Passion for fresh, seasonal, straightforward ingredients and cooking; diversity and flexibility of service; and leveraging meal occasions to build community among students and staff are hallmarks of the dining program at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Olson Communications, a food-marketing agency based in Chicago, is proud to announce that Vanderbilt Campus Dining, a nonprofit, university-managed auxiliary service for Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., is the recipient of a 2012 Chefs of Tomorrow™ Award. Sharon Olson, founder and president of Chicago-based Olson Communications, presented the award to Chef Camp Howard, CEC, director of Vanderbilt Campus Dining, on Nov. 6 at an annual dinner for foodservice media.

Inaugural seven-month program concludes with ceremony and celebratory meal at San Antonio campus.

Nine culinary professionals spent the 30 weeks at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), San Antonio, learning about the cuisines of Latin America and preparing menus with leading chefs from many of the regions studied. A graduation ceremony on October 27, 2012, marked the completion of the first class of the college’s Latin Cuisines Certificate Program. Graduates then celebrated with a special luncheon at Nao, the newest restaurant on the CIA’s San Antonio, Texas, campus.

The country’s oldest collegiate foodservice operation partners with a noted authority to meet student demand for cuisine authenticity.

Authentic Greek fare is being introduced to the menus and students at Harvard thanks to collaboration between chef and cookbook author Diane Kochilas and Harvard University Dining Services (HUDS). Beginning last summer and extending into the fall, Kochilas and HUDS have developed recipes, trainings and tastings, which will culminate in more than a dozen new items for HUDS’ residential-dining winter menus.

Greek cuisine, regarded for its nutritional benefits through the use of plant oils, lean proteins, vegetables and distinct seasonings, is an ideal fit for Harvard menus where students are increasingly interested in authenticity and health. Seafood and vegetarian options that appeal to non-vegetarians are among the most demanded items on student surveys.

Kochilas was a presenter at the Spring 2012 Worlds of Healthy Flavors conference, hosted by the Harvard School of Public Health and The Culinary Institute of America. HUDS’ managing director, David Davidson, and director for culinary operations Martin Breslin were in attendance and immediately saw the opportunity for bringing Kochilas’ expertise to campus.

Saying that five times fast led to a college student’s likeness in Darigold butter.

It took 110 pounds of butter, two days of carving and a 14-second, tongue-twisting video to make it happen. One lucky Seattle resident, Haley Alaji, was announced the grand-prize winner in Darigold’s “Better Butter” online contest, and as her prize, Darigold created an oversized butter bust carving of Alaji that will feature prominently on billboards throughout Puget Sound through December.

“It’s amazing to see myself in butter—the carving is so precise, and it actually looks just like me!” says Alaji, a theater student at the Cornish College of the Arts who lives in downtown Seattle and moved to the Northwest four months ago from Detroit. “I happened to come across Darigold’s contest asking people to submit videos of themselves saying ‘better butter better’ five times fast, and decided to go for it. I found a street performer playing the violin, set up my camera and shot a little spontaneous dance video, and the judges picked me!”

An interview with father and son Michel and Sébastien Bras of France.

By Brenden Blaine Darby

A small glance, a deep breath, a long pause and a lingering stare. These two men seem to dance with each other on a cerebral level, always interacting with the other’s thoughts. My questions are pondered in their own unique way and only answered once all the right words are ready to be expressed. While speaking, they look at each other to make sure they are always extracting and mixing their ideas together.