The Culinary Institute of America and Grapes from California introduce an online learning module with innovative menu applications for table grapes.

“Grapes Make the Plate: Fresh Ideas for Modern Menus” is a free online resource at www.ciaprochef.com that illustrates the deeply flavorful, healthful and wide-ranging ways in which fresh California table grapes can create eye-candy color appeal and menu inspiration.

Taking fresh California grapes into new realms of culinary innovation, “Grapes Make the Plate” explores using California grapes in everything from soups and salads to main courses and desserts. Through online videos, chef-tested recipes and information on the nutritional value of fresh grapes, the online learning module presents scores of new ideas exploring the grape's culinary potential, including underutilized techniques such as juicing, roasting, carbonizing and frying grapes that create compelling textures and nuanced flavors.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

A tool for exploring sustainable seafood.

If there’s one thing we educators all share, it’s a shortage of time. That’s why turn-key teaching tools, especially those that aren’t developed to promote a product, are manna from heaven. When it comes to sustainability, seafood is a particularly thorny issue because there really are no black-and-white answers. As Bon Appétit Management Company’s Helene Kennan, executive chef at Google, has said, “Sustainable seafood is the culinary challenge of the 21^st century.”

“Green Chefs, Blue Ocean” has arrived on the scene to help. Developed jointly by Chefs Collaborative, one of the most forward-thinking chefs’ organizations in the country, and the Blue Ocean Institute, this program can help you and your students explore the world of sustainable seafood.

“How can I afford college?” is a common question for many high-school students considering plans for the futures amid rising tuition costs and a challenging economy. The American Academy of Chefs (AAC), the honor society of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the nation’s largest professional chefs organization, and Baltimore International College (BIC), one of the mid-Atlantic's leading colleges, are pleased to announce two new scholarships available for students accepted to BIC, totaling $20,000 over four years.

Tyson Foods' Food Service division announced on December 16 that it will donate 30,000 pounds of food to two metro New Orleans organizations, Café Reconcile and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans. Donations are being made in support of the International Foodservice Editorial Council’s (IFEC) community-outreach efforts in New Orleans during its annual conference.

Chefs from leading foodservice and retail chains met at The Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley in October for a custom seminar centered on U.S. Potatoes. Themed “Mediterranean Inspiration, Culinary Innovation,” the seminar took chefs through a culinary odyssey along the 38th parallel—the latitude line that runs right through the Mediterranean and the California Wine Country.

Representatives from influential operations such as Denny’s, Carrows Restaurants, Shoney’s and Bon Appétit Management Company participated in hands-on innovation sessions and participated in demos by special guest chefs Aaron London of Ubuntu in Napa, Anne Gingrass of Brix in Napa, and Joyce Goldstein, food writer and restaurant industry consultant. All together, the seminar attendees represented more than 8,800 units and $3 billion in annual sales.

The California Milk Advisory Board recently announced a partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) to educate students about the benefits of milk and offer awards for collecting Real California Milk seals. The Real California Milk Supports Real California Schools program provides information to elementary students in the state’s largest school district about healthy eating and drinking choices and offers a chance to win prizes for themselves and their classrooms. LAUSD students and their families are encouraged to look for the Real California Milk seals in their local stores and are challenged to collect these seals for a chance to win Wii Fit™ game consoles, books and $500 classroom awards.

James P. DeWan, an adjunct instructor at Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, has co-authored ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS Complete Book of Knife Skills: The Essential Guide to Use, Techniques & Care (Robert Rose Inc., 2010, ISBN: 978-0-7788-0256-3). The book teaches mastery of knife techniques for both the novice and experienced chef and is the must-have cutlery reference book for anyone who loves to cook.

DeWan, chef and instructor, is also an award-winning food writer. His Chicago Tribune column, “Prep School,” is now in its fifth year. He joined Kendall College in 2008 and teaches introduction to professional cookery; introduction to stocks, sauces and soups; introduction to garde manger; methods of cooking; and culinary arts.

“Now more than ever, there is a return to cooking in the home. Yet most home cooks would agree that the one ingredient missing in their kitchen is basic knife skills,” said Renee Zonka, RD, CCE, CHE, managing director and associate dean of Kendall College’s School of Culinary Arts. “DeWan’s book is a welcome addition to everyone’s kitchen library, and reflects both his passion for culinary and the mastery of technique in cooking.”

Complete Book of Knife Skills provides valuable information about an essential kitchen tool used every day. The book covers everything about cutlery—from basic vegetable cuts to creative garnishes to boning meat and everything in-between. There is also a chapter that provides background information and photos on the types of knives available, how they are used and how to care for them.

DeWan co-wrote Complete Book of Knife Skills with Jeffrey Elliot, director of culinary relations for Zwilling J.A. Henckels, Demeyere and Staub and executive chef of Zwilling J.A. Henckels USA. Zwilling J.A. Henckels, based in Solingen, Germany, was founded in 1731 and today is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of premium cutlery, flatware, cookware, scissors and kitchen gadgets.

CAFÉ and The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board are pleased to announce their second WMMB contest for foodservice instructors at all levels.

This year there is a twist! There will be 12 winning TEAMS chosen for the all-expenses-paid three-day tour of Wisconsin cheesemaking, July 17-20, 2011. The teams will consist of a student and a faculty member.

You may choose your team in a number of ways, but only one recipe will be accepted on behalf of the team and either both individuals have developed the recipe OR an instructor can run a recipe contest within his/her own class to choose the winning recipe. Here are the specifics:

President Barack Obama on November 24 “pardoned” the National Thanksgiving Turkey in a White House Ceremony, as he and National Turkey Federation (NTF) Chairman Yubert Envia celebrated the 63rd anniversary of the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation.

Envia presented President Obama with “Apple,” a 21-week old, 45-pound tom. The turkey’s name was selected from more than 200 submissions from school children who participated in California’s Agriculture in the Classroom program where they learned about how the National Thanksgiving Turkey was raised.

Students of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Miami exhibited creativity and technical skills during the Hass Avocado Board student recipe competition, held in Miramar, Fla., on August 27. Ten students competed for cash awards with innovative and inspired recipe dishes featuring fresh Hass avocados.

Rene Thondike impressed the judges with his artfully presented and flavorful Lime Crab and Avocado Salad. Melding form, texture and color, Thondike’s dish was a masterpiece in subtlety and took the first place of $750.