There should be no room for variance from a standard of expectation among all stakeholders—employers, faculty, parents and the students themselves. To ensure that culinary grads meet acceptable skill and aptitude standards, Chef Sorgule suggests employing a “passport.”

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

The first question is, “What are the critical skills that will allow students to progress within your program and reach a level of success on internship and after graduation”?

Although there are numerous core competencies that set the stage for “learning” and the ability to adapt to various situations, there is a specific grouping of more tangible competencies that are essential in building “employability” aptitudes in kitchens. If planned correctly, these aptitudes can provide the setting for the other core competencies within a curriculum.

These critical skills should be drawn from a collaborative process of involvement including faculty, industry chefs and bakers, alumni and the students themselves. Knowing the expectations of these constituencies is the foundation for building a curriculum and system of evaluation that will develop confidence and lead to student success.

Potato prep problems? Your students are one click away from the solution. Questions about au gratin, baked, mashed, potato salad and french fries are answered online.

Courtesy of the Idaho Potato Commission

Here’s a scenario to offer students: It’s the middle of the dinner rush, and the french fries are coming out of the fryer darker than usual. What’s an operator to do when a potato-preparation crisis arises?

Have them head to the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) All Things Potatoes page. As the potato industry’s best resource for product information (varieties, handling, storage) and usage (preparation tips and recipes), the IPC collected targeted solutions and recommended recipes for five potato menu standards: All Things Au Gratin Potatoes, All Things Baked Potatoes, All Things Mashed Potatoes, All Things Potato Salads and All Things French Fried Potatoes.

Under each heading, students can browse Dr. Potato’s posts on best practices, optimal outcomes and profitability tips. Scrolling down, the IPC provides technique videos and a wide-ranging selection of recipes in each category. Future plans to expand available topics include hash browns and potato skins.

While students visit https://idahopotato.com/foodservice, have them check out the IPC’s comprehensive recipe database, refer to a helpful size guide and Idaho® potato preparation tips, find answers and solutions to operational and culinary FAQs, or ask Dr. Potato a question. 

The 2013 initiative, which has gained much chef and operator support from states bordering the Gulf of Mexico, continues to strive to ensure sustainability of red snapper, grouper and other fish for sale in foodservice.

As part of its efforts to support sustainability practices in the foodservice industry,The National Restaurant Association recently announced it has joined Share the Gulf, a coalition of chefs, restaurateurs, restaurant associations, seafood suppliers, fishermen, consumers and environmentalists working to protect their access to fish in the Gulf states.

“The fresh, local seafood of the Gulf states is essential to the growth of the region’s economy and its varied foodservice businesses,” said Scott DeFife, executive vice president of policy and government affairs for the NRA. “We are committed to helping ensure this seafood is not only fished sustainably so its population continues to grow, but that the voices of small businesses, their employees and customers also are heard.”

The initiative, launched in 2013, aims to ensure the region’s restaurants and grocery businesses maintain an equitable share of the Gulf states’ red-snapper catch.

As the term comes to a close, Chef Weiner shares a commencement speech he delivered to graduates who were not culinary-arts students. In it, he dispensed with niceties to instead offer a generous helping of reality.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE
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Which good fats to eat and which bad fats to avoid? There’s room for more education.

Despite years of effort by numerous organizations to help the public understand the pros and cons of consuming different types of dietary fats, a new survey by the Hass Avocado Board (HAB) reveals that most Americans are still unclear about the definition and role of “good” and “bad” fats.

In the HAB survey of more than 1,000 adults, nearly half (42%) of people incorrectly thought that all fats play a role in increased cholesterol levels; when “don’t know/unsure” responses are included, the number increases to 51% of people. In addition, more than one-third of people responded inaccurately that monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats are bad and should be reduced or eliminated from the diet.

The Research Chefs Association unveiled the latest in culinary arts and food science and technology in Portland, Ore., in March.

The Research Chefs Association’s (RCA) 2014 Annual Conference and Culinology® Expo brought nearly 1,300 food R&D students and professionals to Portland, Ore., for a week of competition, education and food tastings all celebrating Culinology—the blending of the culinary arts and food science.

“I’ve never seen so much energy, passion and thirst for knowledge and collaboration than I did this year in Portland,” says Charles Hayes, CRC®, RCA president. “Our conference competitions, showcased live on the Culinology Expo floor for the first time, added to the excitement of the events and truly gave these teams the recognition they deserve.”

This year, hundreds attended the Expo on March 13, where they viewed the Student and Professional Culinology Competitions and sampled the latest in food-product development from nearly 150 exhibiting companies. During the Culinology Competitions, teams representing three countries executed a Pacific Northwest regional, food-truck-cuisine concept featuring a grab-and-go seafood item for school foodservice (grades 9-12) while addressing sodium concerns. This year’s winners included:

Technomic research reveals significant increased blueberry use across categories, suggests Gen-Y marketing opportunities.

As consumer interest in healthy dining options continues to rise, so does the presence of fruit on U.S. menus, and new research from trend-tracker Technomic shows blueberries—a fruit renowned for its nutritional profile—gaining major traction among the top 500 chain restaurants.

Overall blueberry mentions on American menus have increased 97% since 2007—a stronger growth rate than that of strawberries, raspberries or blackberries—with fresh blueberry mentions up more than 176% in the same time period.

Contributing to this growth is a combination of factors including changing consumer preferences and an evolution in the way foodservice professionals view blueberries. The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) works to influence both.

Though not new to the market by any stretch, flatbreads, particularly those that say “global,” are enjoying a revolution. A pastry chef-instructor at Kendall College in Chicago reports on the trend, making the case for need-to-know among culinary-arts and pastry/baking students as they embark on their careers.

By Heidi Hedeker, CMB, MA/MSW

In the realm of baked goods, flatbreads don’t have a standard definition. Wheat flour is often the main ingredient, and just as often not. Flatbreads are leavened or unleavened. No nation on earth can claim to be the origin of flatbread (although the region that includes modern-day Iraq can take some credit), and no single flavor, color or texture is shared by all flatbreads. Some breads considered flatbreads aren’t even particularly flat. Or thin.

When you think of the lifestyle trends of the last several years, today we are basically nomads. More of the foods we eat are to go, and what is more nomadic than a flatbread? The origins of most of today’s flatbreads are in early agrarian society. Foods had to be simple enough for travel. That fits with our lifestyle today, because everything we do is portable.

The chancellor of Johnson & Wales University tells chefs to follow their passion to achieve success while also becoming agents of change in their industry and careers.

By Mary Petersen

Dr. John J. Bowen, chancellor of Johnson & Wales University, was the American Culinary Federation Northeast Regional Conference keynoter at the opening general session in Providence, R.I., April 12, 2014.

He began by recognizing one of his mentors, Certified Master Chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt from The Culinary Institute of America. The lesson he learned from Sonnenschmidt, Bowen said, was to find your passion and follow it, and you will be successful. 

Bowen has been with Johnson & Wales University for more than three decades. Throughout his career, his leadership has directed JWU’s success and cemented its commitment to preparing students for professional success through academics and professional skills, community-leadership opportunities and its unique career-education model. As chancellor, Bowen oversees more than 17,000 students and approximately 2,000 employees at four domestic campuses.

For those visiting Chicago for this year’s National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show, mouths water and palates yearn for one of the City of Big Shoulders’ culinary claims to fame. And among pies, four take the cake.

By Marriott International, Inc.

While our restaurants at Chicago hotels offer excellent options, visitors who have the time to venture out should indulge in the original Chicago deep-dish pizza.

Like the foundation of a fine building, the crust is essential to creating a pizza that is usually 2 to 3 inches in depth. The dough contains cornmeal, an ingredient unique to Chicago-style pizza. When the crust is baked, it’s as flaky and buttery as pie crust, yet thick enough to support mounds of cheese and toppings.

With the crust firmly in place, next comes the cheese, and lots of it. Over 1 pound of mozzarella is common. Unlike other pizzas, Chicago calls for sliced cheese, not grated. Amazingly, the crust is so deep there is still room for heaps of toppings.

Perhaps puzzling to the uninitiated, the sauce is on the top of Chicago-style pizza, not on the bottom. Covering the top with a simple, chunky Italian tomato sauce prevents the cheese and toppings from burning while the pizza bakes for about 45 minutes. Rest assured it’s worth every minute of the wait!