The American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA) based in San Diego, Calif., recently announced official endorsement of the Escoffier Online International Culinary Academy, which launched last June by Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based Triumph Higher Education Group at www.escoffieronline.com.

Modeled after prestigious culinary institutes worldwide, Escoffier Online offers a comprehensive curriculum of cooking techniques and fundamentals via an online platform that combines learning essentials into one intuitive, easy-to-use interface.

“We are pleased to endorse the Escoffier Online International Culinary Academy,” says Candy Wallace, founder and executive director of the APPCA. “This contemporary method of culinary-arts instruction is an ideal avenue for learning—not only for those entering the culinary profession, but for home cooks, as well. For would-be cooks who aspire to formal culinary-arts training, but whose life demands don’t facilitate enrollment in a traditional brick-and-mortar program, Escoffier Online offers an eminently convenient and affordable option.”

Hard work pays off! That’s the underlying philosophy the Monroe Culinary and Confectionery applied in their weeks of preparation for the cold salon at the 2012 International Hotel, Motel & Restaurant Show in November at the Jacob Javits Center in New York. As a result of their efforts, Monroe won the gold medal of the salon and the Prosper Montagne award for cold-food display.

To prepare, the 27 students, led by their team of coaches, transformed the college‘s new pastry lab into a tropical rainforest of delicate chocolate pieces, sugar artistry, a cake featuring all of nature’s beauty and a finely airbrushed frog composed of rice-crispy treats. The long hours of work ensured that each delicate piece of their craft, from the pastries to the poularde, came together for the cold-food display table.

Kendall College is pleased to announce that Heidi Hedeker, MA/MSW, a baking and pastry instructor and assistant professor in the School of Culinary Arts, earned her master-baker certification (CMB) from the Retail Bakers of America (RBA) during practical testing at The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde, Park, N.Y., in October. She is the second CMB teaching at Kendall College.

Hedeker’s most-recent accomplishment makes her one of only 169 Certified Master Bakers in the United States. In addition to Hedeker, Kendall College is also home to CMB baking and pastry instructor Melina Kelson-Podolsky, who earned her master-baker certification in 2008.

A CMB must have deep expertise and proven skills in a broad range of baking environments, as well as the technical and administrative ability needed to operate and manage the production area of a full-line independent or in-store commercial bakery. The rigorous requirements, which include the principles of sanitation, food management, retail sales and merchandising in addition to the fundamentals of high-quality baking, make the CMB designation one of the most challenging in the culinary field.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and its faculty earned seven first-prize awards and two Best of Show honors at the 144th Salon of Culinary Art during the International Hotel/Motel & Restaurant Show in New York City on November 12.

The CIA earned Best of Show awards for Best Sugar Display by Joseph Utera and Best Bread Display by Hans Welker. It was the second consecutive year that both chefs earned Best of Show awards at the event at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

Additional first prizes were earned for the CIA’s chocolate and confection display, as well as for its wedding cake, special occasion cake and two meat platter entries. The CIA team took a second prize in the only other category in which it competed, the four-course presentation.

“Our presence at this show is a great representation of the professionalism and talent at the CIA,” says provost Mark Erickson, CMC.

The New England Culinary Institute, Montpelier, Vt., announced Nov. 1 that its vice president of culinary operations and executive chef, Jean-Louis Gerin, has been recognized in the premiere listing of Partners and Alumni of the Culinary Research and Education Academy (CREA).

The slow-cooking revolution was launched when CREA was founded in Paris more than two decades ago by French biochemist and food lover Bruno Goussault. Since then, the school has trained chefs from some of the world’s most celebrated restaurants in the art and science of sous vide. It’s changing the way the world cooks and the definition of fine dining.

Sous vide, French for “under vacuum,” is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for longer than normal cooking times—72 hours in some cases. It requires an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55°C (131°F) to 60°C (140°F) for meats and higher for vegetables.

Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas was proud to host the inaugural Marukan Cup of Culinary Excellence sponsored by the Marukan Vinegar Company in October. Teams from four Le Cordon Bleu schools participated in the competition, including a student and a chef instructor/coach from each of the Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas and Los Angeles schools.

The winning team was Geoffrei Taylor and his coach, Chef Austin Yancey, from the Chicago campus. Geoffrei was awarded $2,250 in scholarship dollars along with the Grand Trophy appropriately named the “Marukan Cup of Culinary Excellence.” Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago will now hold the trophy until the 2013 competition.