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.

By Birch DeVault

More easily applied in the culinary lab than the classroom, keep the learning active, engaging and authentic.

In my culinary classes, I attempt to direct my students’ learning activities from the basic to the complex. I’ve had success with this kind of cognitive scaffolding when it comes to the food itself, the method of preparation, the care in the process of cooking, and in the construction of the final plate presentation. Many of my students consider themselves artists in the making or formative craftsmen, so the idea of building them as business people is a little difficult for some to approach. I find that containing the idea of cost within the pursuit of art or craft is not only challenging, but adds authenticity to tasks committed within an applied learning environment.

By Jen Wulf

They’re easy to include, but hard to find.

Annually, more than 12 billion morning meals are served by commercial restaurants (NPD CREST, YE May 2010). Curiously missing on most breakfast menus are whole-grain items. A mere one in three breakfast menus offer any item made with whole grains, and those tend to be either hot or cold breakfast cereals (Datassential MTD, July 2010).

With heart disease and diabetes constant concerns across our country, many consumers are looking for healthier options at breakfast. According to Mintel, 77% of restaurant users “would like to see more healthy items on the menu” (Mintel Healthy Dining Trends, May 2009).