Says Chef Weiner, who will speak to this topic at the CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Miami in June, there are many benefits of person-to-person interaction that can’t be replicated by social networking.

By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Editor’s Note: CAFÉ asked Chef Weiner to present a seminar at the June 2013 Leadership Conference in Miami next month. His topic: “WHAT GOOD IS SITTING ALONE IN YOUR ROOM: TEACHING YOUR STUDENTS THE WHY AND HOW OF REAL NETWORKING.” For May’s GMC he decided to write a brief summary of some of the points of his presentation. If you haven’t yet enrolled for the conference, visit http://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-events/2013-leadership-conference to register.           

So far this year, my focus has been on teaching various cooking techniques. Let’s take a break for a month and talk about one of today’s hottest buzzwords: networking. Don’t worry, this isn’t another article about social networking. This is a brief introduction on how to educate and influence the Facebook and Twitter generation on why and how to perform the dance of real networking.

Key metrics show that U.S. pork producers have reduced the pork industry’s carbon footprint by more than one-third since 1959.

As the world celebrated another Earth Day on April 22, research shows that America’s pork producers have made huge improvements in environmental management over the last 50 years. The research, titled “A 50-Year Comparison of the Carbon Footprint and Resource Use of the U.S. Swine Herd: 1959 - 2009,” found that modern pork production methods have led to a 35% decrease in the carbon footprint, a 41% reduction in water usage and a 78% drop in land needed to produce a pound of pork compared with a 1959 baseline.

“As a pork producer, I'm proud of the accomplishments we've made as an industry,” said Conley Nelson, National Pork Board president and producer from Algona, Iowa. “But today's competitive market demands that we do even more to improve how we produce pork. That’s why pork producers are working together to fund new environmental research that will help us build on the progress we've made over the past 50 years.”

Dynamo Digest is a new component to the USHBC website.

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council has launched Dynamo Digest, a blog component to its website. The new blog at www.blueberrycouncil.org/foodservice/dynamo-digest aims to offer an extensive range of information, tips and advice from chefs and foodservice professionals. In association with “Little Blue Dynamos,” the blog's name also reflects the dynamic communications needed to match the ever-changing conditions of the foodservice industry.

Mark Villata, executive director of the USHBC, is excited about the initiative and what it has to offer. “There is a constant influx of information with which people in foodservice need to be kept up to speed,” he says. “Dynamo Digest will be a valuable resource for creative ways to use blueberries, and will go beyond that.” In addition to introducing ways to use various forms of blueberries like fresh, dried, frozen and liquid, the blog will also divulge insights from dietitians, chefs and foodservice professionals on topics such as produce news, school programs, menu trends and dining experiences.

Monroe College’s new King Graduate School master’s program, launching in August, will boost upward mobility in hospitality.

By Dr. Frank C. Costantino

From “Gold Medal Classroom’s” editorial director, Mary Petersen:

At our recent Deans and Directors Retreat in Chicago, attendees were able to not only learn from the futurists present, but also discuss current challenges in their programs throughout the United States. We were able to witness some great innovations and best practices as well as take a peek into the future. And we all realized that we need to look at our models of education and start thinking about even more creative outreach to those requiring credentials for their careers.

One model that was interesting to me addressed the challenge of full-time instructors who need to earn a master’s degree to stay in the world of higher education. Because many of our chefs come out of industry and go into education with associate and, perhaps, bachelor’s degrees, and because many of our accrediting groups require higher terminal degrees than they did a few years ago, this program can meet their needs.

I asked Dr. Frank Costantino to share his vision, which has become a reality, of a program in New York that has an innovative delivery system that can help instructors achieve a master’s degree. Frank transitioned from industry to academia and created an Executive Leadership Program in Hospitality Management for others just like him. He will be attending the 9^th-Annual CAFÉ Leadership Conference in June and will be able to answer questions about the program as well as his own journey.

Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Los Angeles strikes meaningful collaboration with USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to reinvent nutritious recipes for food-pantry patrons.

More than six million U.S. households relied on emergency food from a food pantry one or more times in 2011¹, and with a limited choice of fare, many food-pantry patrons could benefit from suggestions on how to prepare the items they receive, especially fresh produce. Chef instructors at Le Cordon Bleu in L.A. have partnered with the University of Southern California to contribute their culinary expertise and develop new recipes that make produce less intimidating for the novice cook.

To help arm food-pantry patrons with the necessary information to cook fresh fruits and vegetables to create a healthy meal, chef instructors at LCB in L.A. worked together to craft 60 new recipes and modify a list of 200 easily prepared recipes that feature fresh produce. These efforts are part of a University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg research program known as Quick! Help for Meals. The recipes are designed for clients of food pantries to provide suggestions on how to prepare the food they receive.