By Adam Weiner

Says Chef Weiner, with summer here, it’s time to look at your curriculum, look at your syllabus, look at your lesson plans, and see what you can do to make sure you teach the basics your students need to get and keep a job.

My program runs year 'round. I have new students starting and senior students graduating every month. I envy my friends whose classes have summer breaks. It would be great to have some off time to review what happened in the previous class term: what went well, and what needed improvement. I would then take these points and modify my course curriculum, changing what didn’t work, and strengthen what did.

607 colleges and universities nationwide competed to reduce, reuse and recycle

Every spring, students across the country become RecycleManiacs, competing for national supremacy to determine which school can reduce, reuse and recycle the most campus waste. The Denver campus of Johnson & Wales University recently received accolades for recycling nearly 42 pounds of food waste (on a per-capita basis) from any other competing college or university.

An e-learning lesson plan at ciaprochef.com sponsored by Starbucks Foodservice.

Every great cup of coffee begins with top-quality beans: the right variety, grown in the right place, and processed the right way. The more you know about the beans, the more enlightened coffee consumer you will be. After all, the only other ingredient in the brew is the water.

This lesson plan, part of ciaprochef.com—The Culinary Institute of America's Web site for foodservice professionals—was sponsored by Starbucks Foodservice and includes the following areas of training:

An e-learning lesson plan at ciaprochef.com sponsored by Starbucks Foodservice.

Every great cup of coffee begins with top-quality beans: the right variety, grown in the right place, and processed the right way. The more you know about the beans, the more enlightened coffee consumer you will be. After all, the only other ingredient in the brew is the water.

This lesson plan, part of ciaprochef.com—The Culinary Institute of America's Web site for foodservice professionals—was sponsored by Starbucks Foodservice and includes the following areas of training:

By William C. Franklin, CMC, AAC

Like a bell curve, leadership in new chapters of professional organizations rises, then wanes. Adopting certain structural steps will keep a chapter strong, delivering long-term value to members.

Over the four and a half decades that I have worked in this industry, I've observed one constant: The industry puts greater demands on all of us every day. We are busy people with work and life's general requirements. Most of us no longer have the benefit of volunteering weekly or daily hours to our favorite professional organization.

The life cycle of most American Culinary Federation chapters is somewhat predictable and can be applied against a simple bell curve. The curve could cover 10, 20 or 30 years. The beginning of the bell curve represents the energetic chartering group in their mid-20s and 30s. They work hard to get the chapter established and grow the membership, sometimes into the hundreds. This group seems to be the energy and catalyst that sustains all programs and events while moving the chapter forward.

By Brent T. Frei

Mary Petersen, pioneer in creating learning opportunities for foodservice educators, is honored for her achievements by Cordon d’Or – Gold Ribbon.

Mary Petersen, founder and executive director of the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ), has been named Chef Educator of the Year in the 2009-2010 Cordon d’Or - Gold Ribbon Annual International “Cookbooks & Culinary Arts” Culinary Academy Awards.

Noreen Kinney, founder and president of the St. Petersburg, Fla.-based Cordon d’Or - Gold Ribbon Culinary Academy Awards—The Accolade of the 21st Century, honored Petersen and recipients of other award categories at a reception and dinner sponsored by the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association on April 30 at the Don CeSar Resort in St. Pete Beach.

Regional winners to vie for ACF’s national title in Anaheim in August.

The regional conferences of the American Culinary Federation are concluded for another year, and now, four regional winners of ACF’s Chef Educator of the Year Award will compete for the national title at ACF’s 2010 National Convention in Anaheim, Calif., Aug. 2-5. Candidates will each give a lecture/demonstration before a panel of judges, who will decide the winner.

By Eric Stein, M.S., R.D.

‘Tis the season for incorporating a wealth of Mediterranean-origin fruits and vegetables in menu development.

The spring season brings a major increase in the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to markets around the country. Some examples of produce that come into harvest in the spring include artichokes, cardoons, citrus, fennel, an assortment of greens and lettuces, spring onions and an array of different herbs. While many of these items are common on restaurant menus in the United States, throughout a variety of cuisines, they also share a common trait that most are also used extensively in the Mediterranean diet.

By Edward Korry, CWE, CSS

Here’s what every wine server should know.

Service involves more than the step-by-step procedures of opening and pouring wine correctly; it includes suggesting wines that not only pair with the food being ordered, but also that guests will enjoy. That requires knowledge of how food and wines interact with each other so that both either taste the way their creators intended or are enhanced and includes being able to help quests with their selection.

By Brent T. Frei

DC Central Kitchen’s Linda Vogler—who will present at CAFÉ’s upcoming Leadership Conference—helps transform despair into triumph for adult learners through food and service.

Chef Linda Vogler, culinary coordinator at DC Central Kitchen in Washington, D.C., trains people in the culinary arts who are otherwise challenged at finding meaningful employment. For her work, Vogler received Women Chefs & Restaurateurs’ 2009 Community Service Award honoring her contributions that have made a strong impact on the lives of others.