Many of you know Dr. Colin Roche, a long time CAFÉ community member and frequent speaker / attendee at many of our events. However, what you may not know is that he is also the creator and host of a very successful YouTube channel titled “DrProfessorChef” (https://www.youtube.com/user/DrChefColin)!

On his YouTube channel, he posts a variety of culinary and educational videos geared to those who love food & cooking, want to learn, and have an interest in the culinary arts field. The channel is broken up into several playlists that you may find to be of interest, such as “Knives & Knife Cuts”, “Food Service Mathematics”, and “Travel & Educational Videos”. Two specific videos from these playlists that many educators have found to be helpful for use in their culinary classrooms is the one on recipe costing (bit.ly/costrecipe) and the one on how to carve a watermelon (bit.ly/carvewatermelon). However, we suggest you explore them all to see which would be most helpful for your classroom!

The second resource is a podcast that Dr. Roche has just recently started hosting titled the “Chef Educator” (chefeducator.com). Colin created the podcast as a comprehensive resource for both new and "seasoned" culinary, baking & pastry, and hospitality teachers, instructors and faculty, at both secondary and post-secondary educational institutions. The show addresses the many issues related to student learning and instructor effectiveness by offering a collection of practical and effective teaching tools, tips and techniques that you can use in your classroom and/or labs. You can listen to the Chef Educator podcast at: www.chefeducator.com, or wherever podcasts are found (i.e. Apple Podcast, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Podchaser, etc.)

And of course, if you find either of these to be of interest, please be sure to subscribe and to let him know so that he will continue to create and share these helpful resources!

Dean and Directors Retreat

It was with a heavy heart that CAFÉ had to cancel the 8th annual Deans and Directors Retreat which was to be held March 13-15th.

We had an extraordinary program planned as well as some very special dining opportunities. People were coming from Hawaii, Maine and all points north and south.

We did not feel as if we had a choice: many attendees were calling and emailing that their school districts had banned any travel. We had several presenters announced that they could not come. Sadly, things accelerated and finally came to a head this week when we announced the postponement of the event.

What CAFÉ has Done:

1. We notified everyone as soon as possible, including the Hilton Hotel
2. We have refunded all of the dinner reservation money (thanks to Arnaud’s and their willingness to cancel our event with no charge
3. We are in the midst of refunding all of the registration fees (as well as offering to put that money into a registration for the June 2020 meeting or the 2021 Retreat)
4. We heard today from the Hilton that they will be refunding the one-night fee/penalty that they had billed attendees
5. We are looking to re-schedule this important event for March 2021. Stay tuned! It will be in NOLA and the topic will be “A Case for Change.”

Please know that we are committed to bringing you excellent programming at a reasonable cost and that this has been a huge blow to us as well. The loss of the event, including your travel costs and frustrations dealing with the hotel are not the memories we would wish for anyone. Happily, it appears that we will be able to reschedule in the most magical city of New Orleans.

Stay safe and I hope that we will be able to meet again soon.

Don't Forget to Submit Your Applications for CAFÉ Awards!

Click here for more information.

IMPORTANT DATES

Applications Due for CAFE Awards
April 1, 2020

Awards Announced
May 1, 2020

Cut off Date for Leadership Conference Hotel
May 16, 2020

16th Annual CAFE Leadership Conference
“Innovations and Inspirations”
June 17-19, 2020, Portland, Maine

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 2020.

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.

Kendall College Entrepreneurship Award

CAFÉ is proud to be partnering with Kendall College as they sponsor the Entrepreneurship Award for 2020.

This 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.

Submission Guidelines:

• Open to individuals and all culinary programs
• Open to secondary and post-secondary schools
• Include all contact information in your application
• Entries judged in the areas of quality of design, applicability, replicability, stewardship, success in implementation of the project or concept, impact upon the college and community and thoughtful innovation in practice and technique.

For more information, email Mary Petersen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Sysco Educator of the Year Award

Thanks to Sysco for again sponsoring the Educator of the Year Award for 2020! 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.

Green Award for 2020

We are pleased to announce that the Green Award will be offered to individuals/culinary programs that emphasize sustainability or other “green” aspects in their programs.

This Award is sponsored by the United Soybean Board who is proud to reach out to educators and to recognize their efforts instructing students in the importance of agriculture in their selection of products and designing of menus.

Past winners have implemented aquaculture farms, gardens, farm-to-table menus, waste reduction and more!

What are your efforts in this area?

The Award is $1,000 plus a complimentary registration to the annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference where the winner will be recognized during the Award Ceremony on June 17th at our host school, Southern Maine Community College in Portland, Maine.

To apply, send your electronic application to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Please put Green Award Application in the subject line. There is no application form, but please use a cover sheet with full contact information.

Deadline to submit is April 1, 2020. Winner will be notified no later than May 1, 2020.

For more information, click here.