According to Mintel research, more than half of U.S. consumers think organic labeling is simply an excuse to charge more, and more than a third regard “organic” as a marketing term with no real value or definition.

Organics would seem tailor-made for shoppers seeking foods and beverages that are healthier for them, their families and the planet, but new research from Mintel reveals that Americans appear confused about the benefits of organics, with many perceiving the organic label as nothing more than an excuse to sell products at a premium.

Overall, the biggest selling point for organics is the perception that the products are healthier (72%)—much more so than any environmental or ethical reason. In fact, only 29% of consumers recognize that organic products are highly regulated, and 51% agree that labeling something as organic is an excuse to charge more. While sales of organic products are on the rise, actual consumer penetration has plateaued.

Organics Are Healthy, Right?
Overall, 72% of U.S. consumers purchase organic food and/or beverages for health or nutrition reasons, while slightly fewer (69%) factor environmental or ethical reasons in their purchase decision.

When looking specifically at female shoppers, this consumer group appears to choose products that avoid certain characteristics: 43% purchase them because they do not contain unnecessary ingredients or chemicals, and the same percentage do so to avoid food made with pesticides.

An understanding of “putting in place” is one of the most important skills for culinary students to learn and practice in becoming professionals. Says Dr. Mayo, proper mise en place is actually composed of three parts—all of which do double duty in the kitchen and dining room.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

In the last “Mayo’s Clinic,” we completed a three-part series on using out-of-class learning experiences such as interviewing, structured observation and shadowing. This month, we will talk about a core issue in culinary education: mise en place.

Mise en place—literally, the phrase in French means “putting in place”—has become a personal and professional discipline for chefs. It structures the way they work in kitchens and, for many of them, how they organize and structure their lives. There are even articles such as “For A More Ordered Life, Organize Like A Chef”published in the NPR blog, “The Salt,” that point out how useful the discipline can be in life.

As we teach our students to learn and practice mise en place, it might be useful to remember the three dimensionsof mise en place: physical, intellectual and emotional.

Physical Mise en Place
One of the primary foundation skills we teach new culinary students involves the practice and importance of organizing their stations in a kitchen before they start to prepare food. It is a matter of both arranging the equipment and the ingredients since both are critical to successful cooking.

Telling people to be the best they can be allows them to quit striving whenever they want. To be the best in your field, however, one must always strive for the next level. This is the generations-long American Dream that we, as teachers, offer our students.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

I would like to dedicate this article to my two mentors and instructors for my California Teaching Credential: Susan Clark and the recently passed Lee Clark.

In this article I would like to revisit two previously published articles.

The first article is “Assessing Culinary Math Skills,” September 2011. This article has received more than 3,500 hits, and is one of the most popular articles that I have written. It is a culinary-math assessment test that I believe should be utilized by all instructors within the first week of a student starting your class.

Sadly, I have noticed that in the four years since I first wrote this assessment, scores are dropping. Today, I had a new student ask me how to triple the first ingredient in a recipe. The first ingredient was “one cup of water.”

What can the graduate do for the school? Says Chef Sorgule, the proper question should be, What can the school do for the graduate?

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Considering the ongoing questions about the value of a degree and the ever-changing landscape of the food business, I am constantly giving thought to how administrators of culinary programs can increase the perceived and real value of an education in food.

Everyone is certainly aware of the pressure pertaining to value being passed on to institutions from accrediting bodies, especially those preparing students for technical trades. The answer moving forward might very well be in shifting how we look at a degree.

For far too long, earning a college education was a two- or four-year process that students went through in pursuit of a degree. In other words, students passed through the college experience, incurring significant debt, with closure coming on graduation day.

The connections that continue to exist between the college and the graduate are limited to alumni newsletters, reunions and gift requests from the Institutional Advancement Office. We might invite an occasional graduate back to speak to a class or provide a demonstration, but, for the most part, the theme is: “What can the graduate do for the school, rather than what can the school do for the graduate.”

High-school culinary-arts programs in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Batavia, N.Y., earn honors for exemplary practices in—and innovative teaching of—ecological sustainability.

Kendall College, Chicago, and the Annapolis, Md.-based Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) presented 2015 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Awards to two secondary hospitality programs during a June 18 reception at CAFÉ’s 11th-annual Leadership Conference for foodservice educators at Niagara Falls Culinary Institute, Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Among dozens of submissions from secondary and postsecondary programs nationwide, Kent Career Technical Center in Grand Rapids, Mich., received this year’s top award. According to chef-instructor Sarah Waller, who teaches advanced baking and pastries at Kent, the $1,000 grant from Kendall College will help fund the high school’s goal to become the first water-bottle-free secondary school in Michigan.

On Monday, May 11, fine-dining connoisseurs are invited to enjoy the modern French cuisine of Mélisse (www.melisse.com), a Michelin two-star restaurant in Santa Monica, Calif. Event proceeds will benefit Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP) Los Angeles, a nonprofit dedicated to preparing underserved students for college and career opportunities in the restaurant and hospitality industries.
 
Guests will have the opportunity to dine in the chic ambiance of the famed restaurant while relishing chef/owner Josiah Citrin’s intriguing season-driven menu. Mélisse has been voted as Zagat’s No. 1-rated restaurant in Los Angeles since 2003, and Forbes Travel Guide named Mélisse “One of the Finest Five Star Properties in the World.” Citrin has been named one of the “Best Chefs of the Year” by Los Angeles Magazine and is also co-owner of the popular Los Angeles eatery, Lemon Moon Café.

Peter “Pete” Mondavi, Jr., scion of one of Napa Valley’s leading winemaking families, was keynote speaker at the March 27, 2015, graduation ceremony for the Accelerated Wine and Beverage and Accelerated Culinary Arts certificate programs at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, Calif. Mondavi advised graduates to use their newly honed skills to help people’s dining experiences become a break from the fast-paced cell-phone world.

“We can’t alter the pace of life here, but we can dedicate ourselves to making sure that fine food, wine and beverages are not the casualties of that pace, but a way to escape from it,” Mondavi told 45 certificate recipients. “Your challenge is to find a way to bring America back to the dining table, to show Americans how to remove their electronic tethers and enjoy the remarkable cuisine and beverages that you and your fellow graduates have learned to prepare and serve.”

Idaho^® potatoes­—the term refers to their source of origin—are renowned for quality and reliability in all 50 states. While most consumers and foodservice operators associate the Idaho trademark with russet potatoes, Idaho growers are seeding fields with new varieties to meet a burgeoning demand for reds, yellows and other niche varietal potatoes.

To help all Idaho potato customers find the variety that best fits their menu needs, the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) has created “Bringing Variety to the Plate,” a full-color brochure that details the qualities, characteristics and applications for almost 30 potato varieties. For example, the commercially successful Russet Burbank is a late-maturing variety, oval shaped and thin skinned with a distinctive, earthy potato flavor. It bakes fluffy, fries crispy and is well suited to all applications.

To order a complimentary copy of “Bringing Variety to the Plate,” contact the IPC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. To research menu concepts using all the Idaho potato varieties, visit the IPC recipe database at foodservice.idahopotato.com/recipes. While on the site, check out the helpful size guideand Idahopotato preparation tips, and find answers and solutions to operational and culinary FAQs. 

Washington, D.C.-based Green America, a national nonprofit organization working to create a green economy, issued the following statement on April 27 in response to Denver-based ChipotleMexican Grill’sannouncement of removing GMOs from its foods:

“Chipotle’sannouncement that they are removing genetically engineered ingredients is [a] majorstep forward for the company and an important milestone in creating a safer andhealthier food system for all Americans. Increasingly, it is clear thatconsumers want food without genetically engineered ingredients, and have alreadyrewarded Chipotle with increased sales for its growing non-GMO commitments.

“Evidence shows that GMOs are increasing the use of toxic herbicide use due to the development of herbicide-resistant weeds. Most recently, Glyphosate, which is commonly used on GMO crops, was deemed a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the impacts of GMOs on the environment and human health and it is time for the restaurant industry and other food companies to make a change. Chipotle has shown that it is possible for a large fast foodchain [to] adopt a more sustainable food supply.

Say a menu item doesn’t sell. Is it overpriced, poorly described, not satisfying to the customer or a combination of these? To understand the basics of restaurant-performance management systems, here are three key teachings that would be part of any 101-level course on the topic.

By Dave Bennett

In the restaurant business, competition is fierce and plenty. Owners use various types of operational strategies to stay ahead of the curve and keep profits streaming in. Measuring restaurant performance is a critical ongoing activity—to see how operations are going today, and to reveal opportunities to improve customer satisfaction and unit profitability in the future.

Strong restaurant performance-measurement systems require vast amounts of data. Your data tells you how things are going, and you, in turn, use that data to make decisions. For instance, let’s imagine that your data is telling you that customers aren’t ordering a certain menu item. Is it overpriced? How does it taste? How is it described on the menu? Armed with that knowledge, you can decide how to respond: Remove that item from the menu, which will also streamline your inventory; offer it as a limited-time offering with a new menu description; or lower its selling price to see if that boosts sales.