As high-school seniors yearn to become star chefs, more colleges consider the leap to culinary education. The result is a glut of programs all vying to meet enrollment goals. Meanwhile, the cost of a quality culinary education far exceeds earning potential.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Although it seems impossible to find an accurate number, it appears there might be as many as 2,000 programs in the United States that offer some form of “professional” culinary degree or certificate.

The cost of providing quality educational programs has skyrocketed as colleges strive to remain competitive with student-to-faculty ratios, state-of-the-art facilities and sufficient equipment to meet the needs of the curriculum and provide the right amount of “sizzle” to attract students.

As high-school seniors and career changers become more enthralled with the marketed glamour of working in kitchens and a vision of becoming a star chef, more and more colleges consider the leap to culinary education.

New 23,000-sq.-ft. facility—part of a $24 million area project—focuses on European-style cooking, with veteran chef and educator Tom Recinella at the helm.

Baker College of Port Huron officially opened its Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) recently with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and celebration along with two other businesses that are revitalizing Port Huron’s waterfront area. CIM-Port Huron classes for fall quarter began Sept. 30.

The new 23,000-sq.-ft. CIM-Port Huron teaching facility was built specifically for the study of culinary arts. It supports the learning process through advanced technologies and its interior design, which includes state-of-the-art classrooms and labs, as well as unobstructed views between classrooms that facilitate the open-kitchen concept of European-style training and cooking.

The CIM-Port Huron is part of the $24 million project that includes the DoubleTree by Hilton Port Huron, Freighters Eatery and Taproom and the future 40,000-sq.-ft. Blue Water Area Convention Center, which is scheduled to be complete by 2015. The project is expected to generate a $25 million annual boost to the local economy during its first 10 years of operation.

“The Culinary Institute of Michigan is a world-class facility that is designed to provide optimal hands-on learning experiences for our students,” says Connie Harrison, PhD, president of Baker College of Port Huron. “Our location next to an upscale hotel, a premier restaurant and a new convention center will facilitate valuable interaction with students. This is precisely what Baker College is about: providing real-world experiences to our students that deliver a huge advantage as they move into the workforce.”

The latest menu trends, as delivered at the 2013 Flavor Experience Conference.

Courtesy of Olson Communications

Chefs and foodservice professionals from many segments of the industry and their food & beverage suppliers gathered in Newport Beach, Calif., in August for this annual conference on the business of flavor and innovation to learn about new ways to delight their customers. Conference sessions included the latest consumer research, menu ideas and interactive experiences where attendees explored ideas and trends together. This conference is a true experience with non-stop flavor tasting and networking opportunities.

Unstoppable Trends
The conference opened with a discussion on three Pandora’s Boxes—unstoppable trends so big in the foodservice industry that the only way to fail is not to participate in them.

• Health. Wellness is inescapable in today’s culture and food is a vital component of healthy lifestyles, where mindful choices of real food, simply prepared, are driving desire. Breakfast was noted as a particularly important part of this trend because the positive impact of breakfast on health has been studied extensively to validate its benefits.
• Sustainability. Although quick service and immediate gratification are important value components of many foodservice meal occasions, the broader impact on the planet is never far from top of mind. Research from leading firms noted that although there may not be a full understanding of sustainability among consumers, the majority believe they regularly buy sustainable products.
• Kids. Understanding and captivating the consumers of tomorrow was the topic of a general-session and panel discussion because of their current and future impact on the industry.

Braised lamb is economical and efficient. A successful lamb braise intermingles the flavors of foods being cooked, the aromatics employed and the cooking liquid—performing a magical transformation of lamb while adding body to the braising-liquid-turned-sexy-sauce.

By Robert N. Corey, BA, AOS, CEC, EWS

Braising is for meat lovers. I have a passion for braised lamb shanks, an infatuation for sous-vide lamb necks, a serious affair going on with braised stuffed lamb breast and, from my very first taste of lamb, I have leg-of-lamb ecstasy.

While lamb is often considered an expensive meat for classroom use, braising allows me to focus on economical cuts of lamb. Thanks to the braise, I can find plenty of economical cuts for the long-simmered, wait-until-you-taste-this, top-of-a-heap goodness. My students will learn that dinner can be less expensive, and in all cases much more flavorful, when American Lamb meets a cook who can braise. This article will discuss the critical points of braising as related to utilizing, and enjoying economical cuts of American Lamb.

A new foodservice study shows that among all pork categories, bacon consumption grew the most per pound between 2011 and 2013, while carnitas meat grew fastest by percentage.

With a growth rate outpacing all other proteins in the foodservice industry, pork is hot. According to Technomic, Inc.’s 2013 Volumetric Assessment of Pork in Foodservice, pork is sustaining its popularity, having become the foodservice industry’s fastest-growing protein in each of the past two years.

This most recent study noted that total pork sold through foodservice outlets reached a record-breaking 9.25 billion pounds, reflecting a volume increase of 462 million pounds over 2011 when the survey was last undertaken. The 2.6% increase outpaced the total protein growth average of 0.8% and the 1.5% total growth of the foodservice industry itself.

“We are pleased to see such positive growth in foodservice, especially carnitas meat, shoulder/butt and pulled pork,” says Stephen Gerike, director of foodservice marketing for the Pork Checkoff. “The volumetric study shows that operators are leveraging pork’s versatility.”

Since 2011, fresh pork has driven growth of the total pork category, increasing by 3.5% on an annual basis. Sales of processed pork also grew 2.3%, largely driven by sales of ham, breakfast sausage and bacon. Sales of these traditional breakfast meats represent 56% of the carcass-weigh equivalent. Other study highlights include:

Alex Stupak returns to his alma mater to deliver a commencement address, citing Grant Achatz and Ken Oringer as role models.

Alex Stupak, one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs for 2013, delivered the keynote address at commencement ceremonies at The Culinary Institute of America’s Hyde Park, N.Y., campus on Sept. 6. Stupak is the executive chef and owner of Empellón Taqueria and Empellón Cocina in New York City.

The 2000 graduate of the CIA first made a name for himself as a pastry chef before returning to the savory side of cooking three years ago with his Mexican concepts. He was named Best Pastry Chef by Boston magazine in 2003 and one of the Top Ten Pastry Chefs in America by Pastry Art & Design in 2008 and by Dessert Professional in 2009.

The value of a three-legged conversation is that you can make some statements or ask questions that prompt students to think about the topic they are raising, and you do not have to completely answer the question in one meeting.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed ways to begin a semester by making our students feel special; this month and for the rest of the fall, we will talk about ways to help them learn to take charge of their education and their lives. This month will focus on the strategy of the three legged conference.

Students Taking Charge of Themselves
One of the important goals of any teaching situation is promoting creative and critical thinking. However, we often apply it only to the subject matters that we formally teach and not very often to helping students become better industry professionals and better persons for several reasons: There is not enough time in class, these subjects are not part of the curriculum, and most of us never learned how to teach about professional and personal development.

When you stop to think about it, helping our students to build their decision-making skills is a great goal, and one that many of us in culinary and hospitality education have adopted, even if only on the edges of our teaching. After all, helping our students to become better professionals is an important part of our commitment to them and a unique aspect of culinary and hospitality education; other fields do not care so much about that aspect of their students’ lives. If you want to commit to this goal, there are several strategies; the easiest is using the three-legged conference to promote their thinking about themselves.

Continuing the theme of helping students work together successfully to better prepare them for real-life employment, Chef Weiner suggests strategic ways to group team members who don’t necessarily see eye to eye.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Last month’s article was based upon a seminar given by Paul Sorgule at this past summer’s Leadership Conference about how students interact, fight and then grow together to become a team.

The two key points of that article were: 1) whether or not students like working in teams, they need to learn how to work in teams to work in the culinary field, and 2) whether they like someone on their team is not relevant, as they still have to work together well.

How teams are chosen will, in large part, contribute to teaching students how to work in a team format. Here are some of the ways to pick teams:

Through the company’s Green Thread® program, concessioner ARAMARK works to reduce its environmental footprint by developing and implementing long-term environmental stewardship programs and policies for its state- and national-park accounts, diverting nearly 3 million pounds of waste from landfills.

Each year, millions of people flock to America’s national parks, forests and state parks to enjoy our pristine natural resources. Keeping these visitors fed, sheltered and comfortable is a monumental task that normally results in the use of vast amounts of resources and leads to thousands of tons of waste.

ARAMARK Parks and Destinations, a leading concessioner of national and state parks and forests and cultural attractions, has taken the issue of waste head on and diverted nearly 3 million pounds of waste through recycling and composting over the past three years.

Through the company’s Green Thread® program, Philadelphia-based ARAMARK works to reduce its environmental footprint by developing and implementing longterm environmental stewardship programs and policies within the areas of food purchasing, supply chain, building operations, energy and water conservation, transportation and waste management.

“Preserving our natural spaces for future generations is a top priority for us,” says Allison Gosselin, director of environmental sustainability, ARAMARK Parks and Destinations. “Through our on-the-ground environmental stewards, partners and help from guests, we’ve been able to keep 2.8 million pounds of waste from reaching landfills since 2010.”

Though not a lesson plan, Chef Gilles Renusson, a pastry professor at the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education at Grand Rapids Community College in Michigan, posted a video on YouTube last month that shows him preparing the next generation of sugar artists who will represent the United States in the 2019 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie in Lyon, France.

To watch this fun and interesting video on sugar pulling, click here.