CAFÉ Update April 5, 2021

05 April 2021

Pearfection Cheesecake Recipe Contest

Culinary School Baking and Pastry Instructors are invited to enter the Pearfection Cheesecake Recipe Contest.

Cheesecake is a beloved dessert around the world, and the Pacific Canned Pear Service invites you to get creative with naturally sweet and delicious U.S. grown canned Bartlett pears and enter your winning cheesecake recipe.

Recipes will be evaluated based on: creative use of canned pears (25%), canned pears are integral to success of recipe (25%) and flavor and texture (50%).

Submit your recipe to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and a photo no later than May 1, 2021.

3 Cash Prizes will be awarded:

1^st Place-$1,000

2^nd Place-$500

3^rd Place-$250

BONUS: All entrants who submit a complete and eligible entry will receive a $10 Starbucks Gift Card from Pacific Northwest Canned Pear Service.

For more information about the contest, go to Resource-center/Contests.

CAFÉ Talks Podcast Episode #22

Join us as Chef Jeff Quasha gives us a glimpse of his journey and his commitment to making a difference within healthcare foodservice operations. Morrison’s is a chef-centric company that resembles a classic organizational brigade. A company that embodies two important core beliefs: they believe in the Power of Food and having a Passion for Life’s Flavor.

To subscribe to CAFÉ Talks Podcasts, click here.

There are numerous interviews which will inspire you and impress your students!

And don’t forget! We have lesson plans available now for CAFÉ members. You can have your students listen and learn and even get credit for their thoughts and discussions!

And many thanks to the Podcast Title Sponsor: ATP Learning!
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And many thanks to the Podcast Gold Sponsors:

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An outstanding lineup of presenters and presentations can be found on CAFÉ’s YouTube channel. Go to CAFEmeetingplace.

Currently there are recaps of our programs on Umami, Potato Ideations, Kitchen Technology (think Ghost Kitchens), Lamb sausages and April 2’s conversation on the future of culinary education.

Last Friday’s discussion between two veteran culinary educators and leaders went well over the time allotted because of all the great discussion points raised in the Q&A section. CAFÉ is considering hosting a monthly “Happy Hour” for open mike discussions. We will refer to it as “Future Talk on Culinary Education.”

Both Chris Koetke and Paul Sorgule are willing to lead discussions on topics ranging from models of industry partnerships to technology and other topics brought up by the participants in the zoom meeting.

More to come!!

And a big THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSOR:

CAFÉ 2021 Awards Program

The deadline to submit you/your program’s application for a cash award has been extended to April 15, 2021.

For more information about the Awards, go to Scholarship/Awards.

2021 Community Outreach Award

Thanks to Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts for sponsoring the inaugural Community Outreach Award for 2021! This Award is open to culinary/hospitality programs or individuals making a positive impact in their communities via outreach programs such as food banks, recycling efforts, skill development for homeless, etc.

For more information about the Community Outreach Award, click here.

2021 Technology Award

Thanks to Mercer Culinary, we are pleased to announce that a 2021 Technology Award will be offered to individuals/culinary programs that successfully introduced technology in their programs

This Award is sponsored by Mercer Culinary who is proud to reach out to educators and to recognize their efforts instructing students in the complex world of technology and culinary arts.

What are your efforts and successes in this area?

Click here for more information about the Technology Award.

2021 Idaho Potato Commission Innovation Awards

CAFÉ is proud to be partnering with the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) once again as they sponsor the Innovation Awards for 2021.

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.

Click here for more information about the Innovations Award.

2021 Kendall College Entrepreneurship Award

Thanks to Kendall College for once again sponsoring the Entrepreneurship Award for 2021.

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.

Click here for more information about the Entrepreneurship Award.

2021 Sysco Educator of the Year Award

Thanks to Sysco for again sponsoring the Educator of the Year Award for 2021! 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.

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

2021 Green Award

We are pleased to announce that the 2021 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!

For more information about the Green Award, click here.

To Join CAFÉ

You can join as an individual; you can join as an institution; you can join as an industry partner.

Benefits include the CAFE Podcast Lesson Plans; discounts to CAFÉ events; and access to “The Journal for Culinary Education Best Practices.”

To join (and we hope you do!!), click here.

Did You Know CAFÉ is on Social Media Platforms?

You can find us on:

Facebook: CAFE: The Center for Advancement of Foodservice Education

Twitter: @CAFEMeeting

YouTube: CAFEmeetingplace