Take a 50-pound bag of carrots and peel and chop 40 pounds of them. What percentage is that? The following 25 questions not only indicate math areas where students might be weak, but also teach basic culinary and management skills.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

At the June, 2011 CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Providence, one of the hot topics during roundtable discussions at the best-practices seminars and social meetings was the problem of students of all levels (high school, vocational and college) not knowing basic math skills. Surprisingly, the most consistent comment was that new culinary students cannot read an analog clock.

I had the honor of leading a roundtable discussion, and one of the questions posed was: “How do you assess culinary math skills?” In my vocational program, I give the students the test below, and then we go over each answer in detail. If most of the students missed a particular problem or problems, I create extra examples using the same type of math skills. It takes more than one class to do this, but I find it is time well spent.

Many foodservice students today have yet to experience fine dining. But it’s just as important to expose them to the several other service styles in the marketplace so they may excel in their careers.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

When I attended The Culinary Institute of America in the early ʼ80s, the restaurant business was divided into four types of dining: quick-service restaurants (QSRs), casual dining (brass & fern bistros), institutional dining and formal dining or “white tablecloth restaurants.” We were required to work in each of these environments. We had the diner for training in QSR and casual dining, instruction on institutional dining and three other restaurants to expose us to formal dining. By rotating through these four environments, we gained experience in each area.

Courtesy of CIAprochef.com

You don't have to get on a plane to taste one of the glories of Brazilian cooking ... or a bubbling cassoulet from Southwest France ... or a Tuscan soup that tastes like somebody’s grandmother made it. Beans can take you there.

Through The Culinary Institute of America’s ProChef e-learning, “The World Bean Kitchen: Passport to Flavor,” presented by the Northarvest Bean Growers Association, debunks some of the myths that surround the cooking of dry beans. Learning segments include “Beyond Bean Basics,” “Bean Nation: The American Experience,” instructional videos and more.

Many free materials are readily at your disposal to teach the “3 Rs” of handling excess prepared food, food scraps and used oil more sustainably.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

Many of us grew up with that wise adage, but it’s even more true today. In sustainability, when we talk about waste, the focus is usually on recycling and composting—basically, how to divert our waste from the landfill. However, that’s not the most sustainable solution. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have developed a program that advocates use of its “Food Waste Recovery Hierarchy.” We often talk about the “3 Rs”—reduce, reuse or recycle—and this program prioritizes those options.

Reduce. The most sustainable waste option is to not create it in the first place. According to Jonathan Bloom, author of American Wasteland: How America Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food (and What We Can Do About It), Americans routinely toss out 40% of all the food produced each year. And it’s important to keep in mind that along with the wasted food, we also wasted the water, energy and other resources used to produce, harvest and transport it to our kitchens.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is encouraging restaurant-industry professionals to identify and nominate outstanding candidates for its 2012 awards: the College of Diplomats, the Michael E. Hurst Lifetime Achievement in Education Award and the Thad and Alice Eure Ambassador of Hospitality Award.

Submissions can be made online, mailed or faxed to (312) 566-9733. The nomination deadline is Aug. 31.

For the second consecutive year, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts students took home gold medals as winners of the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) National Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl. The students beat finalist teams from Colorado, Georgia and Pennsylvania at the event, which was held today during the 2011 ACF National Convention at the Gaylord Texan in Dallas on July 24.

The Kendall College team, representing the ACF’s Central Region and consisting of Gabriele Ausraite, Robert Baki, Jacob Clara, Paige Rogers and Jacqueline Wallner (captain), competed against teams representing foodservice-training programs at schools in the ACF’s Northeastern, Southeastern and Western Regions.

This fall, the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) is offering its first workshop on catering operations and curriculum at Sullivan University. The school’s National Center for Hospitality Studies (NCHS) will host the event featuring keynote speaker Michael Roman, president and founder of Catersource Magazine, Conference and Tradeshow, from Friday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Oct. 23. Registration is $374 per person through Sept. 1 ($474 after) and includes a welcome reception, two breakfasts, two lunches, a chef jacket and all educational materials.

The Culinary Institute of America's (CIA) Board of Trustees announced the renewal of the contract of Dr. Tim Ryan, CMC, as president of the CIA for a 10-year term.

Ryan has led the world-renowned, degree-granting CIA for a decade, stewarding the college through a period of enormous innovation and growth. Major advances have included the opening of new campuses in San Antonio, Texas, and Singapore; the expansion of the CIA's gold-standard degree programs from its main campus in Hyde Park, N.Y., to these new centers and the CIA at Greystone in St. Helena, Calif.; and the rapid growth of CIA thought leadership for the foodservice and hospitality industry through new research programs, industry conferences and publishing.

Chairman of the Board Richard Bradley summarized the board's unanimous decision: “We are delighted that Dr. Ryan will be at the helm as we embark on some of our most ambitious plans yet for The Culinary Institute of America. The board is thrilled with the CIA's leadership and strategy. We look forward to continuing the college's traditions of excellence in culinary education and thought leadership under Dr. Ryan's visionary direction.”

In an effort to provide new training and educational resources to foodservice professionals, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has developed nine new seafood instructional videos featuring acclaimed seafood-centric chefs.

By Margaret Checchi, M.Ed.

Successful transitioning from hands-on learning to hybridized classes depends on faculty who can create dynamic and engaging course content delivered with students’ best interests in mind.

A decade ago, it was unheard of to serve foams and essences; it was unrealistic to manipulate food at the very heart of its molecular structure. What seemed unrealistic and impossible then is becoming almost mainstream now. So it is with education.

At New England Culinary Institute, our students slurp coffee desperately in the cold, black dark of the pre-dawn chill, hunching over pocket notebooks filled with ratios, temperatures, cook times and formulas as they create the day’s menus and generate mise en place lists. They are like the students before them and the ones before them, since Socrates held lessons in the olive grove. With luck, Chef will come into the kitchen having had a good night’s sleep and the students will get through the day without feeling completely inadequate.