Several foodservice educators contributed to the American Culinary Federation’s chef team’s second-place win among 12 teams in Dubai.

The American Culinary Federation (ACF) culinary-competition team received a gold medal at the Dubai World Hospitality Championship 2013, Dubai, UAE, Nov. 16-18, giving the United States second place overall in the international competition. Singapore’s culinary team placed first and Australia’s team was third.

“The U.S. team worked together to represent the fresh, unadulterated flavors of American cuisine,” said Edward Leonard, CMC, WGMC, AAC, team captain. “After two months and three practice sessions, we finished second against 11 other countries and achieved our goal of a gold medal based on flavors, craftsmanship and teamwork. My toque is off to my fellow chefs in pastry and cuisine. They excelled in this competition with passion, pride and a quest to be the best.”

ACF organized a team of seven chefs at the invitation of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, to represent the United States at the inaugural international competition held at the Dubai World Trade Centre. The ACF team competed against 11 other teams from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and Wales.

The seven U.S. chefs competing were:

Chef Jason Ziobrowski of InHarvest inspires culinary grads of Victory Trade School.

“Everyone, no matter how talented, has to pay his or her dues,” said Jason Ziobrowski, CEC, corporate chef of InHarvest’s Eastern Region, to graduates of the culinary-arts program at Victory Trade School (VTS) on Nov. 8. “You are no exception. Pay yours, and pay them willingly. And remember to network while doing it! At the end of the road, you’ll be well rewarded.”

With those words, Ziobrowski began the commencement speech he was invited to deliver to more than 500 assembled graduates, their families and friends, as well as representatives of the foodservice community, at the Springfield, Mo.-based school. He shared his story of being inspired to pursue professional cooking when, as a boy, his grandmother praised his tuna-fish sandwich, leading to his culinary-arts degree from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., followed by stints in professional kitchens of restaurants, clubs and corporations throughout the country.

Ziobrowski recounted the highs and lows, twists and turns of a varied 20-year career that led to the building of his family, earning certification as an executive chef from the American Culinary Federation and, ultimately, becoming a corporate chef for InHarvest (a leading U.S. supplier of heirloom and exotic grains and grain blends to foodservice, retail and manufacturing) and serving customers in the vast swath of the nation east of the Mississippi River.

Ziobrowski told graduates to zealously explore new ideas from every source. “Read everything you can get your hands on,” he said. Look not only at food TV for inspiration, but also the chalkboard menu at a mom-and-pop establishment. Research the finest restaurants, but don’t ignore the corner Jewish deli and lunchtime taco truck. “Look down the street at your competitor,” he continued, “but remember that the best source of trend information is right here in this room: your customers and guests.”

Through the free videos he helps produce for Unilever, Steve Jilleba stresses the need among current and future cooks to understand culinary origins and the impulses that inspired authentic flavors around the globe.

By Lynn Schwartz

“Today, everything moves quickly. There is a lot of cross-culturalization, and culinary traditions get mixed and blended,” says Steve Jilleba, CMC, corporate executive chef for Lisle, Ill.-based Unilever Food Solutions. “Original recipes and cooking techniques can become lost forever.”

The risk of unrecoverable culinary practices inspired Unilever and The Culinary Institute of America to partner in a preservation initiative, The World Culinary Arts DVD & Internet Project. “Savoring the Best of World Flavors” is an interactive series that provides a first-of-its-kind video reference library for future generations, documenting and conserving best culinary practices worldwide.

To date, this ambitious undertaking offers seven volumes featuring more than 16 countries including India, China, Japan, Vietnam, Greece, Sicily, Spain, Mexico, Peru and Brazil. “We are trying to preserve a country’s authenic culinary traditions,” says Jilleba.

To accomplish that, Jilleba and his team travel to a specific country and film the “experts” as they prepare time-honored recipes, divulge necessary ingredients and reveal cooking techniques. The interviews often discuss the dish’s development, geographic and historical implications, and examine how a dish has evolved in contemporary kitchens. The camera also catches visits to a variety of open-air street markets and long-standing food shops. The result is that the viewer, comfortably transported far and wide to each locale, is privy to a country’s past, present and future food culture—something most chefs would never have the opportunity to witness on such a large scale. The videos and podcasts are free of charge to foodservice professionals and students, and many of the recipes are available to download.

Through culinary and reflective journaling, students can become empowered to consider broadly and deeply what they are learning and what they need to do in the future. Your role is simply to encourage them to write.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we discussed helping students take charge of their lives by using peer coaching. This month’s column is about using journals, a powerful strategy to assist students in taking charge of their education and their lives.

Journaling
The use of journals has a long and productive history in education. They have been used at all levels of education for a wide range of purposes. They have been used to foster creative-writing skills, research interests, interpersonal skills, intellectual reflection, personal rumination and critical thinking. Inviting—or requiring—students to keep journals in a way to encourage them to write, and writing is one of the most effective a ways to clarify thinking and improve writing, something we want to promote in all our students.

Culinary Journals
Many successful chefs have kept journals of good recipes, ingredient combinations, plate presentations, food events and menu ideas. They become repositories of good ideas to which the chefs can refer when needing to come up with new ideas or new practices. They are also very helpful in reviewing the progress and development of a chef’s thinking and career growth.

Some culinary faculty members encourage students to keep culinary journals while they are in school, as well, so that the students develop the habit of collecting and reviewing information. It builds good habits of note-taking for the future. In some schools, faculty members collect and read the journals, but most just encourage students to keep journals and use other techniques—tests, papers, cooking assignments and observation of performance—for evaluative purposes.

Give back, says Chef Weiner, and teach your students to, as well. Whether self-serving, altruistic or both, the many rewards—both personal and professional—far outweigh any inconvenience.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Last December I wrote the 12 things that every culinary student needs to know. It was kind of my gift to you. This year I am going to take the completely opposite approach. It is time for your students and you to start giving gifts to others.

A. For Your Students
Volunteering is important for students for a variety of reasons. Foremost, it is just a good thing to give back. At the holidays and throughout the year there are people who need help and would enjoy and appreciate your students’ volunteer efforts.

If being altruistic isn’t within your students’ skills set, then let’s talk about them volunteering for their own gain. First, I have had a number of my students hired while doing volunteer work as other chefs were volunteering or were watching. You can guess what happened. The chefs were impressed with the volunteering spirit, the students got jobs.

Furthermore, volunteering is good résumé value. With so many students coming out of culinary programs at the high school, vocational and college levels, it is important that your students have something (preferably a lot of somethings) on their résumés that separates them from the pack.