For those who have an interest in the art of cocktails or an appreciation for fine wine and beer, Sullivan University’s National Center for Hospitality Studies (NCHS) now offers an associate-of-science degree in beverage management. Courses for the beverage-management degree are administered online, making the program accessible for students all over the country, and the entire curriculum can be completed in as little as 18 months. The program is directed by Albert Schmid, M.A., CCP, CHE, CFBE, MCFE, CCE, CEC, COI, author of The Hospitality Manager’s Guide to Wines, Beers and Spirits (Prentice Hall) and The Kentucky Bourbon Cookbook (University of Kentucky Press)

By Sharon Olson

A recent survey of Culinology® students in their 20s and early 30s underscores interest in innovative, green and healthy cooking. What does it all mean for tomorrow’s menus?

Soon-to-be culinary professionals identified as part of Generation Y—the menu-makers of tomorrow—are starting to influence dining trends, from the use of molecular gastronomy to the increasing incorporation of artisan, farmstead and locally produced ingredients.

Milestone report features top 10 flavor pairings and leading trends that will define 2010.

The flavor experts at Hunt Valley, Md.-based McCormick have teamed up with leading chefs, food bloggers and other culinary authorities to identify the top 10 flavor pairings and key trends that are poised to shape the way we eat in the year ahead. The McCormick® Flavor Forecast™ 2010 marks a milestone: It’s the 10th anniversary of prolific flavor reports from the industry leader.

By Colin Roche, CEC, CCE

Though easy to make, infusing oils adds much to the classroom and curriculum.

Infused oils are a great product to make with your students. It not only introduces them to the various herbs and spices available today, but also teaches them how to infuse the flavor into the neutral medium of oil.

Why is oil a great medium for infusing flavors into? Herbs and spices get their flavors from the essential oils in them. Most of these oils are aromatic compounds that we smell when we eat them, and it is these aromas that create much of the flavor we experience. Also, because these aromatic compounds are oils, they're soluble in oils. Simple, right? Now, with an understanding of the method, you can see that infused oils are theoretically very easy to make.

By Mitch Stamm, CEPC

By hiding the science in the pure joy of handling dough that has baked into pastries, you can increase students’ understanding and awareness of the baking process.

Taking a lesson from parents who hide vegetables in other foods and desserts in order to train their children to appreciate them, instructors can do the same by hiding science in food. Many students find the science of baking dry and dull, yet they thrive when producing pastries. Rather than teaching science, why not teach food?

Fifteen of 26 chefs have qualified to compete in the second of two culinary competitions to determine who will be selected to represent the United States on ACF Culinary Team USA at the Culinary World Cup in Luxembourg this November and the 2012 International Culinary Art Exhibition (IKA), commonly referred to as the “culinary Olympics,” in Erfurt, Germany.

Starting in Fall 2010, sophomore Baking & Pastry Arts majors at Johnson & Wales University will have the opportunity to fulfill their internship requirement in an intensive baking and pastry-arts program offered by France’s leading pastry-arts school, L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie (ENSP).

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has released a new resource to help navigate the waters of sustainability titled "Alaska Seafood Sustainability In Plain English."

With the seafood sustainability trend sweeping the world, it’s important for foodservice operators to provide consumers with transparent information about the seafood they source.

As consumers have been inundated with eco-labels and color-coded ‘eat-this-not-that’ seafood sustainability messages, ‘Sustainability In Plain English’ offers a holistic perspective looking at what really constitutes sustainable seafood in Alaska.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Many students have difficulty meeting deadlines. As faculty members, we carry different responsibilities in helping them learn from these various situations.

Last month, we discussed building community in the classroom and fostering student comfort. This month, we are focusing on the other side of the coin: helping students practice professionalism by meeting assigned deadlines.

Our Professional Obligation
Although we teach a wide range of subjects, we all share a common goal of helping our students become better professionals—often a big shift for them when they are still adjusting to college and juggling the many responsibilities of college life. As faculty members, we need to help them learn in every way possible to behave and think like professionals since we only have them briefly before they join the professional world. In fact, over the last 20 years, culinary educators have been successful in changing the ways that chefs and other hospitality professionals (1) establish good team work, (2) create civil and cooperative work environments, (3) treat women and members of minority groups with respect and (4) discourage sexual and other types of harassment. Today’s commercial kitchens are very different from what they used to be!

By Renee Zonka, R.D., CEC, CHE

This presentation on general healthy-cooking principles is an ideal introductory lesson that speaks to today’s wellness concerns.

“Nothing is poison and everything is poison; the difference is in the dose," said Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus (who called himself “Paracelsus”), a Swiss doctor and alchemist who lived from 1493 to 1541.

This lesson plan follows that principle, advocating moderation and instructing on methods of lowering fat and maintaining eating quality, cooking gluten-free, using natural sweeteners, modifying recipes and understanding product labels. Three separate recipe downloads—for a high-fiber, low-fat halibut dish featuring giant Peruvian limas and Scarlet Runner beans, pressure-cooked to lock in nutrition; a gluten-free Christmas beer cake; and a corn/crab chowder modified to lower calories and cholesterol, all written for the home cook—assist in applying understanding.

Renee Zonka is the associate dean of The School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College, Chicago.

Downloads: Healthy Cooking Tactics, Corn and Crab Chowder with Basil, Gluten-Free Christmas Beer Cake, Halibut with Savory Beans and Apple-Fennel Salad

Photo caption: Renee Zonka presented this lesson on healthy-cooking principles to 80 personal chefs at the American Personal & Private Chef Association’s 2010 Summit at Kendall College in February. Here she shows her Halibut with Savory Beans and Apple-Fennel Salad featuring pressure-cooked Giant Peruvian Limas and Scarlet Runner Beans from Indian Harvest (www.IndianHarvst.com).