The low-fat approach to eating hasn’t reduced obesity or made people healthier, says the Harvard School of Public Health.

Dozens of studies, many from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, have shown that low-fat diets are no better for health than moderate- or high-fat diets—and for many people, may be worse.

To combat this “low fat is best” myth, nutrition experts at HSPH and chefs and registered dietitians at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) developed five new muffin recipes that incorporate healthy fats and whole grains, and use a lighter hand on the salt and sugar. Their goal? To “make over” the ubiquitous low-fat muffin, touted as a “better for you” choice when, in fact, low-fat muffins often have reduced amounts of heart-healthy fats, such as liquid plant oils, but boast plenty of harmful carbohydrates in the form of white flour and sugar.

Other low-fat processed foods are not much better, and are often higher in sugar, carbohydrates or salt than their full-fat counterparts. For good health, type of fat matters more than amount. Diets high in heavily processed carbohydrates can lead to weight gain and an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Nearly half of U.S. diners say they would spend more for meals at foodservice locations that limit food waste. Unilever Food Solutions’ World Menu Report sparks a new program and website to encourage sharing of best practices within the foodservice industry.

Unilever Food Solutions’ latest World Menu Report, “Sustainable Kitchens: Reducing Food Waste,” demonstrates that the issue of food waste hits a nerve with U.S. consumers who eat out at least once a week. Nearly 80% of U.S. diners surveyed express concern about the amount of food thrown away every day in restaurants, cafeterias and other away-from-home venues. A single restaurant in the United States can produce 25,000 to 75,000 pounds of food waste in a year depending on the size of the establishment, according to an extensive analysis of restaurants by the Boston-based Green Restaurant Association (GRA).

Since 1971, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc., has created high-quality, successful restaurants. The company operates more than 80 establishments throughout the country. Wildfire (voted most-popular Chicago restaurant 2008 through 2010 by Zagat) has seven locations. The McLean, Va., venue is also bustling and can serve 1,000 customers per day. Having spent most of his career with the Lettuce Entertain You family, this kind of intense “kitchen heat” doesn’t intimidate Executive Chef Eddie Ishaq. He says, “Let’s go!”

By Lynn Schwartz

Wildfire is handsome and pays tribute to the open flame. The long, elevated fireplace above the open kitchen is dramatic. Wood-fired ovens and spit roasters add not only ambiance, but also flavor to meats, seafood, poultry and hand-stretched pizza. The dark wood and large black-and-white photographs depicting dapper diners recall the spirit of a 1940s supper club. And the contemporary Tysons Galleria mall location requires the restaurant to appeal to a variety of palates—employees in surrounding office buildings, mall shoppers and those residing in the neighborhood. A reasonably priced menu is designed for repeat dining.

Providing lists of questions to ask or items to look for, and even suggesting index cards in lieu of large notebooks, can help your students take more-effective notes.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed the four types of field trips; this month, we will share some tips on helping students take notes on field trips and site visits.

Purpose of Note Taking
Among the many values of site visits and field trips is the opportunity to observe the operation of a kitchen, foodservice outlet, warehouse, dining room, restaurant, hotel or other hospitality operation. Determining what to observe, however, can be a real challenge for students. Therefore, we need to help them prepare for site visits and point out what they might need to notice and record in their notes.

Not only will your students enjoy this assignment, but this will probably be one of the few times in your class that they can create unique dishes.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

In honor of February, why not have a 50-minute class on chocolate dipping? Before you read further, here is a disclaimer: I am neither a chocolatier nor a pastry chef. If you are either, please stop reading. For the rest of us mere mortals, let me show a quick, easy and fun way to teach some basic chocolate-dipping skills:

1. Preparation: Mise en place is critical here. Like cooking, chocolate work requires that everything be ready to go before you start. Remind students that mise en place applies to equipment as well as ingredients. (My students somehow always seem to forget this.)

Sharing your best ideas for innovation in teaching sustainability can be rewarding.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC

The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and CAFÉ are proud to announce that entries are being accepted for the 2012 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award. The first national award dedicated to building the body of teaching knowledge for all sustainability educators, it recognizes innovative teaching and projects that could have applications for other culinary programs across the country.

All secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts and baking/pastry programs are eligible to enter. Entries will be judged based on the level of innovation; perceived impact on students’ understanding of sustainability practices and their importance; and the ease with which elements of the winning program can be implemented by other culinary programs nationwide.

A free web-based tool for nutrition educators shows how to “upgrade” favorite meals by changing the type of meat and poultry, side dishes and condiments to decrease fat and calories in breakfast, lunch and dinner menus.

Courtesy of the National Turkey Federation

As a nation, we are experiencing an epidemic of obesity. Today, an estimated 32.7% of U.S. adults 20 years and older are overweight, 34.3% are obese and 5.9% are morbidly obese, resulting in approximately $147 billion in direct and indirect healthcare costs annually. And because there is a strong correlation between obesity and such co-morbid conditions as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancers, these costs are expected to double every 10 years. More problematic is the escalating rate of childhood obesity and the potential consequences for increased prevalence of chronic disease in future years.

Students dazzled editors representing some of the food industry’s most prominent publications at the 2011 Chefs of Tomorrow™ media dinner held at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Washington in Arlington, Va., on November 9 during the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC) Conference.

The elegant, multicourse dinner in the school’s public fine-dining restaurant, Culinaire, featured innovative use of products from companies represented by Chicago-based Olson Communications, a full-service agency that specializes in delivering innovative marketing-communication strategy to its portfolio of select food-industry clients.

The Culinary Institute of America has announced the creation of the role of provost at the CIA. As the senior academic administrator of the college, the provost is vested with oversight of education, research, accreditation, continuing education and food and beverage operations at all CIA campuses. The provost will report to Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the CIA.

In making this announcement, Ryan also announced that Mark Erickson, CMC, vice president-dean of culinary education at the CIA, will take on this new role effective January 1, 2012. An honors graduate of the CIA Class of 1977, Erickson also holds a bachelor of science degree in restaurant & hotel management from the University of New Haven and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Marist College. Erickson was a member of the gold-medal-winning United States Culinary Olympic Teams in 1980, 1984 and 1988, and part of the U.S. team that won the 1985 Culinary World Cup.

Kendall College School of Culinary Arts student Tayler Moore, a 20-year old sophomore pursuing his bachelor’s degree in culinary arts, won an all-expenses-paid weeklong trip to experience the foods and flavors of Taiwan in the first cookoff of its kind at Kendall College on Dec. 12. The competition, hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Chicago, highlighted the official launch of Taiwan’s Government Information Office’s multilingual Web site (http://taiwanfoodculture.net) celebrating Taiwan’s diverse foodways. Moore’s winning dish featured a chicken thigh fabricated to resemble a lollipop.