As educators of future culinarians, we have a unique opportunity to help mold the future of the American diet.

By Dana Cox

Particularly since we entered the current recession, there’s been a renewed hue and cry to buy goods that are “made in the USA.” While I wholeheartedly agree with that principle, I find it puzzling that many of those same people think nothing about eating fruit or vegetables that have traveled thousands of miles from far-flung countries before arriving at the local supermarket. The most recent figures from the United States Department of Agriculture show that imports of fresh fruit and vegetables between 1990 and 2006 surged from $2.7 billion to $7.9 billion.

With those imports has come year-round availability of everything from strawberries to rutabagas. That may sound great on the surface, but there are profound environmental and economic consequences. It has also caused us to lose touch with our food, how and where it’s produced, and the whole concept of seasonality. This dawning realization has given rise to the locavore movement that seeks to bring us closer to the food we eat by forging connections with those who produce it. Recognizing that the foods we eat have a tremendous political, environmental, social and health impact, locavores aim to source as much food as possible from a 100-150 mile radius.

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 and includes a welcome reception, two breakfasts, two lunches, a chef jacket and all educational materials.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) welcomed its first class of 24 students who began studies toward their associate degrees in culinary arts at the college's San Antonio campus on Monday, August 22. Prior, CIA San Antonio students would earn a certificate in culinary arts, then transfer to the college's Hyde Park, N.Y., campus to complete their degrees.

The new associate degree in San Antonio is based on the same unmatched curriculum the college has been teaching at Hyde Park for decades. Designed to prepare students for a successful career in the dynamic foodservice and hospitality world, a CIA education provides graduates with a command of both classic and contemporary culinary methods and professional practices.

The Research Chefs Foundation (RCF) announces the addition of a new scholarship funded by the Gum Technology Corporation. Beginning in 2012, the RCF-Gum Technology Hydrocolloids Culinology® Scholarship will provide financial assistance in the form of a $4,000 scholarship for qualified individuals who exhibit a demonstrated interest in the application of gums, starches and gum-starch blends in developing food products. Culinology® is the blending of culinary arts and the science of food. The deadline for scholarship applications is November 1, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.culinology.com/scholarship-opportunities.

The U.S. restaurant industry continues to recover after several economically challenging years. During this time in which many culinary professionals are seeking work or are striving to validate their skills to employers, many find that professional certification is key to maintaining a competitive edge in the industry. Now, professionals who hold the Certified Executive Chef® (CEC®) designation through the American Culinary Federation (ACF) can boast that their certification is accredited by Washington, D.C.-based National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA).

The American Culinary Federation’s 2011 Chef Educator of the Year says success and failure through solo and team competitions helps prepare students for the real-life rigors of the workplace.

By Dina Altieri, CEC, CCE

Maybe I have always been competitive. I can remember wanting to hit a home run every time I got up to bat on the tee-ball field. I can remember my first softball coach encouraging me to be the best I could be at 7 years old.

Coaching is something we do every day as chef educators. We push our students to excel in ways they never thought possible. We have conversations with them about mise en place, professional etiquette and, of course, cooking ability. I vote we take it a step further and encourage them to compete in extracurricular competitions to whet their appetites for what lies ahead in the foodservice industry.

Big shifts in U.S. foodways emerging at this year’s conference included “clean” menu descriptions, Korean influences, strategic use of salt and black pepper and “invisibly healthy” indulgence.

Courtesy of Olson Communications

. The sponsors-only event presents the latest research, trends, menu ideas and hands-on flavor experiences that are relevant to more than 100 leading foodservice operators.

The seventh conference, August 1-4 in Newport Beach, Calif., brought flavor front and center for all conference attendees.

Numerous techniques exist to encourage students, convincing them that they can achieve success if they invest time and effort, and that their work has value.

By Bradley J. Ware, Ph.D., and C. Lévesque Ware, Ph.D.

Students are at times already highly motivated when they enter the lab/classroom due to past successes or an interest in the course topic. There are also those individuals who have not experienced the same positive results or who have a preconceived dislike for a course based on a perceived degree of content difficulty. It is precisely in the interest of both these groups that motivation and student engagement should be of primary importance for the chef/instructor from the very first day of lab/class. It is imperative to retain and foster the enthusiasm of highly motivated students and of dire necessity to help motivate others to achieve success.

Most consumers who have enjoyed dining from a food truck say they’re not a passing fad. But many non-users are still hesitant to try one out.

A new study by Chicago-based trend-tracker Technomic reveals good news for mobile food vehicles, as 91% of consumers polled who are familiar with food trucks say they view the trend as having staying power and not a passing fad. Only 7% of consumers who use mobile food vehicles (MFV) say they expect their frequency of visits to food trucks to decrease over the next year.

As you plan your goals and desires for your courses, student activities and department, here are three useful tools to inspire.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

This past summer, we discussed pursuing the ABCs and DEFs of your professional development and I indicated that September’s “Mayo’s Clinic” would be about planning for the fall and the year. It is something that we all do when we write syllabi, create new materials for our students and consider what we want to happen during the term. (In fact, I was just revising my MLA guidelines sheet for undergraduates. If any of you want a copy, just send me a note at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. asking for it, and I will be pleased to send you a copy.)

If we are involved in leading committees or task forces, it is time to refocus the agenda for the year, get the individuals engaged again and invite new members. It is also a time of dreaming about what you want to happen in your courses, your student activities and your department. I hope that the three points—Categories of Goals, Limited Goals and Mottos—in this “Clinic” provide you with some new things to try.