From recipes to roe, and from properly extracting meat from the shell and paring it with wines, this free online learning course from The Culinary Institute of America is suitable for culinary-arts students in class and as homework.

The Culinary Institute of America has launched a free online learning course, “The Professional Chef Discovers Maine Lobster.” The program provides a crash course in all things Maine lobster, including chef-tested recipes, all downloadable and demonstrated in streaming HD video by CIA Chef Scott Samuel and some special guest chefs.

Sponsored by the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative, “The Professional Chef Discovers Maine Lobster” takes viewers to the coastal waters of Maine as lobstermen pull up their catches and into the kitchens of the CIA’s Greystone campus in Napa Valley.

A successful, time-honored business in Northern California projects saving 65% of current energy usage thanks to a new solar-energy system it recently installed, helping to shape the future of the baking industry.

Sugar Bowl Bakery, one of the largest family- and minority-owned bakeries operating in the United States, recently installed solar modules and electric vehicle-charging stations to increase the energy efficiency of the facility. With the installation of a photovoltaic system, Sugar Bowl Bakery, located in the Bay Area, will have the capacity to produce 700,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) per year, which offsets 65% of the facility’s current electricity usage.

Sugar Bowl Bakery’s decision to incorporate cutting-edge and renewable technology within its factory will help shape the future of the baking industry.

The BCA Global’s 21^st-Annual Cultural Awareness Salute and Black Tie Gala will be held Nov. 21, 2014, at the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan in New York City to honor the achievements of people of color in the industry.

This year’s theme of “Crossing Cultures” will focus on a deeper understanding of global diversity in the foodservice, culinary and hospitality industries. The event will provide a space for networking and dialogue about the advancement of diversity and give culinary students from around the country the opportunity to hone their skills in a real-life environment.

The gala will begin with a VIP and cocktail reception, followed by a multi-course dinner and Viennese reception. The gala dinner will give a taste of what the future holds for the foodservice industry and will be supported by educational partners and students from Johnson & Wales University, South Bronx Job Corps Academy, the Culinary Program at Brooklyn Job Corps Academy, Career Academy of NY and LI, Culinary Training Institute, New York Institute of Technology, Fed Cap Culinary Training Program and The Culinary Institute of America.

Students from different schools and different backgrounds come together in the same kitchen and cook for the gala in a noncompetitive environment, say Howard Stanford, board chair, and Alex Askew, president, BCA Global.

BCA Global (founded as the Black Culinarian Alliance) is a nationwide nonprofit, educational and networking organization of hospitality and foodservice professionals. Incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 1998, its mission is to create exposure and provide educational and professional opportunities for culinary and hospitality professionals of color. This objective is accomplished by providing quality educational and employment resources, job coaching, mentoring and assistance with placement, and networking support.

For more information on the 21st-Annual Cultural Awareness Salute and Black Tie Gala , e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or call (212) 643 -6570. For more information on BCA Global, visit www.bcaglobal.org. 

The Kendall CollegeSchool of Culinary Arts announces the addition of Austin Yancey, CEC, CCE, PCEC, to its adjunct faculty. A lauded chef and educator, Yancey will be teaching Nutritional Cooking and one of Kendall’s Culinary Certificate courses. 

“Kendall College proudly welcomes Chef Yancey to our teaching family,” says Renee Zonka, RD, CEC, CHE, MBA, dean of the school. “Chef Yancey’s wealth of experience and achievement in culinary instruction, professional cooking and formal competition on the global stage—combined with his effusive reach-for-the-stars philosophy and attitude—will continue to advance Kendall College’s distinction as an international leader in culinary education.”

Most recently a culinary-arts instructor at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, Yancey discovered his love of and passion for cooking as a young boy working alongside his grandmother in her Greenville, S.C., kitchen. There, she introduced Yancey to the wholesomeness and pronounced flavors of naturally raised and harvested ingredients years before farm-to-table cooking and eating became the American ideal.

A graduate of Le Cordon Bleu, Yancey started his culinary journey at Caliterra (since closed), the Saddle & Cycle Club and the Zurich Skyline Suite at Soldier Field.

Entries in the 2014 Discover Duck Recipe Contest proved that the possibilities with duck are boundless. Concepts ranging from Latin-influenced entrées to decadent desserts and upscale state-fair favorites captured the attention of judges who awarded more than $19,000 in cash and prizes. Sponsored by Maple Leaf Farms, the annual contest challenged professional chefs and culinary students to produce original recipes showcasing Maple Leaf Farms duck. More than 260 recipes from across the country were submitted.

“This contest gives chefs and culinary students a chance to showcase their culinary talent and creativity,” said Maple Leaf Farms’ director of marketing, Cindy Turk. “Each year we look forward to seeing a lot of innovative and inspired recipes, and we have never been disappointed.”

Duck & Sweet Plantain Lasagna Pastelon captured the Chef Category Grand Prize, earning executive chef Daniel Ramos of Quail Ridge Country Club, Boynton Beach, Fla., $10,000. Chef Dennis Chan of Blue Bamboo, Jacksonville, Fla., claimed the second-place prize of $1,000 with his Peruvian Duck Ceviche.

Additional finalists included Candied Duck Bacon Maple Fried Ice Cream created by executive chef Eric Lackey of Ulele, Tampa, Fla.; Quacker Jacks by lead chef instructor Tom Chamot of New York Wine & Culinary Center, Canandaigua; and Savory Duck Confit Cannoli by production chef Stephen Belin of Georgia Southern University/Lakeside Café, Statesboro, Ga.

The Culinary Institute of America and Half Moon Theatre, the Hudson Valley’s leading year-round professional theatre company, recently announced a new partnership that will bring New York-style theatrical performances to the Hyde Park campus. The CIA’s new 800-seat, state-of-the-art Ecolab Auditorium in the Marriott Pavilion makes it possible for visitors to enjoy a meal in either the The Bocuse Restaurant, American Bounty or Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici prior to experiencing one of Half Moon Theatre’s productions.

The CIA will offer a special pre-show, three-course, prix-fixe menu prior to each performance for $39 per person. As many of the productions will feature food themes, the CIA’s chefs will create unique menus for specific performances, giving diners an enhanced overall experience.

Now entering its eighth season, Half Moon Theatre (HMT) is a Hudson Valley-based company of local actors, directors, playwrights, designers and producers who have also worked extensively in New York, Los Angeles and at regional theaters around the country. HMT has produced world-premiere plays, Broadway hits, an original children’s opera and an annual 10 Minute Play Festival.

On its 80^th anniversary, Kendall College’s president envisions a future in which everyone worldwide with a passion for food may pursue their dreams to cook professionally.

By Emily Williams Knight

Kendall College’s School of Culinary Arts exists to create agents of change, not only in Chicago and the Midwest, but across the country and globe. We teach people with a passion for food how to put that passion in play in ways that extend far beyond creating convivial social experiences for people.

Our graduates have the power to greatly enhance a community’s health and well-being. They leave our campus with ardent commitment to serving and protecting the environment that sustains us. These newly minted professionals, trained in the art of culinary and the business of securing and preparing high-quality food for others, can also help alleviate that which keeps populations worldwide adequately fed yet severely malnourished.

Given the immense potential of trained culinarians to bring significant, positive change to all corners of the planet, we in the United States and many other nations are fortunate that a relatively newfound respect for chefs coupled with increasing love of and fascination with all things culinary extends throughout our respective cultures—making it easier to enact real, worthwhile change.

A new degree is designed to prepare graduates to influence the future of food.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA)is launching a new bachelor’s degree major in applied food studies, with classes to begin in January 2015 at the CIA’s Hyde Park, N.Y., campus. The new major joins existing bachelor’s degrees in management and culinary science. Management majors can also pursue concentrations in advanced beverage and hospitality management, farm-to-table cooking and Latin cuisines. Together, these majors and concentrations give CIA graduates many food-career options to influence the future of the way the world eats.

The new major offers students an in-depth understanding of global food resources, policy and cultures, and their interconnections. Courses such as Anthropology of Food, Food Ecology, Food History and Social Science complement the college's foundational classes covering culinary fundamentals, world cuisines, banquets and restaurant cooking. Together they prepare graduates to impact the issues facing food systems from a chef’s perspective.

This second in a two-part series on teaching culinary arts through ratios in practical culinary labs focuses on incorporating ratios into your lesson plan.

By John Reiss, CEC, CCE

In my previous article, I wrote about using ratios in professional culinary training. Here, I focus on the ratios themselves and how to incorporate them into your lesson plan.

Ratios in Professional Cooking
As professional chefs and culinary educators, we use ratios that might be explicit or subtle. On one hand, for example, we know that a pilaf is 2:1, vinaigrette is 3:1 and a roux is 1:1.

On the other hand, there are ratios that we apply instinctively and without much thought. We “know,” for example, the amount of water needed to prepare a stock, or the amount of salt we should add to water when preparing pasta.

Knowing ratios like these streamlines the cooking process and creates speed and efficiency—both valuable commodities in the kitchen—where time is of the essence. It’s also liberating to have ratios like these at our fingertips, because they provide a zone in which we can channel our creativity in developing techniques and methods.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation unveils the most comprehensive restaurant-industry workforce study in decades. Among findings were average annual salaries for chefs and cooks and restaurant managers.

Nine out of 10 restaurant employees say they are proud to work in the restaurant industry, while three-quarters believe the industry offers them a strong career path and upward mobility, according to a new workforce study released in August by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF).

As the most extensive research of the restaurant sector workforce in decades, “Who Works in the U.S. Restaurant Industry” details the opinions of nearly 5,100 Americans who currently work or formerly worked in the industry, as well as those who own or operate restaurants.

“This landmark research finds that employees and owners/operators have a decidedly positive perception of our industry and believe extensive career choices and opportunities for advancement are readily available,” said Dawn Sweeney, president and chief executive officer of the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and NRAEF. “This study offers fresh and compelling insight into why so many Americans choose to chart their careers in the restaurant industry, how they advance and why so many plan to stay until they retire.”