Educators and students were among the 38 finalists who rose to the occasion in the California Raisin Marketing Board’s final bake-off.

The California Raisin Marketing Board, the state marketing order that represents nearly 3,000 California raisin growers, announced 13 winners in its third-annual America’s Best Raisin Bread Contest held recently. The “bakers’ dozen” winners rose to the top among a total of 85 initial entries submitted by professional and student bakers from throughout the country.

“This year’s formulas exceeded our expectations by featuring diverse California raisin-inspired breads and bakery products—from savory Raisin Focaccia Bread with goat cheese and caramelized onions to sweet Raisin Pecan Caramel Rolls,” said Larry Blagg, senior vice president of marketing for the board.

The mission of the America’s Best Raisin Bread competition is to recognize and celebrate aspiring and working bakers for their skills. To allow the bakers more creativity and to broaden the range of products, this year’s artisan and commercial baking categories were expanded to include raisin rolls, pastries and other breakfast breads.

By Edward M. Korry, CSS, CWE

A server needs to seize the opportunity for determining the type of sparkling wine his or her customers prefer.

Champagne and sparkling wines conjure up images of celebration, elegance and pure enjoyment. While frequently perceived as merely a reception wine, the styles of sparkling wines vary enormously, and if properly understood can enhance a restaurant’s bottom line and a server’s income considerably. The key is to also provide commensurate quality service.

Many people refer to any sparkling wine as champagne, though only wine from the specific geographic appellation, 70 miles northeast of Paris, France, can rightfully be called Champagne. Champagne sets the standard for sparkling-wine production, and until 1990, other appellations both within and outside of France were able to refer to the champagne method on their labels. Since then no other EU wine may even refer to the term. In the United States, we have 14 semi-generic labels including champagne. Most U.S. sparkling-wine producers refer to their wines with the term CM/CV on the label. This refers to classic method and classic grape varieties, which includes chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.

Culinary leaders from the Western Hemisphere gathered last month in San Antonio to celebrate El Sueño, The Culinary Institute of America’s mission to promote Latino diversity in the foodservice and hospitality industries.

The Culinary Institute of America celebrated the official opening of its expanded 30,000-square-foot campus in San Antonio, Texas, in October 2010 with a festival that included food, music, a healthy-snack competition for local high-school students and culinary demonstrations by chefs ranging from Rick Bayless to Johnny Hernandez. The opening marked the completion of the second phase of the CIA's El Sueño initiative that was launched in San Antonio to promote Latino diversity in the foodservice industry.

By Lisa M. Ramsey, CEC

Educator winners of the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s 2010 healthy-cooking recipe contest through CAFÉ enjoyed a thorough and flavorful immersion in Wisconsin cheeses on tour.

The subject line of the email read “You’re All Winners!”, and of course that sparked my curiosity. A few weeks earlier I entered a contest for culinary educators asking us to create a healthy recipe using any type of Wisconsin cheese. Could it be? YES! I won along with 19 other educators from across the country and Canada. Within a few weeks we were whisked away to Madison, Wis. I found myself at Sardines standing in front of a table full of cheese and wine discussing recipes with several other educators. Our gracious hosts were Sara Hill from Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board and Mary Petersen from CAFÉ. They brought us together to celebrate and meet several cheesemakers and farmers. After a wonderful dinner and conversation, it was off to the hotel to rest up for three days’ full of tasting and touring.

Courtesy of the National Turkey Federation

Online resources from the turkey industry will help students better understand how to deliver customer satisfaction while contributing to a healthy bottom line amid a “perfect storm” of challenges for operators.

The lean economic times the foodservice industry is currently facing requires a careful evaluation of daily operational practices. Restaurateurs need to look for ways to trim costs, reduce waste and maintain a steady customer base in this environment of sharply higher commodity costs, soaring fuel prices and continued food price inflation. Meanwhile, restaurant guests are squeezing their own food budgets, and when they do dine out, they look for value on menus.