To help future foodservice and hospitality leaders serving our nation make the transition from the military to college, The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has a new member of its admissions staff dedicated to assisting veterans in planning for their post-military careers.

Eric Jenkins, 47, enrolled at the CIA after serving in the U.S. Army from 1984 to 2008. He earned his bachelor’s degree in culinary-arts management last year and will now help guide fellow service members and veterans through the application process. From firsthand experience, the retired Sergeant First Class can explain how to obtain Post-9/11 GI Bill and Yellow Ribbon Program benefits to provide them with a bachelor’s or associate-degree education at the CIA. Jenkins also serves as the staff advisor to the Veterans Association & Auxiliary student organization on campus. He was president of the group as an undergraduate.

An admissions counselor dedicated to veterans is needed at the CIA, where 126 current students have served on active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

The Lexington College Board of Directors recently announced the appointment of Professor Kelly O’Leary as president of Lexington College. For the past three years, O’Leary has served on the faculty in the Hospitality Management Department. Since July, she has served as vice president of the college.

O’Leary has a passion for building culture by educating and inspiring the next generation of women. She was selected as the ideal candidate to shepherd Lexington College through its imminent growth phase due to her years of experience in leading, training and developing young women. The Board of Directors is confident that she will be an inspirational guiding force for students, faculty and staff.

O’Leary holds a master’s degree in gastronomy from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree in music from Furman University. She also received professional training at The Culinary Institute of America. She has written several significant papers including her master’s thesis, “The Flouring of New England: Wheat and Its Function in the Lives and Loaves of Colonial Americans.”

As co-founder and executive director of the Art of Living, O’Leary built an international skills-building program for high-school girls. Her previous professional experience includes work at Montrose School in Boston, Van Ness Study Center in Washington, D.C., and Arnold Hall Conference Center in Pembroke, Mass. Prior to joining Lexington College, she served as executive chef and general manager for Bayridge University Center in Boston. Throughout her career, she has dedicated significant time to educating young women in the skills of service, culinary arts, fashion, home health and interior design.

With her background in culinary arts, gastronomy and hospitality, and the relation of these fields to women building culture, O’Leary is considered uniquely poised to oversee not only Lexington’s growth, but the growing impact of the college on society.

Not every chef who steps into the kitchen is ready for the challenge of competition in front of the camera. New England Culinary Institute graduate Sean Quinn (’01) recently beat out the competition on Food Network’s culinary-competition show, “Chopped.” Quinn is also a graduate of C-CAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program), designed to prepare high-school students for college and career opportunities in the hospitality industry. The scholarship he received through C-CAP allowed him to attend New England Culinary Institute and eventually led him to become executive chef at Chadwick’s in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he has been for seven years.

As “Chopped” champion, Quinn received $10,000, which he donated to the C-CAP program to help others pursue their education in the culinary arts.

Winner of “Chopped” in 2012, NECI Executive Chef Jean-Louis Gerin congratulated Quinn on his accomplishment:  “As a ‘Chopped’ champion, I know the intensity and pressure one is under when opening the mystery basket. I won by staying focused, disciplined and true to the fundamentals of cooking. The education that Sean received at NECI with intensive hands-on learning and a focus on fundamentals was a part of his win, too. Congratulations to him.”

The National Honey Board (NHB) is pleased to announce the winners of its 2013 “Perfect Pairings” Culinary Student Honey Recipe Contest. Conducted in collaboration with “The Gold Medal Classroom”/Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ), the competition drew an impressive response, with more than 100 entrants from postsecondary culinary programs nationwide.

“We are thrilled with the response and participation from so many talented students, instructors and institutions across the country,” said NHB director of marketing Catherine Barry. “It was difficult narrowing down the recipes from so many outstanding entries, but we think the winning students did an exceptional job of highlighting the versatility of honey through their food and beverage pairings.”

The American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA) recently honored four chefs with Awards of Excellence at the 2013 APPCA Personal Chef Summit at Stratford University in Baltimore.

The following received recognition from Candy Wallace, founder and executive director of the APPCA, at the conference’s awards luncheon on Oct. 12:

• 2013 Career/Life Balance: Javier Fuertes, chef/owner, Fitchburg, Mass.-based The Dinner Maker serving central Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire
• 2013 Marketer of the Year: Jim Huff, chef/owner, Queens-based Traveling Culinary Artist serving metro New York and Nassau County
• 2013 Chefs of the Year: Dennis Nosko and Christine Robinson, co-owners, A Fresh Endeavor serving greater Boston

Following the ceremony, Wallace moderated a best-practices panel featuring the four award recipients, who shared their winning formulas for building successful personal-chef businesses with more than 50 conference attendees from throughout the nation.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) is accepting nominations for its 2014 “Restaurant Neighbor” and “Faces of Diversity” awards.

Entering its 16th year, the Foundation’s “Restaurant Neighbor Award,” founded in partnership with American Express, celebrates the outstanding charitable service performed by restaurant operators. Likewise, the “Faces of Diversity” award, sponsored by PepsiCo Foodservice and founded in 2007, is presented to members of the restaurant industry who, through hard work and perseverance, have achieved the American Dream.