Ris Lacoste, owner of RIS in Washington, D.C., got her big break while typing recipes at La Varenne Écôle de Cuisine in France. Today a chef celeb and successful restaurateur, she has a particular message for women in culinary: You can handle the job. Lacoste should know.

By Lynn Schwartz

Ris Lacoste has been a culinary shining star in Washington, D.C., for more than two decades. She arrived in the nation’s capital from New England in 1987 to help Chef Bob Kinkead open Twenty-One Federal and then Kinkead’s American Brasserie. Washingtonian magazine named them Restaurateurs of the Year in 1992. Lacoste then spent 10 years as executive chef of Georgetown’s 1789 Restaurant, where her innovative, regional fare earned numerous awards and national recognition.

Lacoste is also a writer and created “Cooking for Julia,” a PBS documentary celebrating Julia Child’s 90^th birthday. When Lacoste faced a big birthday of her own, 50, she knew it was now or never to open a restaurant, and RIS, situated in the heart of D.C.’s West End, was born. “I suppose opening a restaurant is really a young man’s job,” Lacoste says, “but I also know that RIS is successful because I’ve come with years of experience. I know what I want. I know how to get things done.”

Like it or not, for a growing number of our students, Facebook is the preferred means of communicating—with everyone. To help them use their Facebook sites effectively, we need to remind them of at least three important guidelines: audience, permanence and development.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

In December, we talked about e-mail and the e-mail pledge that represents a focus on communicating clearly and with respect using e-mail. This month, we will talk about Facebook.

Facebook as E-mail
A number of students and others use Facebook as a means of communication to others. Instead of just friending people, building a profile, posting pictures and jointly playing games and other activities, Facebook has become, for them, the preferred way of sending messages, following up on conversations and chatting. In fact, a number of my colleagues reported getting thank-you notes during this holiday season through Facebook and not via regular e-mail.

Chef Weiner argues there’s only one right answer.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Paper or plastic? Shaken or stirred? Regular or decaf? Red or white? Recipes or technique? These are some of the great questions that plague culinary instructors on a daily basis. To start the New Year, I am going to open the debate (please post a comment on this website so we can really get the debate going) on whether we should focus our students on learning how to follow recipes or how to use their technical skills to create or duplicate dishes.

Recipes or technique is a question that drives culinary instructors crazy. When I focus on teaching recipes, a number of my friends (many of whom volunteer to teach the class and others who hire my students) tell me that I am doing a disservice, because when they go out into the real world there won’t be recipes. These chefs contend that when the students go out into restaurants they will be shown a dish once and then be expected to duplicate it.

Share your best ideas for innovation in teaching sustainability by April 1, 2013.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC

The Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and CAFÉ are proud to announce that entries are being accepted for the 2013 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award. The first national award dedicated to building the body of teaching knowledge for all sustainability educators, it recognizes innovative teaching and projects that could have applications for other culinary programs across the country.

All secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts and baking/pastry programs are eligible to enter. Entries will be judged based on the level of innovation; perceived impact on students’ understanding of sustainability practices and their importance; and the ease with which elements of the winning program can be implemented by other culinary programs nationwide.

Volume VII in the World Culinary Arts Series at ciaprochef.com, focusing on the cuisines of Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago.

Take your students on a virtual tour of the islands of the Caribbean, where leading chefs and food authorities explain and demonstrate their culinary techniques in step-by-step detail. The Culinary Institute of America, in association with Unilever Food Solutions, presents “Savoring the Best of World Flavors: The Caribbean,” the seventh edition of the World Culinary Arts Series. A first-of-its-kind video reference library documenting the “gold standards” of world cuisines, these HD video podcasts are packed with cooking demonstrations, in-depth interviews and recipes.