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).

Technomic projects the top 10 food trends to take the nation by storm in 2015.

The restaurant industry is evolving faster than ever according to food research and consulting firm Technomic, based in Chicago. Technology, consumer and menu trends are all revolutionizing foodservice.

Technomic lays out 10 trends that its consultants and experts believe might be transformative in 2015. Predictions are based on Technomic research including consumer and operator surveys and site visits, backed up by data from its Digital Resource Library and vast MenuMonitor database.

1. Lights! Camera! Action!Dining is no longer just a personal experience, but a staged event that imparts bragging rights. Plating and lighting are increasingly designed with phone snapshots and social-media sharing in mind. Customers collaborate to put on the show; menus, marketing, even charitable efforts are crowdsourced.

Vegetarianism—and its many variations—is a way of life for a growing number of Americans. Students, thus, should learn to prepare vegetarian and vegan dishes that entice and excite even those customers who enjoy meat. To that end, Chef Zonka shares her first-week lesson plan in a vegetarian-cuisine course.

By Renee Zonka, RD, CEC, CHE

Did you know that last month (October) was National Vegetarian Awareness Month? I have been working with vegetarians in meal planning and recipe development my entire career. When I was a chef instructor, my classes were nutritional cooking and vegetarian cuisine. In the vegetarian-cuisine class, we made different courses vegetarian and then worked with different ethnic cuisines that lent themselves to vegetarian cuisine. We would prepare foods for different types of vegetarians—from vegans to the most liberal vegetarians. Accompanying lectures would include the health benefits and cautions of vegetarian cuisines.

How often do Americans eat vegetarian meals? And how many adults in the United States are vegetarian? In 2012, the Baltimore-based Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG), a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the public on vegetarianism and the interrelated issues of health, nutrition, ecology, ethics and world hunger, asked 2,030 random adults via a National Harris Poll about their vegetarian eating habits, if any.

World’s first business school for food innovation and entrepreneurship to offer first courses next spring.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) announced plans on Nov. 8 to launch The Food Business School(FBS), its new center for executive and graduate education. The Food Business Schoolbroadens the CIA’s commitment to the future of food education and leadership with specialized programs for executives, recent graduates and mid-career explorers. The mission of the FBS is to enable and empower entrepreneurial leaders to design, deliver and lead transformative innovations that address the world’s most pressing food challenges—and its greatest business opportunities.

Registration for programs at The Food Business School will begin January 2015 with the first courses commencing next spring.

Chef John Zehnder’s newest cookbook includes the most-requested recipes from the most-frequented restaurant in the United States.

When John Zehnder, CEC, AAC, reads a recipe book, he is more interested in the story behind the recipe. In his third cookbook, Zehnder, executive chef and food & beverage director of Zehnder’s Restaurant in Frankenmuth, Mich., brings together the most-requested restaurant recipes with Zehnder family stories that include anecdotes about well-known guests including automotive leaders and other celebrities. Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth—A Collection of Zehnder's Most Iconic Recipes offers 30 recipes in a spiral bound, 63-page book.

“Today people who purchase recipe books want more than just a list of ingredients and directions,” Zehnder says. “After a great deal of research, we knew that the story behind the recipe captivates foodies and home cooks. We decided to incorporate little-known family and restaurant stories to set the stage for our iconic menu favorites.”

Dr. Mayo continues his discussion of tried-and-true and novel assessment ideas, as well as common methods whose usefulness in your program might be dated. This month he examines evaluating food preparation and dining-room service.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed oral presentations and class participation. This month, we will examine evaluating food preparation and dining-room service, and next month, this column will discuss the topic of assessment criteria and rubrics, building on ideas presented in my previous three articles (Assessment Methods I, II and III).

Evaluating Food Preparation
The most challenging and important aspect of evaluation in culinary classes involves assessing student performance in preparing food. There are so many aspects to this challenge, including knife skills, station set up, mise en place, food-safety habits, ingredient use, use of heat, basic cooking principles, consistency, creativity, palate development and plate presentation, as well as professionalism during the entire process.

For newer culinary-arts teachers, ordering can seem a daunting task. But it’s really quite simple, says Chef Weiner, who suggests three basic ways to order for day-to-day teaching (while taking into consideration two common snags). His chief advice? Under order.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

This article is dedicated to the newer instructors. If you are experienced in ordering for teaching purposes, then feel free to skip this article and join me again next month.

If you are new to teaching, you have only been ordering for your class for a short time. By now you are probably banging your head into the wall, particularly if you have never ordered for a foodservice facility.

In the beginning, new chefs and instructors tend to over order. This is only slightly burdensome for non-perishables and freezer items (although sooner or later space becomes an issue). This can be a real money loser for perishable items that can’t be frozen.

WORK VERY HARD to under order. Remember, your job is to teach the students how to cook—not to feed them. If they only get a half serving (or even a taste), so be it.

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As much as our primary educational mission is to prepare students to be professionally successful in their chosen career, Chef Sorgule asserts our obligation extends far beyond: Educators have a responsibility to help mold good citizens, community leaders and honorable members of society.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Chefs and restaurateurs have historically been some of the most generous people that I have known; however, this generous nature grows by following the lead of mentors who set the example.

When disaster strikes, when others are in need, when a good cause cries out for support, chefs and restaurateurs are typically at the front of the line to help. This caring nature is what has always drawn me to restaurant people and something that I feel is paramount to truly experiencing a level of personal success.

As crusty as some chefs and restaurateurs appear to be, they care about others both on their team and in the community at large. Chefs, in particular, are very protective of their team, oftentimes going above the call of duty to support and help when there is a need.