By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

Are we heading for a worldwide famine by mid-century? Is our very civilization unsustainable? Is it too late to stop the train and turn it around? The answers are yes, yes and no.

Julian Cribb, Australian author of The Coming Famine (University of California Press, 2010), paints the picture of a perfect storm in which a number of sustainability issues will reach criticality and come together over the next few decades to portend a worldwide famine that will change the face of our world.

The concept of “peak oil” is something that we’ve all become familiar with over the last decade. Put simply, it’s a situation where demand outpaces the discovery of new reserves of a finite resource, so supply gets scarce and expensive. In Cribb’s estimation, water and agricultural outputs will also reach their peak in the near-term horizon.

In fact, we’re already seeing some evidence. While the United States, Australia and Europe are awash in food, literally throwing half of it away, the rest of the world is not. For the last half century a billion people in the developing world have been going to bed hungry every night. The resulting “food insecurity” has devastating effects.

By Mary Petersen

CAFÉ’s founder and executive director says combining the worlds of food and education has been the best ride of her life.

Being a guest speaker for “The Gold Medal Classroom” is an opportunity to reflect on, evaluate and possibly predict a particular topic of interest to foodservice instructors. I have had the privilege of this form of dialogue for many years with chefs who have become involved with education as well as educators who jumped (or were pushed) into the culinary-arts arena.

My reflection will be brief: Twenty-five years ago the majority of culinary-arts programs were certificate programs; there were no national standards as to the guidelines for a well-rounded curriculum; and the majority of our education was apprenticeship style (worthy of skills, though not as comprehensive as some liked). The American Culinary Federation stepped up to the plate and committed resources to recognize postsecondary programs that were willing to evaluate what they did against standards, host an on-site team of chefs and educators, and then make changes per the team’s suggestions so as to raise the bar for industry expectations of graduates.

By Jamie Leeds

The president of Women Chefs & Restaurateurs calls on us to acknowledge the achievements of women culinarians and hospitality professionals in recognition of National Women’s History Month.

In 1987, Congress declared March National Women's History Month. A special Presidential Proclamation annually honors the extraordinary achievements of American women. The National Women’s History Project (www.nwhp.org) based in Santa Rosa, Calif., has declared 2011’s theme “Our History Is Our Strength.”

Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) was founded in 1993 by Lidia Bastianich, Elka Gilmore, Joyce Goldstein, Johanne Killeen, Barbara Lazaroff, Mary Sue Milliken, Anne Rosenzweig and Barbara Tropp. WCR’s mission then and now is to promote and enhance the education, advancement and connection of women in culinary and hospitality fields. We offer a variety of networking, professional and support services—including a vibrant scholarship/internship program that creates opportunities for future and established professionals to gain needed or desired skills at home and abroad.

By Kirk T. Bachmann, M.Ed., CEC, AAC

In culinary and pâtisserie arts, assessment should be structured so that the emphasis in practical, hands-on skill development is on cooking and baking skills and their respective applications. Here, Chef Bachmann uses the proper teaching of the classical mother sauces and their derivates to illustrate.

Before students fully grasp the specific techniques involved in cooking and baking, it is imperative that they first develop a thorough understanding of fundamental skills or techniques. In developing meaningful learning activities that leverage behavioral learning principles, dynamic educators focus on increasing the frequency of their students correctly achieving their assigned task or tasks. The goal of any robust learning activity is to facilitate an observable change in behavior.

As a long-time educator with Le Cordon Bleu, I take great pride in developing learning activities for adult learners enrolled in our various culinary-arts and pâtisserie and baking programs. A percentage of our students are cooking enthusiasts, many are career changers, but most are recent high-school graduates. Adult learners are unique. They are interested in academic application that is interdisciplinary in nature and incorporates previously learned proficiencies. “Adults are autonomous and self-directed. They need to be free to direct themselves. Their teachers must actively involve student participation in the learning process and serve as facilitators for them” (Lieb, 1991).

By Michael Riggs, Ph.D, CEC, FMP

An educator returns from a summer excursion abroad with a new appreciation of community and culture communicated through food and cuisine.

Over the summer of 2010 I was given a unique opportunity to spend 14 days in England at Oxford University studying the history of European cuisine. First let me say that what took thousands of years to develop could not be researched in 14 days even with the 100 miles of books at the Oxford Bodleian Library. But what I did learn and experience came in the form of the best kind of research, eating and having conversations with chefs, restaurateurs and the people of the countries I visited: Let’s begin my journey…

[See part 1 of Riggs’ story of his journey by clicking here. The story concludes below.]

While in Oxford I was able to gain a solid understanding of English cuisine, its focus on fresh products, light meals, healthier cooking techniques (except for the pastries) and a more relaxed approach to dining as an event—not just something to somehow squeeze into the day. The diversity of ethnic cultures in Oxford and England as a whole has led to a wide selection of international cuisines with a great deal of authenticity in them in comparison to the “Americanized” international cuisines we commonly see in the United States.