An award-winning pastry chef and talented baker and cake artist bring their seasonally inspired, artisanal confections to life at this Parisian-style Rhode Island bakery.

As a young teen Melissa Denmark, CC, was constantly reading cookbooks and applying what she learned in the kitchen. An avid baker, she joined a mentorship program at a French restaurant during her final year of high school. That early training led her to the pastry-arts program at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., where she graduated summa cum laude.

After working at a Ritz-Carlton property in Florida, Denmark went on to work with a cake decorator in Maryland and for Bobolink Dairy Farm and Bakeyard in New Jersey. It was during her latter stint that she came to appreciate the importance of sustainability and using farm-raised foods.

’Tis the season, says Chef Weiner, who among other things suggests a “Build a Gingerbread House” station to raise needed funds for programs.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

My article on teaching Thanksgiving side dishes was so well received by “Gold Medal Classroom” readers that Mary Petersen, president of CAFÉ, suggested I consider writing how to make gingerbread houses.

I toyed with this sweet suggestion (pun intended) and decided to twist it a bit. Instead of writing about how to make gingerbread houses, I am going to write how you can have fun with them, as well as possibly make some money.

First, let’s make gingerbread houses for fun.

1.Have your class make their own gingerbread houses. This is a multi-task activity that includes, among other things, baking and decorating. The easiest way to do this is to make the gingerbread pieces on one class day and assemble on the next.

In his final installment in a series on student assessment, Dr. Mayo says it is increasingly important to explain to students the criteria we use in grading. Not only does doing so make our jobs easier, but it is only fair to tell students ahead of time how they are going to be evaluated.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Over the last three months, we have discussed the purposes of assessment and assessment methods such as keeping track of attendance, using open-book tests, administering take-home examinations, evaluating oral presentations, grading class participation and observing student performance in culinary classrooms and dining rooms. This month, we will examine assessment criteria and rubrics.

Criteria versus Methods
Many faculty members confuse assessment criteria with assessment methods, understandable since many of us were taught in situations where there were no explicit criteria and the only thing we knew was the grading mix—what percentage of the grade was based on which specific assignments. However, the world of assessment has grown immensely, and the renewed focus on outcomes has led many of us to develop a range of assessment methods and criteria.

Employers seek graduates who follow directives, have a strong foundation of technical skills and enthusiastically respond, “Yes, Chef.”  Yet knowing the “why” and “how to” is as important a skill as the actual process of completing a task.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

The intent of articles in “Think Tank” is to stimulate opinion, emotion and, most importantly, openness to creative thought. Articles over the next few months will hopefully do just that.

I encourage you to share these with your faculty and administrative staff. Solicit their thoughts and create a dialogue in preparation for the next few decades of culinary education.

The question of theory vs. practical application has been a topic of debate for quite some time. The core issue is whether or not the traditional model of education really prepares a student to be a productive and successful member of society or if the “school of hard knocks” still reigns supreme.

A free classroom offer to teach students why menuing domestically raised fish and seafood is an important way to keep both customers and the bottom line happy.

Courtesy of the National Aquaculture Association

Restaurant goers love fish and shellfish! More than two-thirds of all seafood consumption in the United States takes place outside the home. U.S. farm-raised fish and shellfish are consistent in price, quality and availability, and the predictable supply helps in menu planning and cost projection. What’s more, many U.S. farm-raised fish and shellfish are available in portion-controlled, individually quick-frozen forms that eliminate waste and ensure ease of preparation.

Buying locally farmed fish and shellfish also helps to ensure the freshness of the product and reduces the carbon footprint. This local, green connection helps to tell a story on the menu. Many restaurants purchase exclusively from one farm and use this connection as a marketing hook.

Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles, Pasadena, Calif., is mourning the loss of a beloved educator. Chef instructor Larry Bressler, 50, and his wife, Denise, 64, passed away on Oct. 13, 2014. Bressler was a longtime instructor and friend to many at Le Cordon Bleu, known as a kind, fun-loving person with as much passion and zest for music as he had for food. He was also the general manager of Chefs Center, a commercial kitchen-rental space that helped launch many successful local businesses. From 1995 to 2003, Bressler was chef and owner of 50-seat Gerard’s, a French bistro in Riverside.

News reports allude to a fatal stabbing of the Bresslers, allegedly by a family member.

To leave comments on Bressler’s life and influence, visit www.chefs.edu/Student-Life/culinary-central/October-2014/Remembering-Chef-Larry-Bressler.

Two chefs have joined the ranks of an elite group of Certified Master Chefs (CMC) following an eight-day exam from Oct. 26 to Nov. 2. The new Certified Master Chefs are:

Jonathan Moosmiller, CMC, executive chef, Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Okla.
Daryl Shular, CMC, director of education/executive chef, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta

The current number of Certified Master Chefs in the United States is 68 following the exam. The last exam was held in 2012 at The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y., and one chef out of seven passed. Candidates for the CMC exam must possess proficiency in a broad range of styles and techniques, and have the ability to perform for eight days under extreme pressure.

The Culinary Institute of America has partnered with Cool Culinaria to bring the CIA’s extensive collection of more than 30,000 menus to new audiences in the form of archival prints, notecards, coasters, mugs, tea towels, placemats and other products.

The Culinary Institute of America Menu Collection was started in the small reference library at the college’s first campus in New Haven, Conn., with donations from members of the college community. Over the years, it grew from the generosity of many major menu collectors, including George Lang, Chapman S. Root, Craig Claiborne and Roy Andries de Groot. Now housed in the Conrad N. Hilton Library on the CIA’s campus in Hyde Park, N.Y., the menu collection contains items dated from 1855 to the present, including a significant representation of international menus.

A student and an instructor from Baker College of Port Huron Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) have each received a major award from the Michigan Chefs de Cuisine Association (MCCA), a chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) serving the southeastern part of the state.

Jill Tucker of St. Clair was named 2014 Student Chef of the Year champion, and adjunct instructor and wine sommelier Michael Schafer, J.D., of Troy received the Associate Member of the Year award before more than 250 MCCA members at the organization’s 2014 Annual Awards Gala at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Sept. 29.

“This recognition signifies the depth of our young program, and it is a testament to the quality of our students and instructors,” says F. James Cummins, Baker College System president and CEO. “From students to faculty, our people are our strength and the reason for our excellence. We’re very proud of Chef Recinella and his staff who are already producing award-winning talent at the CIM Port Huron.”

Tucker earned her new title by competing against eight students who represented other collegiate culinary programs in southeastern Michigan on Aug. 12. Each competitor prepared two portions of a signature dish in 60 minutes while adhering to exacting ACF guidelines. Tucker prepared a duet of chicken accompanied by an asparagus pesto-filled agnolotti pasta and a vegetable mélange.

Armed with a degree in business, Katie Veile decided not to let her student loans stand in the way of pursuing her lifelong passion at The French Pastry School.  

For the Love of Chocolate Foundation provides scholarships for qualified students in the specialized training of the pastry arts in the full-time programs taught by The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College at City Colleges of Chicago.

The goal of the scholarships is to encourage and assist aspiring students, career changers and culinary-career professionals to advance their knowledge of the pastry arts. The program is specifically geared toward individuals who are in need of financial assistance. The French Pastry School’s full-time programs not only train students in the art of pastry, but also educate them about the pastry profession.

The school was founded by Chefs Jacquy Pfeiffer and Sébastien Canonne, MOF, in 1995 as a resource for intensive pastry education. Today it is often referred to as the premier pastry school in the world. The French Pastry School offers certificates in Professional Baking and Pastry Arts (24 weeks), Professional Cake Decorating and Baking (16 weeks) and Artisanal Bread Baking (eight weeks).