Among many professional-development events held last year, the sum of different voices, perspectives and expertise areas was the most valuable take-away.

By Mary Petersen

I was privileged to attend several professional events in 2013 including annual conferences for the American Culinary Federation, the Research Chefs Association, Chefs Collaborative, the American Council for Technical Education the International Foodservice Editorial Council; and the National Restaurant Association, in addition to three CAFÉ events: the first postsecondary Deans and Directors Retreat, the 9^th-annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference and The Science of Baking Workshop.

These events focused on present challenges and offered numerous ideas for coping with the future. I thought I would share (in no particular order) some relevant (to me and perhaps to you) highlights:

A roundup of predictions for this year from the most respected sources.

Courtesy of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts

Consumers didn’t increase their visits to restaurants in 2013, but when they did visit they spent more. Indeed, consumer spending was up 2% over a year ago, driven by growth in average check size. What does 2014 look like in terms of foodservice patronage? Where will Americans eat, and what and how will they choose to eat when they dine out?

The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts in Chicago keeps its finger on the pulse of menu and dining-out trends, and for 2014 consulted three leading global information companies—plus the National Restaurant Association’s annual What’s Hot culinary forecast that surveyed nearly 1,300 members of the American Culinary Federation—to compile the biggest predictions for the foodservice industry in 2014.

Fast Casual Grows Fast
If last year was a struggle for full-service restaurants, casual dining and midscale/family dining, the fast-casual segment continued its growth trend in 2013, with traffic up 8% in the year ending September 2013 compared to same period a year before, according to The NPD Group. Says Mintel, new fast-casual concepts focusing on customization, quick service and convenience are gaining customers who are willing to pay more for better quality and healthier foods. Better-burger chains, health-focused concepts and made-to-order pizza restaurants are on the rise.

This special-edition flavor forecast commemorates McCormick’s 125th anniversary with predictions for such trending flavors as chamoy sauce, cassava flour and tea.

Hunt Valley, Md.-based McCormick & Company, Inc., a global leader in flavor, unveils its McCormick® Flavor Forecast® 2014: 125th Anniversary Edition.

The report, developed annually by McCormick experts around the world —including culinary professionals, trend trackers and food technologists—highlights five top food trends and more than a dozen emerging flavors that will inspire creative and delicious menu innovations for years to come. First launched in 2000, this Anniversary Edition explores how today’s unparalleled connectivity is driving faster-than-ever adoption of new trends and tastes around the globe.

“Today’s expectation when dining out is about exceptional taste experiences, so this Anniversary Edition can be an inspiration point for foodservice professionals,” says Megan Ford, vice president of sales  and marketing, US Industrial Group, McCormick & Company.

Most every restaurant will offer soup, but not every “restoring shop” will have a uniquely delicious apple soup. Says this expert, they should.

By Wendy Brannen

Did you know that restaurants and soup are synonymous? According to my favorite modern source—Wikipedia—the word restaurant, or “something restoring,” was first used in France in the 16th century to refer to a highly concentrated, inexpensive soup sold by street vendors and purported to be an antidote to physical exhaustion. In 1765, a Parisian entrepreneur opened a shop specializing in these soups, which prompted the use of the modern word restaurant.

Their histories intertwined, it seems no mistake that one is hard pressed to find a decent restaurant that does not serve soup in some form—piping hot or chilled, clear bouillon or thick bisque, vegan or loaded with savory chunks of meat. The preparation and serving choices are as diverse as, well, alphabet soup, as are the regional varieties of this comforting staple, which range from “she-crab” in the Carolina Low Country to something called “snert” served with a sausage over in the Netherlands.

So, if you are a chef seeking your own twist on a signature soup, where do you start? Might I suggest at the beginning of that alphabet soup of options? And, “A is for apple,” after all!

Videos by Ted Russin are included in a free course with 80,000 students worldwide.

Some of the biggest names in culinary science—José Andrés, Ferran Adrià, Nathan Myhrvold and Harold McGee—were joined by Ted Russin of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in teaching the Harvard University massive open online course (MOOC) “Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science” last fall. More than 80,000 people around the world took the free class.

Russin developed and taped several video clips with Chef Wylie Dufresne to be used in the course curriculum. The videos show both basic and advanced applications of enzymes in the kitchen while highlighting the collaboration between chef and scientist in cooking. Students registered in Harvard’s MOOC initiative, called edX, watched the videos before taking quizzes and completing assignments about the subject material. They worked at their own pace and earned a certificate from Harvard by successfully mastering the course work.

A Q&A with Gavin Kaysen, who while young represented the United States in the Bocuse d’Or and today heads the kitchen of Café Boulud in New York City.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

The restaurant industry in the United States is enormous with 2012 sales in excess of $450 billion. There are, among the 960,000 plus operations, varying degrees of quality and commitment to excellence. There are those that disappoint, many that meet guest expectations and a chosen few that consistently exceed expectations and make those of us who choose a career in cooking, proud to be part of a club that includes those few.

Without exception, those restaurants that exceed expectations are led by a chef who is passionate, extremely confident, creative and talented. One such restaurant is Café Boulud in New York City. As part of the Dinex Group of world-renowned restaurants led by Chef Daniel Boulud, this café holds the unique position of both an extraordinary fine-dining destination and a neighborhood iconic spot to enjoy wonderful food and drink. At the helm of this truly great restaurant is a chef, and friend, Gavin Kaysen.

Chef Gavin agreed to the interview that follows, a brief summary of what makes him tick and how he is able to maintain his passion for cooking.

Sorgule:What or who influenced you to pursue a career in the kitchen?

Kaysen:Many people have influenced my career, but my grandmother was the first person I ever stepped into a kitchen with. She helped me understand what hospitality meant and how easy it can be to make people happy by breaking bread with them.

One of the most powerful techniques to help students remember what they have learned and apply it to a range of situations is the assignment to write letters to themselves.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed helping students take charge of their lives by using journals. This month, we will examine the power of personal letter writing as a way to encourage recognition of what students have learned and motivate them to apply it.

Writing
Almost any kind of writing helps students improve their writing and, usually, the clarity of their thinking. Students—and professionals—who cannot write something clear are typically not able to think clearly about the topic or think about it in an organized manner. Therefore, any writing assignment that asks for careful structure and logic will make a difference in a student’s education. Simply regurgitating definitions does not make a difference. Writing research papers, creating project reports, answering essay questions on a test, preparing reaction papers and developing reflection papers all help students organize their thoughts as well as build connection among ideas. Writing assignments also improve students’ recall of information.

Writing Letters to Myself
One of the most powerful techniques to help students and trainees remember what they have learned and apply it to a range of situations outside of the classroom is the assignment to write a letter to self. At the end of a course or specific topic, ask them to write themselves a letter describing what they have learned and how they plan to use it in the near future. When they get the letter some time later, it reminds them of what they learned and what they intended to do with their newly acquired information or skills.

Delivering cooking demonstrations to the public and select groups not only benefits others by sharing your and your students’ expertise and talent. More importantly, it also builds and promotes your program’s unique brand. And the strongest advice from Chef Weiner? Keep it simple.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Last month I wrote about giving back to the community. One of the things I mentioned is giving cooking demonstrations. Besides being altruistic, another reason to have you or your students give demos is to promote your program.

When I went to obtain my California Teaching Credential, one of the first things I was taught by my instructors and mentors, Lee and Susan Clark, was that it was critically important to promote your own class. If you don’t—they made emphatically clear—you will be unemployed very soon because of a lack of students. I took their words to heart. When I started teaching the program there were seven students and I was told the program was to be shut down in six months. I brought the enrollment up to 20 people, and 10 years later I am still teaching the same program. I continue to promote, and there is now a several-month waiting list.

So giving demos is a good idea for a variety of reasons. Now, you just have to learn, yourself, and teach your students how to do demos. Like everything else in cooking, the key to success rests with three issues: planning, preparation and practice.

Does your program meet the needs of the industry it serves and adequately prepare your students to shine?

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

I just finished re-reading Bill Buford’s book, Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany,about his hands-on experiences on the line in Mario Batali’s restaurant and subsequent time working with arguably the finest butcher in all of Italy.

As I finished this great depiction of the learning process in kitchens I was again inspired to look at how we prepare students for the rigors of the kitchen. What came through very clearly in Buford’s story (and from my own experiences as a chef) was the intensity of the kitchen and the realization that a strong culinary program must be able to recreate this intensity if students are truly destined to “learn.”

There is a difference between teaching and training, and both must be present in a curriculum if the end result is a graduate who is “kitchen ready” today and “career ready” tomorrow. What operational chefs are looking for in culinary graduates is a strong foundational knowledge of cooking, positive attitude, willingness to learn, the ability to work with others as a team, efficiency, stamina and the ability to multi-task under pressure.

To me, it only makes sense that this should be the starting point in building a modern culinary curriculum. Every course built, every lesson plan designed, every facility built and every faculty training session should reflect back on these expectations. Does this design meet the needs of the industry it serves and adequately prepare our students to shine?

As U.S. fisheries rebound under strict federal management, more species earn Seafood Watch “green” and “yellow” rankings. Meanwhile, shrimp caught in Louisiana waters remains on the “Avoid” list.

U.S. fisheries are rebuilding under tough management regulations required under federal law. One sign of success: the growing number of seafood items that have earned a “Best Choice” or “Good Alternative” recommendation from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program.

In 2013 alone, red snapper from the Gulf of Mexico, monkfish and trap-caught black sea bass from the East Coast, and many Atlantic flatfishes have been upgraded, based on new data in the peer-reviewed science reports that underpin all Seafood Watch recommendations.

Today, 95% of the 242 most commercially important U.S. fishery species assessed by Seafood Watch are rated either green (Best Choice) or yellow (Good Alternative). The percentage is based on total landings in ports on the West Coast, Gulf Coast, Atlantic seaboard and in the Great Lakes.

Seafood Watch recently upgraded U.S.-caught red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico to a “Good Alternative” recommendation because sound management has helped once-depleted populations recover. Trap-caught black sea bass from the South Atlantic was also upgraded to a “Best Choice” recommendation.