so much to offer the health-conscious chef and how to use it to replace less desirable fats in the professional kitchen. Recipes developed by the chefs at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone demonstrate canola oil’s many talents. And in several streaming videos, students can watch the chefs prepare these recipes and perhaps pick up some new cooking techniques.

Modules include “Canola Oil: For a Healthier Kitchen,” “Canola From Farm to Table,” “Canola Oil: Why It’s the Healthy Choice,” “Canola Oil Takes the Heat,” “Recipes and Videos” and resources for more information.

To access the segment online, visit www.ciaprochef.com/canola/index.html.

$1,000 Grand Prize and $500 Runner-up prize, instructor incentives. Sponsored by the National Honey Board (NHB) in partnership with “The Gold Medal Classroom.”

• Contest period: Sept. 16 - Oct. 29, 2013. Deadline for all entries: Oct. 29, 2013.
• Entries must include one (1) small plate or dessert recipe AND on (1) beverage recipe. Both recipes must include honey.
• Contest entrants must be currently enrolled in a postsecondary culinary school/program in the 50 United States. Please include with entry: Name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, name of culinary school/program and name of referring culinary instructor.
• Entries must include at least one (1) digital photograph of the food and beverage pairing.
• Eligible entries will be evaluated by a panel of NHB judges on prominence and appropriate use of honey, taste, originality, appearance and practicality.
• Contest entries become property of NHB and may be used in marketing/public-relations activities. Entries must be the original work of the entrant, may not have won previous awards, may not have been published previously, and must not infringe third-party intellectual property or other rights.
• Email entries to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with Honey Recipe Contest in the subject line.

PRIZES

• One grand prize of $1,000 and one runner-up prize of $500.
• Referring instructor of each winner will receive a $250 prize and one (1) FREE registration to a 2014 CAFÉ conference or workshop.
• Winners will be notified on or around November 15, 2013, via phone and/or email. Winning students may be featured in a press release and/or on NHB social-media sites.

Peter Lehmuller, Ed.D., has been appointed dean of the College of Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales University (effective July 1, 2013). He was most recently the dean of Academic Affairs at the university’s Charlotte campus and has relocated to the university’s flagship campus in Providence, R.I.

Lehmuller assumes his new position at a time when culinary-arts education is undergoing a profound assessment by both its peers and critics. The field is increasing in scope, requiring both experiential education and a more extensive college education to succeed. JWU is at the forefront of this turning point as it advances its academic programs to reflect the trends and demands of the industry.

During the past three decades, JWU’s culinary academic programs have evolved from an associate-degree program to include bachelor-of-science degrees in Culinary Nutrition, Culinary Arts and Foodservice Management. Currently, JWU culinary faculty and administration are developing a new curriculum expected to deepen a student’s knowledge required by the foodservice industry, as well as the fields of science and health. The university is also exploring post-graduate programs that will raise the level of a graduate’s value in the workplace.

In his role as dean of the College of Culinary Arts, Lehmuller says, “This is a phenomenal time to be in the hub of culinary academics. I am looking forward to the changing direction that JWU has set to achieve in the near future. We are at a crossroads where the demands of the industry and the betterment of society require graduates to have more complex set of skills and knowledge in order to succeed.”

Entries in the 2013 Discover Duck Recipe Contest prove great tastes come in small packages. Sponsored by Maple Leaf Farms, the annual contest challenged professional chefs and culinary students to produce an original appetizer or small plate recipe showcasing Maple Leaf Farms duck. Nearly 250 entries from across the country were submitted, competing for more than $15,000 in cash prizes.

Duck Doughnuts with an Apple Honey Sauce captured the Chef Category Grand Prize, earning Chef Geoff Kelty of Eddie Merlot’s Steakhouse in Columbus, Ohio, $5,000. Chef Keoni Chang, corporate chef and director of prepared foods for Foodland Supermarket in Honolulu, Hawaii, claimed the second-place prize of $3,000 with his Duck & Lemongrass Skewers with Hoisin Peanut Dipping Sauce recipe. Duck Liver Crème Brûlée took the $1,500 third prize for Chef Barry Greenberg, executive chef for the University of Iowa in Iowa City. Open Faced Duck Pastrami Sliders Deconstructed and Smoked Duck Arancini with Hazelnuts and Truffles (pictured) each captured $500 for Gary Ullman, commissary chef of Barnies Coffee Kitchen in Orlando and Eric Stein, RD, CCE, former chef-instructor at Kendall College, Chicago, respectively. 

Thomas Recinella, CEC, ACE, AAC, program director for Baker College of Port Huron’s Culinary Institute of Michigan, has been inducted into membership of the prestigious Disciples Escoffier International-USA. 

This premier gastronomic society was founded to honor renowned French chef Auguste Escoffier (1847-1935). Its members are culinary professionals who maintain French haute-cuisine standards, promote relationships between professionals and students, organize culinary events, collaborate closely with schools, and unite all Disciples Escoffier from around the world in the true “Esprit Escoffier.”

“Chef Recinella’s induction into Disciples Escoffier honors his dedication to the culinary arts and his vast contributions to our culinary-arts program,” said Dr. Connie Harrison, Baker College of Port Huron president. “We are proud of his accomplishments and are excited about what his association with this elite gastronomic society will add to our students’ experience while at the Culinary Institute.”

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) is proud to announce that its Certified Executive Pastry Chef® (CEPC®) credential received accreditation through the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) under the Institute of Credentialing Excellence. This is the third ACF certification program accredited by NCCA.

Accreditation by NCCA provides independent validation that the CEPC® program meets or exceeds 21 standards concerning various aspects of the certification program. Accreditation validates the integrity of the program and is a sign of quality. The additional certification programs accredited by NCCA are Certified Executive Chef® (CEC®) and Certified Sous Chef® (CSC®).

As high-school seniors yearn to become star chefs, more colleges consider the leap to culinary education. The result is a glut of programs all vying to meet enrollment goals. Meanwhile, the cost of a quality culinary education far exceeds earning potential.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Although it seems impossible to find an accurate number, it appears there might be as many as 2,000 programs in the United States that offer some form of “professional” culinary degree or certificate.

The cost of providing quality educational programs has skyrocketed as colleges strive to remain competitive with student-to-faculty ratios, state-of-the-art facilities and sufficient equipment to meet the needs of the curriculum and provide the right amount of “sizzle” to attract students.

As high-school seniors and career changers become more enthralled with the marketed glamour of working in kitchens and a vision of becoming a star chef, more and more colleges consider the leap to culinary education.

New 23,000-sq.-ft. facility—part of a $24 million area project—focuses on European-style cooking, with veteran chef and educator Tom Recinella at the helm.

Baker College of Port Huron officially opened its Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) recently with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration along with two other businesses that are revitalizing Port Huron’s waterfront area. CIM-Port Huron classes for fall quarter began Sept. 30.

The new 23,000-sq.-ft. CIM-Port Huron teaching facility was built specifically for the study of culinary arts. It supports the learning process through advanced technologies and its interior design, which includes state-of-the-art classrooms and labs, as well as unobstructed views between classrooms that facilitate the open-kitchen concept of European-style training and cooking.

The CIM-Port Huron is part of the $24 million project that includes the DoubleTree by Hilton Port Huron, Freighters Eatery and Taproom and the future 40,000-sq.-ft. Blue Water Area Convention Center, which is scheduled to be complete by 2015. The project is expected to generate a $25 million annual boost to the local economy during its first 10 years of operation.

“The Culinary Institute of Michigan is a world-class facility that is designed to provide optimal hands-on learning experiences for our students,” says Connie Harrison, PhD, president of Baker College of Port Huron. “Our location next to an upscale hotel, a premier restaurant and a new convention center will facilitate valuable interaction with students. This is precisely what Baker College is about: providing real-world experiences to our students that deliver a huge advantage as they move into the workforce.”