An e-learning module focusing on the versatility, nutrition and palate-pleasing power of California table grapes.

Courtesy of CIAprochef.com

With its mild, Mediterranean-type climate, California is paradise for grapes. Everyone knows that the Golden State grows world-class wine grapes, but table grapes excel there, too. In fact, California produces almost all of the United States’ commercially grown table grapes.

Chefs know they can count on grapes to add refreshment to a cheese plate, color to a fruit plate or a wholesome crunch to a salad. But if you think of grapes only as a garnish, you’re missing a lot of the fruit’s culinary potential. In the hands of professional culinarians with an innovative bent, fresh grapes can go in directions you may never have imagined. Carbonate a grape? Why not?

Contest Guidelines:

• Recipes must be submitted in preferred format.
• Entries must include at least one (1) high-resolution, digital photograph of finished dish.
• Contest entrants must be currently enrolled in a postsecondary culinary school/program in the 50 United States. You must include name, email address, telephone number, mailing address, name of culinary school and name of referring culinary instructor with entry.
• Contest entries become property of Emmi Roth USA and may be used in marketing/public-relations activities.
• Entries must be the original work of the entrant, may not have won previous awards, may not have been published previously, and must not infringe third-party intellectual property or other rights.
• April 13, 2012 DEADLINE FOR ALL ENTRIES
• Entries must be emailed to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with Emmi Roth USA in subject line.
• Up to 50 free samples will be provided to the first 50 instructor respondents to contest posting, which started March 1, 2012. Sample will include up to 14 ounces of Emmi Kaltbach Cave-Aged Le Gruyere Switzerland AOC (two random-weight retail cuts, weighing 5 to 7 ounces each). Interested instructors should write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with name, title, school/institution, shipping address (No P.O. boxes), telephone number and email address. Samples will be shipped via UPS from Monroe, Wis. Please allow approximately two weeks for delivery of samples from response date.

Prizes!

• First- and second-place prices given at $1,000 and $500 respectively.
• Prize winners will also receive an Emmi Roth USA cheese gift basket.
• Referring instructor of the first- and second-place winners shall receive one (1) FREE registration to a 2012 CAFE Conference or Workshop.
• Winning student(s) might be featured in a press release and/or Emmi Roth USA Newsletter.

Eligible recipe entries will be evaluated by a panel of Emmi Roth USA judges on creativity, novelty and/or uniqueness of application and flavor quality in the Center-of-the-Plate application. Winners will be notified on or before May 11, 2012, via telephone and certified mail. For complete info, click here.

A team of Anne Arundel Community College culinary-arts students swept the competition at the 13th Annual Gumbo Fest in Annapolis. Team Anne Arundel won first place in both categories—the Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice—at the Feb. 26 competition at the Double Tree Hotel in Annapolis. Eleven other teams from area restaurants also competed in this year’s Gumbo Fest.

Team members included Stephanie Bishop (Arnold), Lora Pumphrey (Glen Burnie), Stephanie Silva (Belcamp) and Michael Willard (Annapolis). Proceeds of the event, which attracted about 400 members of the public, benefited the Light House homeless prevention support center in Annapolis.

“The secret to our winning recipe is the housemade andouille sausage and the four-hour roux,” said Chef John V. Johnson, CEC, CCE, AAC, an AACC instructional specialist and the Team Anne Arundel coach.

Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, president of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), is the recipient of The Valley Table magazine’s first Farm-to-Table Award recognizing leadership in the support of regional agriculture. The award was presented to Ryan at the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week launch event at the college on February 28, 2012.

“The CIA’s commitment to sourcing ingredients and produce from regional farms has been a tremendous boon to farming in the Hudson Valley,” said Janet Crawshaw, publisher of The Valley Table and organizer of Restaurant Week. “Lessons in sustainable agriculture and sustainable cuisine have been integrated into the college curriculum, so the CIA is graduating chefs with a heightened awareness of and appreciation for local farm products.”

On February 25, the halls of one of the biggest buildings in the world brimmed with activity as the best in the food industry came together to support the 7th Annual For the Love of Chocolate Foundation Gala. As star chefs served delicious morsels in the myriad showrooms of The Merchandise Mart in Chicago, models strutted in edible couture, a dance party gained momentum, and crowds gathered around a 9.5-by-6-by-5-foot replica of Chicago’s Cloud Gate covered entirely in Jelly Belly® Jelly Beans and Chocolate Dips®.

Do you want to teach your staff or students about a specific area of the professional kitchen? Are you looking for a comprehensive yet concise resource? If so, the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) latest series, National Apprenticeship Training Program for Cooks, and its accompanying CD-ROM resources, is for you. Compiled and published by American Technical Publishers (ATP), the 10 modules are available for $25 each, with a 25% discount for purchases of five or more. A compiled textbook, containing content from each of the modules, is also available for $80.

The series outlines culinary techniques that have been validated by the culinary industry and sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Labor and the American Culinary Federation Education Foundation (ACFEF) National Apprenticeship Committee. Each month, ACF will highlight a new module on its website, www.acfchefs.org

The recent Farming for the Future Conference promoted new ideas and learning to the benefit of all.

By Jamie Moore

I recently organized the 2012 “Sustainability in the Food Service Industry” pre-conference sessions at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s (PASA) 21^st-annual Farming for the Future Conference, which brought together more than 2,000 farmers, processors, consumers, students, environmentalists, business and community leaders and chefs.

These sessions, which placed both noncommercial and commercial foodservice professionals in the same room as farmers, are an important step in understanding each other’s needs and challenges. As a PASA board member, I created “Sustainability in the Food Service Industry” in 2011 to give local producers a forum to introduce their products to chefs primarily from Parkhurst Dining (a division of Eat’n Park Hospitality Group). From there, our chefs took what they learned to new levels.

Kraft Foodservice offers its top 12 trend predictions for 2012

The chefs at the Kraft Culinary Centre pulled from their industry experience, culinary savvy and uncanny intuition. The result? Twelve insightful predictions on what will shape foodservice in 2012.

1. Customization Reigns
Freeman Moser III, senior executive chef
Customization allows you to create a unique interaction with your diner. I saw Pine & Gilmore deliver a lecture years ago about mass customization, where they stressed the need in recognizing that customers are “markets of one.” That resonates deeply in today’s foodservice culture. Fast casuals are succeeding here: Panera Bread’s “You Pick 2™” is a great example of allowing diners to choose their experience.

Current and emerging trends as revealed at the 20^th-annual Catersource Conference & Tradeshow in Las Vegas last month.

Courtesy of Olson Communications

Catersource is the leading catering-specific tradeshow in the United States that features food, equipment, serving ware and professional services. Caterers can see creative concepts and new, money-saving resources as they network with foodservice experts and industry leaders.

The conference is also marked by exclusive events such as the culinary challenge tabletop competitions, catering-excellence achievements and the coveted CATIE (Catered Arts Through Innovative Excellence) awards.

Here are highlights of the 2012 conference and trade show, Feb. 26-29, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

Restaurants show big growth in demand for soup and salad menu items, finds Technomic.

Away-from-home soup and salad purchases are on the rise, as consumers seek light, healthy and affordable fare. A variety of portion sizes featuring soup/salad options on different areas of the menu allows consumers to tailor their meals specifically to their needs. Whether it’s a cup or bowl, side or entrée, 61% of consumers now order soup at least occasionally during restaurant visits, up from 52% just two years ago. Salads have grown even more; nearly half of consumers now order salad all or most of the time, compared to 34% a year ago.