By Colin Roche, CEC, CCE

Though easy to make, infusing oils adds much to the classroom and curriculum.

Infused oils are a great product to make with your students. It not only introduces them to the various herbs and spices available today, but also teaches them how to infuse the flavor into the neutral medium of oil.

Why is oil a great medium for infusing flavors into? Herbs and spices get their flavors from the essential oils in them. Most of these oils are aromatic compounds that we smell when we eat them, and it is these aromas that create much of the flavor we experience. Also, because these aromatic compounds are oils, they're soluble in oils. Simple, right? Now, with an understanding of the method, you can see that infused oils are theoretically very easy to make.

By Mitch Stamm, CEPC

By hiding the science in the pure joy of handling dough that has baked into pastries, you can increase students’ understanding and awareness of the baking process.

Taking a lesson from parents who hide vegetables in other foods and desserts in order to train their children to appreciate them, instructors can do the same by hiding science in food. Many students find the science of baking dry and dull, yet they thrive when producing pastries. Rather than teaching science, why not teach food?

By Christopher Koetke, MBA, CEC, CCE

Sometimes it’s all about language. Here are resources for teaching energy and water savings without having to use the “s” word.

When the topic of sustainability comes up, do your CEO’s eyes glaze over? Does the CFO look skyward and tiredly explain that there’s no room in the budget? Well, you might try turning the tables and hitting them right where it matters—on the balance sheet. Consider your audience and talk their talk. It will make your case and provide a good lesson for your students who will soon be out in the world and responsible for bringing sustainability to the companies that employ them.

By Wendy Gay, CHE

Of the five most common risk factors for causing foodborne illness, three are issues for the front of the house.

One of the most important responsibilities we have in foodservice is making certain that the food we serve is safe. When teaching food safety, most of the emphasis is usually placed on the supply chain and preparation of food. But the front of the house plays a significant role in keeping our tables safe.

By Adam Weiner

Says Chef Weiner, even in short classes, instructors must stop doing the mise en place themselves unless they plan on accompanying students to their first jobs.

There are five “P”s of professional cooking: Planning, Preparation, Presentation, Passion and Pride. Presentation and planning have appeared in past “50-Minute Classrooms.” Now, preparation.

I tell students that preparation (aka MISE EN PLACE) is everything. I start with an example of changing the oil in a car. You don't get under the car, climb out and get a wrench, climb back under and then climb out and go to the store to buy a filter, etc. You first get everything next to the car.

Fifteen of 26 chefs have qualified to compete in the second of two culinary competitions to determine who will be selected to represent the United States on ACF Culinary Team USA at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg this November and the 2012 International Culinary Art Exhibition (IKA), commonly referred to as the “culinary Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany.

Starting in Fall 2010, sophomore Baking & Pastry Arts majors at Johnson & Wales University will have the opportunity to fulfill their internship requirement in an intensive baking and pastry-arts program offered by France’s leading pastry-arts school, L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie (ENSP).

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has released a new resource to help navigate the waters of sustainability titled "Alaska Seafood Sustainability In Plain English."

With the seafood sustainability trend sweeping the world, it’s important for foodservice operators to provide consumers with transparent information about the seafood they source.

As consumers have been inundated with eco-labels and color-coded ‘eat-this-not-that’ seafood sustainability messages, ‘Sustainability In Plain English’ offers a holistic perspective looking at what really constitutes sustainable seafood in Alaska.

Brian Schreiber is almost famous. That’s because the Chicago-based Kendall College School of Culinary Arts student won the 8th-Annual S.Pellegrino® Almost Famous Chef® North Central Regional Competition on January 22 at The International Culinary School at The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago.

Following the success of Sullivan University’s culinary team that traveled to Beijing to cook at the 2008 Olympic Games, the school’s National Center for Hospitality Studies (NCHS) based in Louisville, Ky., is proud to announce that it will send another group of students, alumni and faculty to cook for the athletes at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The group, consisting of one chef instructor, three students and three alumni, will be part of the team providing food service at the two USA Houses, the hospitality centers for the U.S. Olympic Committee, sponsors, athletes and guests.