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Apr 26, 2025, 5:27

Delgado Community College Hosts Chefs of Tomorrow™ Media Dinner

food3_dec10Grant program honoring exemplary culinary training across the nation exposed food editors and other media to educators’ innovations on the plate during the 2010 IFEC Conference in New Orleans.

Olson Communications, a full-service agency that specializes in delivering innovative marketing communication strategy to its portfolio of select food-industry clients, held a Chefs of Tomorrow™ dinner for trade and consumer food media at Delgado Community College in New Orleans on November 10 during the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC) Conference.

The Service of Sparkling Wines, Part 2

By Edward M. Korry, CSS, CWE

food2_dec10Having identified types of sparkling wines, here’s how to serve them.

While true service is the ability to read the customer and make appropriate suggestions to enhance a diner’s experience, it also includes the mechanics for seamlessly delivering a product to the customer. We have discussed the types of sparkling wines one might offer. The following article includes the basics of the mechanics for serving sparkling wines.

Sparkling wines should be chilled to 40ºF to 45ºF before opening. This allows the server greater control, as the gas is in a more stable form when chilled, thus preventing the all-too-frequent explosion of corks from the bottle and the resulting loss of wine.

When handling the bottle, the server should ensure that it is dry so that it does not accidentally slip out of his or her hands. Many restaurants set as a service standard the practice of wrapping a service towel around the bottle. This practice stems from a time when bottles were less uniformly made and prone to occasional explosion, and less necessary today.

It’s Harvest Time for Pecans

food1_dec10Recent research suggests pecans, applicable in recipes for every season, are packed with nutrition.

It’s harvest time for the North American pecan industry. Loved throughout the world for their full flavor, crunchy texture and rich aroma, pecans are also recognized by health authorities and consumers for their nutritional value.

A study recently published in the journal Current Topics in Nutraceutical Research suggests pecans—in part because of their high level of vitamin E—might play a role in protecting the nervous system by keeping nerve cells functioning well as we age.

Commercial buyers utilize the following pecan products, according to the National Pecan Shellers Association.

Chefs Speak Out: Keeping His Eye on the Ball

By Lisa Shames

chef_dec10Private chef to an NFL running back, Gason Nelson of New Orleans provides a winning combination of professional culinary skills and hard work with a down-to-earth attitude.

Gason Nelson has a pretty cool job. But chances are you won’t hear him bragging about it. Ditto for the helping hand he lent to friends and family after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 or the time he takes to mentor those hoping to follow in his footsteps. For the last four years, Nelson has been the private chef to New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush. For the record, Nelson wasn’t in Miami in February this year when the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV; he preferred to watch his team win from their and his hometown.

50-Minute Classroom: How to Buy Knives, Part 3

By Adam Weiner

fifty_dec10Chef Weiner continues his advice for students on knife selection and maintenance. This month: properly using knives.

Over the last two months, these articles were written in handout format for your students regarding how to buy knives/how knives are made, and how to hone and sharpen knives. Again, as a handout, this month’s article is about using knives. Next month, the last part of this series, will be on how to care for knives.

 

Using Knives
Here’s the bad news: You can’t learn how to use a knife from reading a handout, any more than you can learn how to drive a car by playing a computer game. With that said, there are a number of good Web sites on the subject, such as www.hertzmann.com, particularly, “The Three Aspects of Knife Skills.”

Lesson Plan: Single-Use Foodservice Packaging Facts and Fun

Courtesy of the Foodservice Packaging Institute, Inc.

Lessons, quizzes and more on disposable foodservice packaging and how such products impact our natural resources and daily lives.

The Foodservice Packaging Institute (FPI) continues to offers its popular teachers kit, “Single-Use Foodservice Packaging Facts and Fun,” available online at www.fpi.org/dms/dm_browse.asp?pid=96. This kit provides a comprehensive look at single-use foodservice packaging and its history and benefits.

Green Tomato: 2010 “State of the Plate” Addresses Sustainable Meat

green_dec10Educators, chefs and farmers gathered in Chicago to learn how to increase, Improve, market and teach sustainable meat production.

Meat was on the menu on November 17 as hundreds of farmers, distributors, restaurant professionals and culinary students gathered at the Harold Washington Library Center and Robert Morris University in Chicago to discuss sustainable meat and find out exactly what it is, what it tastes like and why to buy it.

Mayo’s Clinic: Expanding the Range of Activities—Small Groups

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

fredmayoLess easy than it might seem, there’s a strategy to forming small groups that makes group activities in class more effective and enhances student learning.

Last month, we discussed ways of expanding the range of activities in a classroom by using pairs. This month, we discuss small groups and small-group work. Most of us have developed a series of individual, small-group and large-group activities that work for the courses we teach, and we are always looking for more ideas. This Mayo’s Clinic may help you think of some new ideas.

To make small groups successful, we must consider how we create the small groups, what we ask them to do, and what resources they need.

Michel Escoffier and Triumph Higher Education Launch “the Next Generation” of Culinary Education

On October 12, a reception with Michel Escoffier, great grandson of culinary icon Auguste Escoffier and president of the Auguste Escoffier Foundation and Museum in France, offered history and little‐known family anecdotes about his great grandfather, as Chicago chefs, dignitaries and other guests were treated to champagne and hors d’oeuvres in celebration of the historic affiliation of Escoffier and Triumph Higher Education (Triumph HEG) to launch the Auguste Escoffier Schools of Culinary Arts.

Tyson Foods to Donate Chicken to Atlanta’s Hospitality and Culinary Arts Academy of Redan High School

Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN) today announced October 20 that it will donate more than 10,000 pounds of chicken to three metro Atlanta organizations. The donation supports two principles important to Tyson: hunger relief and the advancement of foodservice. Beneficiaries of the donation include the Atlanta Community Food Bank, the Redan High School Culinary Program and Teens at Work.