A short, focused speech poses an opportunity for students to make an impression and explain themselves. It is also a way to build interest in what they are doing or want to do, as well as enlist support and sway opinion.

By Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT

Because last month this column discussed networking, this month we will focus on elevator speeches—what they are, why they are important and how to deliver them for maximum impact. Since you probably know about elevator speeches and probably use them, this column might be something you want to distribute to students who do not know about or would benefit from being reminded about elevator speeches. Therefore, the bulk of this column is aimed at students.

In a continuation of last month’s focus on teaching nutrition within a short class period, Chef Weiner explains how to emphasize the remaining six of 10 unchanging basic facts.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Last month I wrote about why culinary teachers find it challenging to teach about nutrition, and gave the first four topics to cover in a 50-minute classroom:

1. To lose weight, you must consume fewer calories than you burn (or burn more than you consume).

2. To be healthy, you must consume a wide variety of foods.

3. Generally, the closer food is to its natural form, the healthier it is.

4. Yes, Virginia, you really do need to have some fat in your diet.

This month we finish our list of 10 things to teach about nutrition.

A combination high school, urban farm and environmental education center in Connecticut is leading the way as a model in healthy lifestyles for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

By Morgan Wotherspoon

For decades now, the idea of sustainable agriculture has been gaining momentum. Our country is looking for better ways to grow our food and eat healthy. Sustainable agriculture is a method of growing and raising food that is healthy for consumers and animals, is more in tune with the environment, humane for workers, respects animals, provides a fair wage to the farmer, and supports and enhances rural communities. (Visit www.sustainabletable.org for more.)

Common Ground High School, Urban Farm and Environmental Education Center are taking this concept to the next level. This charter school in New Haven, Conn., is integrating sustainable farming, culinary arts and its school-lunch program. It’s a unique model for the future of high-school culinary-arts programs.

An e-learning module focusing on the versatility, nutrition and palate-pleasing power of California table grapes.

Courtesy of CIAprochef.com

With its mild, Mediterranean-type climate, California is paradise for grapes. Everyone knows that the Golden State grows world-class wine grapes, but table grapes excel there, too. In fact, California produces almost all of the United States’ commercially grown table grapes.

Chefs know they can count on grapes to add refreshment to a cheese plate, color to a fruit plate or a wholesome crunch to a salad. But if you think of grapes only as a garnish, you’re missing a lot of the fruit’s culinary potential. In the hands of professional culinarians with an innovative bent, fresh grapes can go in directions you may never have imagined. Carbonate a grape? Why not?

The recent Farming for the Future Conference promoted new ideas and learning to the benefit of all.

By Jamie Moore

I recently organized the 2012 “Sustainability in the Food Service Industry” pre-conference sessions at the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s (PASA) 21^st-annual Farming for the Future Conference, which brought together more than 2,000 farmers, processors, consumers, students, environmentalists, business and community leaders and chefs.

These sessions, which placed both noncommercial and commercial foodservice professionals in the same room as farmers, are an important step in understanding each other’s needs and challenges. As a PASA board member, I created “Sustainability in the Food Service Industry” in 2011 to give local producers a forum to introduce their products to chefs primarily from Parkhurst Dining (a division of Eat’n Park Hospitality Group). From there, our chefs took what they learned to new levels.