Since graduating in May, alums have already earned esteemed jobs, including at the “world’s best restaurant,” located in Denmark, and the world’s largest privately owned flavor and fragrance developer in Switzerland.

Ushering in a new era of advanced techniques and innovation for chefs, the first group of students to graduate with bachelor’s degrees in culinary science from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) received their diplomas in May. The students entered the program in February 2013 after earning their associate degrees in culinary artsor baking and pastry artsat the college.

“The culinary science majoroffers a unique perspective into the world of food,” says new graduate Kristin McGinn from Hackettstown, N.J.,who accepted an internship with McCormick & Company. “The program uses a dual teaching style with both a scientist and chef in each class. Because of this, we learned the in-depth science behind food while getting lessons on how to create and balance flavors at the same time.”

While beginning a professional journal can be rewarding on several levels, maintaining a journal requires commitment. Here, Dr. Mayo offers tips and ideas for making the process of recording more valuable over time, as well as less taxing.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Last month, we reviewed some of the reasons for keeping a professional journal—for us as administrators or faculty members and for students who are learning to become professionals in our field. This month, we will discuss the challenges of maintaining the journal and making it alive and useful.

Starting a journal can be an exciting venture. Finding a new notebook or appropriate bound journal to record items in, delighting in the prospect of recording all kinds of good things, and imagining how much fun the activity will be all contribute to the prospect of an exciting adventure. However, remembering to keep adding items to the journal and sticking with that practice can be challenging. The following sections offer helpful ideas about maintaining a professional journal that is useful to you.

Chef Weiner lists his first 50 articles written for CAFÉ’s “The Gold Medal Classroom,” for the benefit of readers.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

This article is dedicated to Ms. Terry Jones of Gallup high School in New Mexico. At the June 2014 CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Salt Lake City, she sat down next to me and said, “Adam, I print out each of your articles and keep them in a notebook on my desk. I made an index, and before I teach a new subject I re-read the appropriate article.”

Could anything be more musical to my ears?

Toward the end of 2008 I was contacted by Brent Frei and Mary Petersen asking if I would be interested in writing the regular editorial department, “50-Minute Classroom,” for CAFÉ’s “The Gold Medal Classroom.” I told them that I would do it temporarily for a few months until they found a permanent columnist.

In curriculum development, although enrollment-management departments like to promote courses that concentrate on attractive ancillary skill sets, insufficient dedication to teaching strong foundational abilities will negatively impact student employability and success.

By Paul Sorgule, MS, AAC

Marketers have long understood that promoting what excites people is the best way to sell a product. The classic mantra has been: “The sizzle sells the steak.” This can be problematic when the steak is sacrificed for the sizzle in an effort to increase sales. Eventually, the customer will become dissatisfied with the results.

Colleges have adopted this classic marketing strategy over the past few decades with significant investments in physical plant and amenities that are far removed from the primary mission of delivering a valuable education. This has, in some cases, even crept into curriculum development.

A collegiate culinary-arts program in South Florida earns top honors for exemplary practices in—and innovative teaching of—ecological sustainability.

The Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) and Chicago-based Kendall College presented the 2014 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award to Miami Culinary Institute (MCI) in Miami, Fla., on June 20 at CAFÉ’s 10th-anniversary national Leadership Conference for foodservice educators, held in metro Salt Lake City.

Karin J. Davis, a chef-instructor and registered sanitarian at Kendall College’s School of Culinary Arts, presented the award, which was accepted by Chef Ana C. Plana, BA, ME, an adjunct culinary instructor at MCI, at CAFÉ’s general-session breakfast at Salt Lake Community College’s Miller Campus in Sandy, Utah.

The Culinary Institute of America introduces an online learning experience focusing on the “blendability” of mushrooms at ciaprochef.com.

The Culinary Institute of America introduces a free online learning course, “Maximize Meals with Mushrooms!” available at http://www.ciaprochef.com/mushrooms/index.html?source=HomeBanner&segment=Mushrooms. Inspired by the meaty nature of mushrooms, the course highlights the creative potential of mushrooms blended with meat—an idea that boosts flavor, enhances nutrition and saves money.

“Maximize Meals with Mushrooms!”explores this concept of “blendability” in recipes drawn from global kitchens, from Mexico to Italy to China. The e-learning course includes chef-tested recipes, all downloadable and demonstrated in streaming video by CIA chef-instructor Bill Briwa, CEC.

August is National Sandwich Month, and a new series of recipes from the National Onion Association features signature sandwiches with onions. Onions are the most frequently listed vegetables on menus, and one of the most popular uses is on sandwiches.

From an Onion Bleu Cheese Spread on a Chicken Cobb Club Sandwich to Pickled Ginger Onion Relish on a Wasabi Tuna Bun, this booklet includes recipes for classics as well as globally inspired sandwiches.

To receive your free booklet, visit www.onions-usa.org/foodservice.

After nearly 12 years with Sullivan University, Chef David Dodd has been named executive director of the National Center for Hospitality Studies (NCHS) at the Louisville-based culinary school. Previously director of NCHS, Dodd will now oversee all food and beverage operations at both Louisville and Lexington campuses as well as all aspects of NCHS including The Bakery at Sullivan University retail and wholesale operations, Juleps Catering and Winston’s Restaurant.

“I’m delighted for this new opportunity and challenge,” says Dodd. “Having spent more than a decade working with students at NCHS, I look forward to enhancing their experience and getting more involved with the business side of the program with The Bakery, Juleps and Winston’s.”

Prior to joining NCHS in 2002 as the chair of the weekend and evening program, Dodd worked as the corporate chef for Gourmet Kitchens, Inc., overseeing quality standards, menu writing and recipe compilations for the company’s five Chicago divisions. He spent eight years as the manager and technical advisor for Unilever’s Van den Bergh Foods Company and has consulted for numerous outlets including Starbucks, Lipton Tea and Papa John’s Pizza.

Dodd received his Master Chef and Master Pastry Chef Diplomas from the City and Guilds of London Institute. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Dodd membership in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his laudatory services to the culinary profession. He served more than 20 years in the British Army with eight of those assigned as Special Commitment Chef to the Royal Household, which included designing and creating Princess Anne’s wedding cake and her children’s christening cakes, as well as other assignments at Windsor Castle.

It was a familiar sight at the recent 2014 National ProStart Invitational Awards Dinner in Austin as the teams from two Texas high schools waited to hear the results after demonstrating their mastery of restaurant-leadership skills in a fast-paced culinary and restaurant-management competition.

For the second year in a row, the culinary team from The Academy of Culinary Arts & Hospitality Management at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club, Texas, and the management team from Rockwall High School in Rockwall, Texas, won their competitions at the Texas ProStart Invitational and represented the Lone Star State at nationals, where ProStart champions from 46 states, territories and Department of Defense bases competed for their share of a total of $3.75 million in scholarships.

The Rockwall team (pictured) repeated its state success and took first place in the management competition at the 2014 National ProStart Invitational!

Every dish we cook, every meal we eat represents the convergence of head, heart and hands. reThink Food: Mind, Behavior, and Culture, is a new conference series co-presented by The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and the MIT Media Lab to explore how we experience food—from the workings of our sensory systems, to the impact of new technologies on our food systems, to the habits and rituals that bind us.

In its first year, reThink Food will bring an audience of 300 from the science, marketing, technology, food and media industries to the CIA’s Napa Valley campus, November 7-9, 2014. The three-day program will include research presentations, panel discussions, tastings, culinary demonstrations and a variety of sensory experiences led by world-class experts who include behavioral economists Dan Ariely (Duke University) and Michael Norton (Harvard University), scientists Stuart Firestein (Columbia University) and Howard Shapiro (Mars, Inc.), chefs Christopher Kostow (The Restaurant at Meadowood), Daniel Patterson (The Daniel Patterson Restaurant Group), and Maxime Bilet (Art for Food), Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Moss (The New York Times), inventor and author Nathan Myhrvold (Intellectual Ventures), along with CIA President Tim Ryan, CMC, and MIT Media Lab Director Joi Ito.