There are many ways to deepen relationships with those you already know and broaden and appreciate the range of people you talk to and work with. This fall might just be the time to try them.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we talked about helping students connect with ideas. This month, the focus will be on building or expanding our connections to colleagues, industry partners and other professionals. Since the professionals we know make a real difference in our personal and professional lives—not to mention what we can do in the classroom—the topic seems timely as semesters start again this fall.

When are all salts created equal, and when do they have distinct culinary uses? Here’s a primer on teaching the qualities and characteristics of the world’s most common seasoning.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

I was recently asked to give a presentation at the San Francisco Exploratorium (a hands-on science museum) about salt. During three hours, I had more than 400 people stop at my display and taste salt, discuss different types of salt and question the difference between cooking with salt and finishing food with salt.

The next day, I was reading the March 2012 National Culinary Review, and on page nine it listed 12 food trends for 2012. Number 10 was: “Salt: premium finishing varieties and artisanal presentation.” Something was telling me to write about teaching SALT. 

The Culinary Institute of America now serves only Fair Trade coffee at its Hyde Park campus. Why?

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) is now serving only Fair Trade coffee to students and staff at the Hyde Park, N.Y., campus. For years, the not-for-profit CIA has served Fair Trade-sourced coffee at the five restaurants on campus. Now a custom Fair Trade organic "Chef's Blend" coffee is being used in all the student and staff dining facilities, as well.

Fair Trade @ The CIA, a new student club on campus, raised awareness of the issue among fellow students, faculty and staff over the past few years. Through those students' efforts, the college's food-purchasing department sought out purveyors who could provide Fair Trade coffee in the quantities required on a college campus.

Chef Johnny Hernandez inspires foodservice educators at the 2012 CAFÉ Leadership Conference in San Antonio.

By Brent T. Frei

“Teachers and educators are some of my favorite people in the world,” said Johnny Hernandez as he began his keynote and shared his career story at the 2012 CAFÉ Leadership Conference at The Culinary Institute of America-San Antonio on June 23. “It’s our responsibility to teach.”

A successful chef, restaurateur and caterer, Hernandez told the story of his love and passion for food that began at age 5 in his father’s restaurant and at home in San Antonio’s westside neighborhood. At 9, he sold tacos from the restaurant to fellow students at school. Later, his home-economics teacher in high school accompanied Hernandez to the Marriott to ask for a cooking job.

Based on Mintel research, as age increases, so does the likelihood that adults are maintaining a mostly healthy diet.

Healthy eating has come to the forefront of many minds over the past several years with help from First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move program and TV shows like “The Biggest Loser,” not to mention the extensive media coverage regarding the country’s growing obesity problem. Indeed, this increased interest in healthy eating is highlighted by new research from Chicago-based Mintel that reveals that just over two-thirds (67%) of Americans choose healthier foods to stay well.