Pastry amateurs from all corners of Chicago and beyond gathered at the Whole Foods Market in Lincoln Park on September 17 to test their baking skills in Pastry Chicago’s Fourth Annual Pie Competition. Sponsored by the California Raisin’s Marketing Board, the 23 contestants submitted their favorite recipes for Fruit and Raisin Pies to the judges, including several Chicago pastry chefs. While pies were sliced and votes were tallied, Chef Della Gossett, chef instructor at The French Pastry School of Kennedy-King College, made one of her favorite pies for an audience with standing room only.

As Navajo Technical College in Crownpoint, N.M., has been taking leaps and bounds toward national acclamation, the NTC culinary-arts program has taken its first steps toward national accreditation.

For three days, Navajo Tech welcomed chefs Robert Hudson, CEC, CCE; Keith Mandabach, CEC, AAC, Ed.D.; and Mark Cochran, CEC, CCA, CFBE, of the American Culinary Federation’s accrediting commission to review a self-study on the school’s culinary-arts program and to see if the school meets ACF’s standards for accreditation.

Catering professionals can tap into a valuable new resource for ideas and inspiration with “Presenting Fresh Grapes from California for Catering Professionals,” a free full-color booklet produced by the California Table Grape Commission. The just-released booklet offers recipes and tips regarding cheese plates, passable appetizers, buffets, expo stations, steam tables and more.

This fall, the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) is offering its first workshop on catering operations and curriculum at Sullivan University. The school’s National Center for Hospitality Studies (NCHS) will host the event featuring keynote speaker Michael Roman, president and founder of Catersource Magazine, Conference and Tradeshow, from Friday, Oct. 21, through Sunday, Oct. 23. Registration is $374 and includes a welcome reception, two breakfasts, two lunches, a chef jacket and all educational materials.

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) welcomed its first class of 24 students who began studies toward their associate degrees in culinary arts at the college's San Antonio campus on Monday, August 22. Prior, CIA San Antonio students would earn a certificate in culinary arts, then transfer to the college's Hyde Park, N.Y., campus to complete their degrees.

The new associate degree in San Antonio is based on the same unmatched curriculum the college has been teaching at Hyde Park for decades. Designed to prepare students for a successful career in the dynamic foodservice and hospitality world, a CIA education provides graduates with a command of both classic and contemporary culinary methods and professional practices.

The Research Chefs Foundation (RCF) announces the addition of a new scholarship funded by the Gum Technology Corporation. Beginning in 2012, the RCF-Gum Technology Hydrocolloids Culinology® Scholarship will provide financial assistance in the form of a $4,000 scholarship for qualified individuals who exhibit a demonstrated interest in the application of gums, starches and gum-starch blends in developing food products. Culinology® is the blending of culinary arts and the science of food. The deadline for scholarship applications is November 1, 2011. For more information, visit http://www.culinology.com/scholarship-opportunities.