Seattle Culinary Academy and UMass Dining recognized for innovations in sustainability.

Kendall College in Chicago and the Annapolis, Md.-based Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) on June 24 presented the 2012 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award to Seattle Culinary Academy, a division of Seattle Central Community College, at the CAFÉ Leadership Conference in San Antonio, Texas. Chef-instructor Keijiro Miyata, CEC, CCE, AAC, accepted the award on behalf of Seattle Culinary Academy from Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC, vice president of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and Laureate International Universities Center of Excellence in Culinary Arts.

“Seattle Culinary Academy was one of the first culinary schools in the nation to offer formal coursework in sustainability, highlighting the value of local and seasonal sourcing,” Koetke said. “The program is exceptional because it integrates health and environmental sustainability throughout the educational experience.”

Recognized for its elegance and flavor, lamb is a favorite protein of chefs across the globe.  While most chefs think of rack of lamb, today’s economy as well as a desire to utilize the whole carcass challenges chefs to look at some of the lesser-known and economical cuts.

By Christopher Heath Stone, CEC, MEd

The shoulder is one of the most affordable cuts of lamb. A square-cut bone-in shoulder can be barbecued, braised or slow roasted. It can also be broken down in a variety of ways to create shoulder arm and blade chops, shoulder ribs or various BRT roasts. Lamb-shoulder meat is also commonly used to create kabob and stew meat, as well as grind.

A career educator with 42 years in the food business divulges “musts” to achieve the critical successful relationship between culinary graduate and employer.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Even with unemployment looming as one of our country’s greatest challenges, restaurants, hotels and resorts still struggle to find enough qualified, professionally committed individuals to staff their kitchen brigades. Last count there were somewhere between 1,500 and 2,000 schools in the United States with culinary programs. Why is there still a gap between supply and demand?

This year marks my 42^nd year in some facet of the food business. I spent 10 years in kitchens from line cook to executive chef after a two-year college program in hotel management. Twenty-six years followed in college-level culinary education beginning as instructor and finishing as the dean of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management. During that time I completed both baccalaureate and master’s degrees in related fields and dedicated a few weeks each year working in kitchens to stay fresh. I worked diligently with the American Culinary Federation to earn accreditation for the program, served a few years on the Accreditation Committee and was appointed as the chair of the ACF National Education Committee. This time in education afforded me the opportunity to serve as a member of the 1988 New England Culinary Olympic Team and in 2001 was honored as the ACF National Culinary Educator of the Year.

When is a food “heirloom,” and when is it “heritage”? And is buying “local” more or less beneficial to the planet than buying “organic”? Here’s a briefing on teaching the meaning of popular food buzzwords to students.

By G. Allen Akmon, CEC, CHE

Accept the fact that when you decided on an exciting career within the foodservice industry, you were headed on a journey of lifelong learning. In order to help you solidify that notion, you are likely attempting to keep up a steady diet of the latest menu-enhancing buzzwords and current trends that rely in large part on historical and/or sustainable products. The verbiage can be overwhelming or even mystical in the fact that many seem to be using the terminology in a slightly different fashion.

Now consider the fact that if you are in the field of educating future generations of culinarians, it is not quite enough just to be familiar with terms like heirloom, antique and heritage.

New confections and snacks offer a reliable barometer of consumers’ evolving flavor demands and food choices, as revealed at the 2012 Sweets & Snacks Expo.

Fun fruits and shared sweets, foreign flavors and healthy snacks are emerging as the trends to meet the ever-evolving appetites of consumers. The 2012 Sweets & Snacks Expo, which began on the last day of this year’s NRA Show in Chicago, featured new products from more than 560 companies leading the industry with the new flavors that meet consumers’ tastes.