We are so lucky to be celebrating the 15th year of the CAFE Leadership Conference!

The Conference began as an opportunity for culinary instructors to (1) keep up to date with their culinary skills and (2) keep up to date with their teaching skills.

Have things changed in 15 years?

Oh Yes! We weren’t dealing with issues ranging from online courses to sustainability to digital resources and more! Student competitions were nice to have, but not necessarily a part of the curriculum. Front-of-the-House skills were another optional course as well anything to do with culinary wellness.

We are proud of how our annual Leadership Conference has evolved over the years to help guide instructors as well as provide a platform for sharing best practices. Click here to see a tentative agenda for the June 20-22, 2019 conference, hosted by Central Piedmont Community College and Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC. We will feature trends from both industry as well as education.

We will provide keynoters, have a relevant InfoFair, celebrate award winners, and enjoy great southern hospitality!

For online registration, click here. Hotel information is there as well.

Come celebrate our Crystal Anniversary with us!!

Deans and Directors

The program at the upcoming Deans and Directors Retreat in Charleston March 15-17 covers topics related to Building Your Brand. We begin with communication skills; we hear from one of the all-time great brand builders, Kevin Ryan. We will have a panel of your peers talking about their brand building and how they measured success. Social media will be discussed as related to your programs and a terrific panel of innovative programs will be presented. Lunch times will be spectacular (and featuring Norwegian Seafood in southern cuisine) and special this year will be some lunch-time short Ted-style presentations giving you lots to think and talk about.

Give yourself the gift of a weekend to share insights and learn from your network. For online registration, click here. HOTEL DEADLINE IS FEBRUARY 11.

Brightwater: A Center for the Study of Food: Sponsor of TWO Awards

• Green Award: Recognizes culinary programs that promote and incorporate sustainability efforts as part of their curriculum and operations. Click here for information about the Green Award
• Food Entrepreneurship Award: Identifies culinary programs that either 1) teach or encourage entrepreneurship in their programming or 2) implement revenue-generation and cost-savings into their operations. Click here for information about the Entrepreneurship Award

Idaho Potato Commission Innovation Awards

CAFE is proud to be partnering with the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) once again as they sponsor the Innovation Awards for 2019.

This Award recognizes educators and/or programs at both the secondary and postsecondary levels who have shown to be innovative in their approaches to effective culinary arts education.

Examples of innovations can be in the areas of:

• New programs or
• New delivery methods or
• New partnerships or
• New relations with the local community

Click here for more information about the Innovations Award.

Sysco Educator of the Year Award

Thanks to Sysco for again sponsoring the Educator of the Year Award for 2019! This award is open to secondary and postsecondary educators as well as culinary educators working within the non-profit training sector. There will be two awards given.

The Committee will be looking for:

• a description of methodologies that exemplify innovative teaching techniques. Give examples.
• evidence of the educator’s professional commitment to the educational community and foodservice industry which might include school committee work, professional networking, and community involvement.
• a resume with the application.
• descriptions of ongoing professional development in both instructional and technical skills in the last few years.
• overall evidence that the educator has proven leadership in his/her profession; examples may include peer reviews, student evaluations, letters of recommendation, certificates and honors received, etc.

For more information about the Educator of the Year Awards, click here.

IMPORTANT DATES FOR 2019

February 11, 2019
Hotel Deadline, Dean and Directors Retreat

March 15-17, 2019
Deans and Directors Retreat, Charleston, SC

April 1, 2019
Award Applications Due

June 20-22, 2019
15th Annual CAFE Leadership Conference, Charlotte, NC