To recognize the positive impact of Delgado Community College’s culinary-arts program on businesses in southern Louisiana—particularly in light of reconstruction on campus and in the surrounding community in the wake of devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005—Olson Communications presented a grant to Dr. Mary Bartholomew, CCE, director of Delgado’s Culinary Arts & Hospitality Department, to benefit professional development of faculty.

“We are proud to host such distinguished guests who communicate food trends and their real-life applications on menus to the world,” said Bartholomew. “Over the decades, Delgado Community College has successfully trained thousands of people with dreams of fulfilling careers in the foodservice industry, not only in our own community, but throughout southern Louisiana and beyond. It’s an extreme pleasure for our devoted culinary faculty to share a ‘taste’ of the good work we do here.”

The elegant, multicourse dinner that overlooked Delgado’s primary kitchen-classroom featured innovative use of products from Basic American Foods, Johnsonville^® Sausage and The Cheesecake Factory Bakery^® in dishes conceived by culinary faculty and prepared with the assistance of student volunteers Amarys Joy Koenig and Erin Williams.

Courses for the evening included:

• Seafood gumbo with suspended boudinettes featuring ground Johnsonville^® Andouille Sausage stuffed with Cajun rice and hand-formed into rustic links;
• Grilled hearts of romaine with blue-cheese vinaigrette and potato croutons made with Basic American Foods Golden Grill Russet™ Premium Hashbrown Potatoes;
• Cassoulet “blanc et noir”—duck confit, smoked pork hocks and Johnsonville^® Mini Bratwurst over white beans and Basic American Foods Santiago^® Seasoned Black Beans, garnished with a duck crackling; and
• Crispy praline snap with The Dream Factory™ line of premium cupcakes from The Cheesecake Factory Bakery^® paired with cordial “snowballs.”

Culinary faculty responsible for menu conception and execution were professor Karl Tipton, CEC, CCE, AAC, MBA, lead chef instructor and apprenticeship chair; associate professor Vance Roux, CCC, CCE; assistant professor Nancy J. Burback, CEC, CCE; assistant professor Jon Petrie, CEPC, lead pastry chef; and instructor Joseph St. Paul.

Guests included foodservice editors and local media leaders representing Fare magazine, Food Arts, Food Management, Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, Hotel F&B, MonkeyDish.com, New Orleans Magazine, Louisiana Homes & Lifestyles, Louisiana Living, NewOrleans.com, MyNewOrleans.com, Plate, PMQ Pizza Magazine, QSR magazine and WYES-TV.

Supporting almost 7,000 employment positions and serving the region as the largest workforce training provider, Delgado is the key engine for economic growth in both Louisiana’s present and future. Culinary arts is one of Delgado's premier program areas, training students for careers in the food services and the restaurant industries. The department’s renowned AAS degree program is one of only a small handful of apprenticeship programs in the nation that are taught in the European tradition whereby students learn their craft primarily through on-the-job training under the supervision of an executive chef. Delgado’s culinary-arts degree and apprenticeship programs are approved by the American Culinary Federation, Inc.

Photo (l. to r.) Karl Tipton, Dr. Mary Bartholomew, Jon Petrie, Dan Chiado with Olson Communications, Joseph St. Paul and Nancy Burback.