According to Gene Fritz, M.Ed., director and executive chef of CCI, the new Sustainable Food Systems for Culinary Arts Certificate delivers instruction that directly relates to the theoretical aspects of sustainability within the restaurant industry and beyond. Through the National Restaurant Association’s Conserve Sustainability Education Program, students gain critical understanding of energy conservation and operation assessment with the objective of positively influencing practices throughout their careers in foodservice.
“The overarching goal of this unique certificate is to educate future culinarians who will serve as both industry leaders and innovators in sustainability from a food-sourcing and operational perspective, while cultivating future chefs who are committed to environmental stewardship with positive economic outcomes,” Fritz says.
This year marks the first that a runner-up culinary-training program received a CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award: Metro Tech High School in Phoenix. “Through a grant from the Science Foundation of Arizona, Metro Tech has launched many ‘ecotech’ projects such as a sustainable garden and orchard, rainwater harvesting, aquaponics, a riparian habitat, recycling and water-bottle refilling stations,” Koetke says. “The school also opened Sustainable Table Café, a fully operational eatery featuring local, sustainable foods prepared by culinary-arts students. These are remarkable achievements for any formal culinary-arts training program, but are particularly noteworthy for a high school.”
As 2013 recipient of the Green Award, CCI received a cash prize of $1,000. Both CCI and Metro Tech High School received engraved plaques and complimentary full registrations to CAFÉ’s Leadership Conference.
The annual CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award, sponsored by Kendall College, is the first national award to recognize secondary and postsecondary culinary-arts and baking/pastry programs for their commitment to sustainability and teaching its tenets. The objective of the award is to build the body of sustainability resources in foodservice education. Selection criteria are based on the integration of sustainability into educational programs and/or operations.
Cascade Culinary Institute and Metro Tech High School join previous Green Award recipients Seattle Culinary Academy (2012); Colorado State University’s hospitality-management program (2011); Technology Center of DuPage (2010), Addison, Ill.; and Johnson & Wales University’s Charlotte, N.C., campus (2009).
Photo:Recipients of the 2013 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award: Gene Fritz, M.Ed., director and executive chef, Cascade Culinary Institute, and Christina Hahn, CWPC, lead instructor, Metro Tech High School’s culinary-arts department.