Insight from the Inside

The Kopf Scholarship

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 13:12:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Jeanne Casagrande

“Opportunity of a lifetime” is an absolute understatement when describing the basket of goodies awarded to recipients of the Kopf Scholarship. First of all, to be quite honest, the “opportunity” is really only available to the most passionate, studious, and driven students amongst us. For that group of students, winning becomes the challenge of a lifetime. And, once the winners are chosen, it becomes the reward of a lifetime.

The challenge starts with earning an A in Wines Class, which is touted as the hardest class on campus for culinary students. Candidates must also have a 3.5 grade point average at the time they apply for the scholarship. Along with the application, each student submits a resume and an essay. The essay must demonstrate the student’s vast knowledge of wine and relevant personal experience. Applicants must have a “compelling career interest in the culinary arts, hospitality, and wine,” according to Steven Kolpan, Professor of Wine Studies. The students with the best essays are then put through a rigorous interview process, and only then are the winners chosen. Even after Kopf Scholars are chosen, they must submit an essay to the scholarship provider on their experience.

The scholarship provider happens to be Kobrand Corporation, which Professor Kolpan describes as “one of America’s leading marketers and importers of fine wines.” The scholarship is in memory of R.C. Kopf, the founder of Kobrand, and is continued by his three daughters. It has been available to students for the past fifteen years. Two scholarships are awarded to CIA students per year; one scholarship is awarded to Cornell, UNLV, and Johnson & Wales as well.

Finally, the basket of goodies: two weeks in Italy, two weeks in France, two weeks in California (touring top wineries and food production facilities with travel and hotel expenses paid), a $5,000 dining budget and a $10,000 cash reward. All in all, the prize is worth at least $30,000 per recipient. The foundation truly spares no expense to make sure the students have a superb time. Professor Kolpan says that it is the most generous and prestigious scholarship available to CIA students, and I most definitely agree.

I was lucky enough to get in touch with two scholarship winners and ask about their experiences. The more recent student of the two is Hwayoung Park, who became a recipient in March 2011. She will start her trip in September and is currently awaiting her itinerary from the Kopf Foundation. She said that she intends to use part of the cash prize to travel to Spain and Portugal and is setting up stages that are close to the places she will be traveling. I was surprised and impressed to hear Park say that winning the scholarship did not require more effort than she would normally put into a class. She described the essay prompt as “pretty easy and open-ended.” Sitting in front of an eight person interview panel was the most nerve-racking part for her. But still, she is incredibly humble in light of the enormity of her success. Park said that it was never actually a goal to win—she had only heard about the scholarship one block before she started Wines class and just knew she would win it. She did share with me two of her actual goals: the first is to be a Master Sommelier; the second, to go to Noma in Copenhagen and work for Rene Redzepi. We will stay tuned.

The second recipient, Yvonne Cheung, won back in 2007 and has been committed to working with wine. She was recently appointed as Chef Sommelier at the internationally acclaimed Café Gray Deluxe at The Upper House in Hong Kong. In short, she runs the wine program for the entire hotel. She therefore has to work a lot with numbers: inventory, revenue, budgets, costs, etc. When it came to winning the scholarship, her experience was similar to Park’s. Cheung says that it was not really effort that caused her to win, but more passion and drive.

I must admit that I am blown away by the successes of these two students. Most students would see this scholarship as the end result. But what separates applicants from recipients is that recipients see winning as a stepping stone, just one of the many experiences that will help them get where they want to go.

Vegetarians Love Protein, Too!

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 13:31:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Ian Williams

I love cheese. Do you remember those old commercials with the slogan “cheese makes everything better”? While it may not be quite true, it hits pretty close to the mark in most cases. And, judging by the reactions of my Product Knowledge classmates to our end-of-class cheese tasting, the rest of you love cheese too. So cheese seems like the perfect starting point to my series of stories about tasty protein options for vegetarian dishes (sorry vegans, no cheese for you, but most of the coming proteins will make you happy).

I do have one sad piece of information I need to share first though: the undisputed king of cheese, Parmigiano Reggiano, is not vegetarian. Wait a minute, some of you might be thinking, there is no meat in cheese (though I did see a cheddar with bacon crumbles in it once). While that is true, there’s a bit of a catch. A product called rennet is used in the making of most cheeses. Rennet contains an enzyme called chymosin, which coagulates and firms milk allowing the curds (the part that becomes the cheese) and whey to be separated. Traditionally, rennet is obtained from the ground stomach lining of a calf or other young ruminant.

Unfortunately for vegetarians, this means that cheeses made with traditional rennet are off limits, but there are newer alternative vegetable “rennets” widely available. Many of these are microbial rennets made from a mold called Mucor miehei, though others are also made from plants like nettles or thistles. The real problem for vegetarians and chefs alike is that many, many cheeses sold in markets or online include simply “rennet” or “enzymes” in their ingredient lists, with no indication of whether those ingredients came from animal or plant sources.

How can you know if your cheese is vegetarian or not? There’s a simple rule of thumb that can serve at least as a starting point. If the cheese in question is a European cheese made in a traditional style (such as the aforementioned king of cheese), it is most likely made with animal rennet. But some European cheeses are made with vegetable rennet, so you can’t always use this rule. The very best thing you can do is to acquire your cheeses from a great cheesemonger. The good cheesemonger will know which of his cheeses is made with vegetarian-friendly rennet or will happily find out for you if he doesn’t know already. Murray’s Cheese in New York City has about fifty vegetarian cheeses available for sale at their website murrayscheese.com. Several local cheese makers in New York use vegetarian rennets: Nettle Meadows, Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, Pampered Cow, and Coach Farm are a few. If you are familiar with Cypress Grove (makers of sublime cheeses such as Humboldt Fog and Midnight Moon) in California, they use vegetarian rennet for all of their cheeses as well. So give some vegetarian cheeses a try and you might even discover some new favorites.

Making Maple Syrup Magic

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Mon, 09 May 2011 17:26:00 +0000

Student contributor: Christina Woodlief

When it’s maple syrup day at Hummingbird Ranch in Clinton, New York, your nose just knows. The smell is intoxicating. A tiny storybook barn on the top of a small hill is where the magic happens, and at this time of the year, the sweet succulent scent of maple sap boiling away is a frequent occurrence.

Ranch owner Richard Focht, whose honey is featured in St. Andrew’s Café desserts, uses sap he taps from three separate Hudson Valley sugar bushes with around one thousand trees each. Maple sap is not sticky like pine tree sap, and actually pours like water. Focht says that the yield per gallon depends on the sugar content, which is only one or two percent. It can take fory gallons of sap to achieve one gallon of pure syrup.

Much to the dismay of maple syrup producers, the sap yield and character is mostly in the hands of mother nature. The temperature outside determines whether or not the trees cooperate. In order to tap usable sap, it can’t be too warm, or too cold. It’s almost a Goldilocks syndrome. But once it is successfully collected (by the tank full), the process inside Focht’s classic red barn couldn’t be more reliable, or high-tech.

He calls it “the evaporator.” The machine is a large stainless steel boiler with two compartments—a larger one for the initial reduction of sap to syrup, and a second smaller, open-air trough for syrup finishing. “The final pan, [is where sap is] boiling much heavier and getting closer and closer to syrup,” explains Focht. Once the heavy-duty thermometer agrees the syrup is 219° Fahrenheit, the evaporator automatically pumps the finished syrup to its final destination. No additives, no funny business, just pure sweet syrup from the trees in our own backyard.

In the U.S., our great state of New York is prime territory for maple production—second only to Vermont in gallons per year. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, New York producers bottled a total of 312,000 gallons in 2010—which was a 29% drop from the year before, thanks to warmer springtime temperatures (resulting in less sap).

The time frame for sap collection runs the gamut from mid-winter to late spring, depending on the state and the specific season. Generally, the later in the season sap is collected, the lower its sugar content. Late blooming sap requires a longer boil to concentrate the sugars, and will result in darker syrup. This is where the maple grades factor in—the darker the syrup, the lower the grade. Don’t be fooled though, deep amber syrups possess more intense flavor profiles.

So as the steam rises from the sugary sap, and the door closes on another maple syrup season, Focht looks ahead. “We’ll have another season later in the year, but that [lower quality product] will mostly get sold off to be made into Mrs. Butterworth’s.”

After all, anyone who sets out to preserve the integrity of nature, and not transform it, must just be a big sap for the bounty of the land, and the sweet life it provides. For more information, visit www.hummingbirdranch.biz

The Easiest Networking Opportunity, Ever

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 14:21:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Christina B. Woodlief

The gym was literally boiling over with opportunity. In all, recruiters from 84 restaurant groups, hotels, and food service companies came calling to the CIA Hyde Park’s Winter Career Fair. This doesn’t take into account the fact that many restaurant groups in attendance own more than one venue. And while the awesome turnout is a representation of the hard work of the career services staff, it is also a sign of positive economic recovery.

“Business is increasing, so hiring needs and outreach to you [students] is also increasing,” confirmed the Director of Career Services, Chet Koulik. He also added that the February fair is typically the most active, given the upcoming summer vacation season and its demands on the restaurant industry. Because of this reliable trend, many chefs at the fair acknowledged that they would most likely return for the spring event.

“Employers would not return again and again if they were not successful,” said Koulik of the many such recruiters who make a habit of the CIA’s career events. The proof of just how beneficial a career fair visit can be is the sheer number of interviews the recruiters scheduled as a result. According to the Career Services office, 800 students and alumni landed interviews that week. A total of 768 interviews took place over the course of the two days, and fifty more were arranged for a later date.

To give those numbers a face, Chef Brian Mansfield of the Newport Restaurant Group in Rhode Island confirms that he repeatedly hires around eight externs on a yearly basis to work at the company’s several venues, including the Relais and Chateaux property Castle Hill Inn.

“Some have returned after graduation for seasonal positions, and some returned as full time employees,” said Mansfield. While several high profile restaurant groups attended in visible numbers, including celebrity names such as Batali & Bastianich Hospitality Group and the Dinex Group (Daniel Boulud’s brainchild), corporate super powers including Marriott International also came looking for talent.

The tally of how many students and alumni will secure employment in the wake of the fair may never truly be available. However, a Marriott International recruiter reported hiring a whopping forty externs at the last fair back in October. And that’s just one company. While this appears on the surface good news in terms of the job market for soon-to-be externs and graduating students, not every student in attendance this time around was thrilled to see an abundance of hotel and resort booths lining the gym floor. At a time when the industry momentum is moving hard and fast toward local, organic, and sustainable, smaller restaurants are the trendy ticket.

Again, Koulik reminds students of the summer season, and its effect on hotel business.

“Since the summer vacation season is the busiest time of year for many hospitality organizations [namely resorts], our February fairs have always been larger than the other three.” In effect, there was a heavy turnout of hotels. Culinary major Matthew Moyer didn’t necessarily mind the number of hotels recruiting, but believes all recruiters “should be here more than two days so more people can interview.” To that, Mr. Koulik reminds students “two days away from the office, plus travel time, is about all a recruiter can do at one time.”

Regardless of who comes calling for employees, they come calling for a reason. The Culinary Institute of America name garners attention and expectation. While many chefs and recruiters in attendance know the CIA demands excellence from its students, the name is not the end all be all. “The expectations are universal, extern or not, culinary school background or not, “admitted Chef Mansfield. Like many industry employers, “we look for solid technique, self motivation, dependability, professionalism and true hospitality in their persona.”

What can help in the professionalism arena is a small symbol of extra effort in the form of a business card. Let’s face it, the CIA logo is recognizable and respected, and students can create their own CIA brand business cards on the student portal in a matter of minutes. If the choice is for an original design, externship advisor Maura O’Meara suggests keeping it classy.

“No crazy fonts, which are hard to read, and watch it on the graphics. Why did they change The Facebook to just Facebook? Because it was cleaner.” Business cards are also very useful for events that are not geared towards hiring, such as a lecture or demonstration. They can be handed over quickly, and can serve as a tangible reminder to the person you were looking to impress. Some even suggest to write a “Thank You” message or “Nice Meeting You” note on the back of your personal business card as a memorable impression.

If you were not one of the more than 800 students who scouted the crowded aisles of the Winter Career Fair, the next networking opportunity will be the first week of May. But regardless of when and how you choose to job hunt, Chef Mansfield encourages students to “know what you want, to the research, and persevere, as there will be many hits and misses. Be a good and enthusiastic candidate.” After all, you never really know until you give it your best.

Kitchen Catastrophes

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 17:01:00 +0000

Student contributor: Rachel Reynolds

We’ve all had bad days in the kitchen. Things get burned and fingers get cut. Tempers run high and things get broken. I, for one, have accidentally forgotten to put salt in an entire batch of honey whole wheat bread, and failed to realize it until after it came out of the oven. Basically, we’ve all had those “Oh Sh*t” moments, but have you ever had a kitchen catastrophe that would have severely ruined your restaurants image? Nothing that epic had ever happened to me, but I recently asked my chef (LeRoux) about the worst mishap he’d ever experienced in a kitchen. He responded with a story about a mix up that COULD have been really bad, but luckily the mistake was remedied before any damage was done. Fortunately, I got the full benefits of hearing the story from Chef LeRoux himself, French accent and all! You, however, will have to make do with the written word:

“We were doing a banquet here at Escoffier for 45 people. Everything was going smoothly until we got éclairs and cookies and there was going to be a scoop of vanilla ice cream in the middle of it all. We had all 45 plates laid out, ready to go, when I looked at the ice cream. It wasn’t the right color for vanilla, so I asked the student who had scooped it what kind it was. ‘Vanilla’ he told me. I told him to bring me the container he got it from, and I tasted it. It wasn’t vanilla ice cream. We’d already served one table their desert. ‘Go get those plates!’ I shouted. Luckily no one had taken a bite of anything yet, because the vanilla ice cream we’d scooped on the plates was frozen duck fat!”

Can you imagine serving 45 people frozen duck fat? The moral of this Kitchen Catastrophe, from the mouth of Chef LeRoux himself is, “Taste, taste, taste, always taste. Everything.”

CIA Students Visit China

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Student contributor: Gonzalo Gout

A few months ago, I returned from a mind-blowing, two-week culinary trip to China that surpassed absolutely all of my expectations. The food, the people, the culture—everything was radically different from what I am used to experiencing and being from Mexico, I know what different is. Besides our cooking classes, the trip had so many other highlights, both in the city of Chengdu and in the capital, Beijing. It is hard to point them all out. Throughout the culinary-oriented trip, my group visited countless locations of interest such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Olympic Stadium, and over 35 different restaurants. Throughout the entire course of the trip, Sichuan natives, Bobby and Lisa, accompanied our group. Bobby was the full-time translator who doubled as our language teacher on long bus rides and amusedly corrected the poorly pronounced phrases from our English-Mandarin pocket phrase books. Lisa, the “mother” on the trip, is one of Chef Shirley Cheng’s best childhood friends and the manager of the travel agency in charge. Along the way, Lisa and Bobby made sure to include detailed information about the locations, they always kept us ultra-well fed, and told us miscellaneous funny anecdotes.

Our first and main stop in China was to the city of Chengdu, a bustling metropolis with a population of over 11 million. This important economic and communications hub is the capital of the western province of Sichuan. Located in the center of the province, “the land of abundance” is also a gastronomical hub for the region which takes pride in its fertile land, laid back lifestyle, and spiciness—“both in food and women!” as locals proclaim. This is a city that once had women rulers and since then, the matriarchal model stuck. Women say that like the cuisine, you have to treat them with respect and care or the “spiciness” will creep up on you.

During the first weekend, we visited unbelievable locations such as the largest panda research park in the world, the Buddha of Leshan (largest in the world being 233 feet tall), and the breathtaking Qingcheng Mountain (the birthplace of Taoisim). All of this presented a beautiful dichotomy: a coexistence of a modern, rapidly developing nation with untouched bits of history that are older than most countries, including the USA. This dichotomy is present as well in most of the dishes that we had throughout the province.

During the first days, the food our group ate highlighted drastic cultural differences. At first, I thought this was a very complex culture and cuisine—incredibly difficult to get a grasp on. As the days went by, I realized that China did not have as different and complex of a food culture as I had originally thought.

Eating food in Chengdu is like getting a present. As soon as you sit down for a meal you know it will be good, but you don’t know exactly what to expect.

From crispy fried sweet and sour whole fish to a hot-pot of rich broth in which you cook your own food, it was all quite an affair. Every single dining experience was a unique adventure, but there were three aspects that never changed regardless of the restaurant. First, the food was brought out family style in platters and placed on a lazy susan on the table, pretty much all at the same time. Not having courses allowed for one to try an average of 12 dishes at meal time, instead of filling up on only a couple. Everybody had individual six or eight inch plates and as soon as the food hit the susan it was go-time with your chopsticks. Second, there was always tea, or Cha, to drink with the meal since it is believed to aid in digestion. The most common is green tea, but we had fantastic oolongs, jasmine, buckwheat, and the very interesting chrysanthemum tea. Third, the common flavor profile among all meals was what they call Ma La, or spicy hot which is a combination of spicy dried peppers and Sichuan peppercorns that provides a crazy mouth-numbing experience. This unique numbing of the peppercorns cools down the mouth, working in beautiful opposition to the scorching heat of the pepper. This produces a perfect yin-yang.

I learned how to use and identify this flavor profile as well as many other traditional Sichuan ones at the cooking school. The Sichuan Business Service School is Chef Cheng’s alma mater and where my group spent a week learning. It is located in the heart of the Chengdu food district and is scheduled to open a new state of the art campus next year. Four different instructors, each with their respective translator and the director of the school taught us how to prepare everything from the indulgent sour and spicy dumplings with melting sesame paste and crispy beef, to the real version of steaming Kung Pao chicken. For four days, my group learned 20 variations of traditional dishes that blew our minds, but nothing amazed me more than the method of preparation. The only tool used for absolutely everything from peeling to de-boning to grinding was a 12-inch cleaver sharper than anything I have ever felt. The only cooking vessel used was a wok. The chefs used these tools with the precision of a sculptor when carving delicate masterpieces.

The skill displayed by the cooks, the uniformity in service style throughout all restaurants, the distinct flavor profile of the region, and the importance given to the ritual of eating and drinking tea revealed an incomparable respect to a well-established food culture. There might be westernization right around the corner throughout China, but with this admirable respect remaining as strong as it is, it will be very hard to push aside these long standing culinary traditions. The recipe for cultural preservation of food is very simple. Through just a handful of small, simple, unchangeable traditions, and collective pride for what they symbolize this cuisine will surely remain intact and astonishing.

***If you want to learn more about going on this trip, which happens several times a year, or if you want to have a taste of good Sichuan cuisine stop by the Cuisines of Asia’s kitchen upstairs p.m. to talk to Chef Cheng. (You can try Chinese food days 1, 2, and 3 of the block.)

Beer Sommelier or BS?

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Eric Hollandsworth, Beer Sommelier

Several decades ago the beer lists on most menus were straightforward and undemanding—there were only a handful of different beers available with very few styles offered. Any wine sommelier or self-educated server could easily guide a diner through the beer list. Since the rise of the craft beer industry there has been the introduction of over 20 different styles of beer along with countless varieties available on the menus. Beers are now being brewed with dozens of different types of grains, hops, and yeast which in turn are making them more complex than ever. The industry is now in need of dedicated beer experts with a passion and knowledge of beer, ready to help educate and guide the consumers to choose their perfect beer and food pairings. This new niche has led to the creation of several new beer titles, some credible and some not so credible.

Some of the titles commonly used in the food industry include: beer expert, beer director, beer sommelier, cicerone, and master cicerone. But what do any of these names really mean? Just about anyone can call themselves an expert on beer, but if a customer is in need of help in making that important drink decision some of these arbitrary titles may be misleading. Just because someone flashes a beer director title on their gold name tag does not mean that he or she knows the difference between ales or lagers but one could only hope so.

The title beer sommelier is one of the newest job descriptions being used today in the restaurant industry. But what really is a beer sommelier and what do they do? A beer sommelier’s duties are very similar to any wine sommelier. Sommeliers host tastings, recommend specific beers or pairings, they instruct on the proper use of glassware, maintain inventory and ordering, and of course they educate staff members and customers on beer. To sum it up, a beer sommelier acts as a consultant, educator, host, and advisor for those in search of a great beer.

Recently servers have begun to designate themselves as beer sommeliers with the hope to enhance their credibility and ultimately increase their annual earnings. The most troubling part of the beer sommelier title is that anyone can declare themselves a beer sommelier regardless of knowledge, experience, or any formal testing.

This thought that there is no standardized testing or credentials needed to be called a beer sommelier or expert has led Ray Daniels to found The Cicerone Certification Program. The Cicerone program administers an independent test and certification to ensure that industry professionals and customers can feel confident that their server is knowledgeable and has the proper skills needed to guide them on their beer choices. The Cicerone program assesses applicants in the following areas:

storage, sales, and service

styles and culture

tasting and flavors

brewing ingredients and processes

beer and food pairing

The Cicerone test is available in three different levels to accommodate an applicant’s desired amount of information.

The first level of the program is becoming a Certified Beer Server. This applicant obtains the knowledge of proper beer storage and service along with a reasonable amount of knowledge about popular beer styles, their cultures, and familiarity with beer tastings and flavors. This primary level test is administered online in a multiple choice format for a $69 fee.

The next level of the Cicerone program is becoming a Certified Cicerone. This portion tests applicants on detailed knowledge of retail beer storage and service issues. Applicants must have an exceptional knowledge of modern beer styles and some familiarity with historical styles. They must also be competent with the identification of flawed beers by recognizing proper and improper flavors in beer styles. Finally, they must have a strong understanding of the brewing process, beer ingredients and be able to recommend beer pairings for common foods. This level of testing requires a written exam including short answers and essay questions with the addition of a tasting and demonstration component. An overall grade of 80 percent is required to pass this level. This test costs $345 to take.

The final level is to become a Master Cicerone. This test will measure the applicants' knowledge of all previously noted topics with the addition of having to demonstrate their mastery of information and tasting in front of a panel of industry experts. The assessment will also include essay questions, taste tests, and an oral examination which may include demonstrations and further tastings. All Previous levels of this program must be passed before an applicant attempts to take this exam. A score of at least 85 percent is required to pass this examination. The assessment costs $595 which is very comparable to wine sommelier exam fees.

The next time you meet a beer sommelier don’t automatically discount their advice or credibility. Some self-proclaimed beer sommeliers are very well educated and can offer some excellent beer and food pairings. However, one can more easily trust the suggestions of those flashing a Cicerone certification due to the extensive education that accompanies the title. At the end of the day, beer should be fun and remember your own palate is what matters most.

Top Ten Essential Tools for a Culinarian’s Knife Kit

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 20:01:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Matt Haney

When we arrive at The Culinary, one of the most exciting things we receive is our knife kit. It’s packed with the basic items we will need for the AOS program, but unfortunately it is missing some essential tools that will come into play in the field. Here are some recommendations from top chefs at The Culinary, and in the field:

Small Hand Held Strainer—This tool is tiny and affordable, under $5, and has tons of uses from straining seeds to sifting powdered sugar.

Digital Thermometer—An accurate easy-to-use thermometer will make your life a lot easier. There are hundreds of styles available, but be sure to choose one that is NSF certified, waterproof, and can be calibrated.

Ruler—Obviously used for measurement purposes, but two rulers can act as a guide for dough thickness and a ruler’s width makes a perfect guide for pappardelle pasta.

Microplane—It may be the tool you reach for most when garnishing because it takes just enough zest off citrus. Though there are many different types, our chefs recommend the standard zester/grater for the most all-purpose use.

Metal Bench Scraper—In addition to its dough functions, the bench scraper is the first step in maintaining a clean work area. It lifts fat from cutting boards, and is one of the best all-around tools when maintaining a flat-top during service.

Hand Held Mandoline—The choice of many professional chefs is the Benriner Japanese Mandoline Slicer. It costs less than $25 and is extremely compact and effective. This tool will help you fly through vegetable prep, but watch your fingers; the safety guard is not very effective.

Kitchen Shears—A compact pair of sheers can be indispensable when cleaning hundreds of lobster or poultry. Choose a pair that is seasy to clean, resists rust, and is easy to sharpen.

Needle Nose Pliers/Tweezers—They’re great for removing pin-bones and splinters alike. A fine pair can be purchased at just about any hardware store for under $10.

Large Spoon—If you walk onto the line at the top restaurants in the world, you will see the cooks using large kitchen spoons when cooking and plating. Many chefs feel the spoon is more gentle on the protein when cooking. A flatter spoon with a shallow bowl can act as a great tool for basting and turning pan roasted items.

Metal Probe/Cake Tester—Everyone knows how to use it on cakes, but you can also test the doneness of vegetables and meat while doing minimal damage to the product. For meat, insert the probe as you would a thermometer, then place on the back of your hand to determine the internal temperature.

While there are constant innovations for the kitchen, the above mentioned list has many tried and true believers. An added benefit is that you can purchase all of the above mentioned tools for under a hundred dollars online.

Top Ten Cookbooks Every Culinary Student Should Have

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 17:06:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Matt Haney

One of the best pieces of advice I can offer any culinary student is this: talk to your chef! Conversations should extend even after classes end while in the hallways or in their offices. Take any chance you get to speak with them because there is only so much they can teach you during a 14-day block. Not only will they be excited at your expressed interest, but the chefs will be more than eager to share their gained knowledge with you.

With that in mind, I approached many of our faculty with the question: when you need inspiration what are your go-to sources, and which books would you recommend every working chef have on their bookshelf? I was offered more than 60 different responses ranging from the sublime to the hilarious. In an effort to offer new information to our students I have not included any books which the school provides in the AOS program. So aside from The Professional Chef, Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, and On Food and Cooking, here are the ten most popular references in no particular order:

1. Le Répertoire de La Cuisine: A Guide to Fine Foods by Louis Saulnier
2. La Patisserie de Pierre Hermé by Pierre Hermé
3. Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen
4. Larousse Gastronomique by Prosper Montagné
5. Entremets Petits Gâteaux Fusion by Jean-Michel Perruchon
6. Escoffier: Le Guide Culinaire by Georges Auguste Escoffier
7. Modern Gastronomy: A to Z by Ferran Adria
8. Lenotre’s Desserts and Pastries by Gaston Lenotre
9. The Essential Mosimann by Anton Mosimann
10. Le Bernardin Cookbook: Four-Star Simplicity by Eric Ripert and Maguy LeCoze

This is by no means an exhaustive or comprehensive list, but it is a solid foundation and start for any professional chef’s library. It is based upon information from dependable sources: our own chefs.

Are Food Writers on the Endangered Species List?

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:49:00 +0000

Student contributor: Michael Osborne

We are living in a time of extinctions. In fact, each day we are losing more species of plants and animals at a more rapid pace than at the end of the age of the dinosaurs. There has been much theorizing about the cataclysmic chain of events or one big event that caused the demise of the giant lizards, but one thing is for certain, life went on. New forms replaced old forms. Species adapted to the changes, evolved, filled niches, flourished and paved the way for what eventually became our species. By now we all should be keenly aware of some current risks we face as a species such as environmental degradation, global warming, over-population and the looming inability to feed and water ourselves adequately. However, there are other forms of extinction that may not be life threatening, but if we allow them to proceed, the quality of our lives will be greatly diminished.

Journalism, as we know it, is now on the endangered species list. Call it the fourth estate, the free press, the publishing business, books, newspapers or magazines; they’re all in trouble which means, by extension, that we’re all in trouble too. For a long time now media experts have been saying that newspapers are dinosaurs. Across the nation readership is down, subscriptions are down, and most importantly, advertising revenues are down. Without a revenue stream bills and employees don’t get paid. This downward spiral has roots in a number of disparate areas, but the “killer meteorite” that hit print media square in the sneezer is commonly known as the World Wide Web. With the advent of the Internet the paradigm shifted almost overnight. Newspapers struggle to stay afloat in this new era where anyone can get the news for free on his computer. Why buy a newspaper? Why buy any kind of publication when Googling info is so fast and well, free?

I won’t lie to you and tell you that I like to write. Sometimes it feels like I’m extracting a perfectly good incisor with a rusty pair of pliers. But after the agonizing ordeal that is the act of writing is over, I do retain a deep sense of satisfaction, especially when the editor hasn’t overtly brutalized my sentence structure or my sensitivities. After I complete my time as a student, I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to make my way in the world by peddling my words and thoughts about food. I am more than a little concerned as to how I’ll be able to write and collect a paycheck. When externship time rolled around, I opted for an alternative site instead of a ritzy restaurant, and I wound up in the test kitchen of the Los Angeles Times newspaper. My time at the Times seemed almost magical. I loved every minute, enjoyed every day, learned from the best, worked with the best, and got a stellar review. People ask, will you go back to LA to work? I’d go in a heartbeat if only they were hiring. Like most big publishers, the LA Times is in a period of downsizing and transition. Department budgets have been slashed, staffers have been downgraded to freelance status, and there are lots of empty cubicles in what was once a monster of a bustling building. In between the LA earthquakes I imagined myself as a brontosaurus, neck-deep in a Cretaceous swamp, contentedly chomping on a mouthful of muck, staring with bovine placidity at the bright light in the sky as it got bigger and bigger and bigger and...then I woke up.

Here’s the sad reality. The food section of the LA Times is by far one of the most popular and most read parts of the paper. Online it gets more hits every day than many of the other sections combined. But the paper doesn’t live by the food section alone. In fact, the LA Times doesn’t live on its own at all. It’s part of a big media corporate conglomerate. The fate of many big city newspapers rests with the whims of corporate bean counters and the shareholder bottom line. The same is true with magazines. Many of us “foodie” types were shocked and saddened by the departure of Gourmet magazine, one of the Condé Nast mainstays. Gourmet had almost a million subscribers in a time when interest in all things food is at a historical height. What happened? Gourmet’s sister publication, Bon Appetit, just shuffled Barbara Fairchild out the door. She’s been the editor for the last decade and plied her trade there for more than 30 years. What’s going on? People love food. People love reading about food, watching food programs on television, traveling to distant destinations in order to eat food, and more and more we’re finding that people are actually cooking and entertaining at home. There are even food programs on the radio. What we should have is a perfect storm for success instead of the demise of brand name publishers and uncertainty about the future.

But there’s more at stake here than merely losing a format for future Thanksgiving recipes, though that in itself is lamentable to people of our culinary persuasion. Free societies depend on a healthy and thriving free press. That’s what keeps the ruling class at least somewhat honest. An unfettered and unbiased press is the watchdog of government. The importance of this role has not changed from the days of Founding Father, Tom Paine, to this very moment. What has changed dramatically is the way corporate ownership has twisted that role into the Rupert Murdoch model of media management. What else has changed is a general decline in literacy, a declining interest in the written word, and what I can only describe as a decreased attention span amongst many of my fellow citizens, especially those under age 30. If we can’t get what we need in a 30-second sound bite then we’re not interested--period. We twitter and tweet, wear calluses on our thumbs, texting non-words on the latest techno-marvel, butcher our language with inanities and boring Facebook minutiae, while ignoring the fact that the Titanic is sinking and we’re all passengers.

Back in the ‘60’s, Bob Dylan sang that “the times they are a changing”. Our times, the LA Times, The New York Times, Time Magazine--it is all changing all the time right in front of our very eyes. The dinosaurs that got smacked by that cosmic rock had no idea that they would reincarnate as birds. Right now the publishing biz is scrambling for a new direction that makes enough moola to keep the writers happy and the wolves from the door. How will it evolve? I had lengthy discussions with my LA Times mentors about where this whole dilemma is heading, and the consensus is this: we don’t know. The brand names of icons like LA Times and The New York Times are strong enough to survive this period of inevitable change, but what will this new publishing critter look like? Leaner/meaner? Closer to the bone and closer to home? Russ Parsons, LA Times food section editor, author, and general excellent fellow advised me to blog like there’s no tomorrow. There may not be any standards, fact checking, or editorial oversight, but right now blogging is the direction of the future. Write it and they will read seems to be the theory. With the advent of the railroad, Horace Greely said to 19th Century America, “Go west, young man.” Perhaps today he would say, “Blog best.”

Chefs Playing the Field

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:20:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Rachel Bailey

For stadiums around the nation, the times that peanuts, popcorn, and hot dogs reigned as super snacks are now becoming days of old. These staple sporting foods are being replaced by a wave of new culinary delights prepared by some of the country’s most elite chefs. The growing demand for gourmet delights by Yankees, Red Soxs, Cubs, and Mets fans, has created more interesting culinary opportunities for aspiring chefs within the sports industry.

Of course every exhibition has the staple hot dog vendor hollering out advertisements for the finest bratwursts, but would you believe that their salary can easily exceed $30,000 a season? And if you choose to climb higher up the ladder, more appealing positions open up, serving high rolling clientele dishes fit for a king. Many stadiums now contain private restaurants and dining rooms catering to their owners and distinguished guests. Here chefs are able to let creativity flow, developing menus of their liking, to please some very important people. Salaries here easily soar into the upper five digits and beyond. If you want to keep your culinary skills sharp and your hands on expensive ingredients, look no further than working as a chef at Yankee Stadium's NYY Steak that serves its baseball fans dry-aged USDA Prime beef and Alaskan king crab.

If you want to climb higher up the brigade ladder, overlooking all food operations in a stadium stands the executive chef. Even though she/he may possess ultimate authority, she/he is rarely involved with direct production. This position is mainly concerned with the overseeing of each vendor and assessing quality control. Quality control for a hot dog? Oh no no no. Now-a-days stadiums flaunt only the finest food for their patrons, some bringing in big-named outside vendors. An article done by USA Today on baseball’s best stadium food unearthed some of the tastiest treats around the country: fried Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors Field in Denver, pierogies at Jacobs Field in Cleveland, sushi at Safeco Field in Seattle, and fish tacos at AT&T Park in San Diego. As we see, chefs are getting creative with the menus, serving up only the finest cuisine for loyal fans.

So maybe crowds, greasy delights, and high-stress environments are not your thing? If traveling the globe in private jets and preparing only the freshest of foods is your cup of tea, maybe private chefing is in your future. In recent years, more and more individual athletes are hiring private chefs as live-in and traveling nutritionists to prepare meals that will ensure maximum performance, and of course, outstanding taste. For such chefs, each day requires grocery shopping, meal planning, nutritional assessment, and execution. In between business meetings, practice, and matches, these athletes devour a personally catered spread. Tennis and golf stars alike are swiping up these in-demand professionals, as well as the coaches from professional sporting teams looking to nourish their athletes with the best money can buy.

A recent article released by the Washington Post discussed how Redskins players were reaping the benefits of such professionals. Meals of Chic-fil-A and Popeye’s were replaced with protein rich entrees and heaping servings of vegetables that would maximize performance. Nutritionist and chef to the team Michael Stevenson discussed the potential difficulties in his job. He noted that setting up a meal plan to provide a few dozen players with adequate calories, carbs, fats, proteins, and fiber, is no walk in the park. Each player requires anywhere from 4,000-6,000 calories a day, not to mention specific dietary needs. But all this work is not for free; a chef of this caliber begins in the six figures, with only room to grow.

Another growing sector of food jobs in the sports world is blossoming in the area of product development. From gymnasts to devoted hikers, athletes are demanding top-caliber nutrition more than ever, but now compacted into a 4 oz. bar or shake to go. Companies like Clif Bar and PowerBar are on the constant look-out for employees to join their research and development, sourcing/ingredients, and food safety teams. An employee at one such company works to promote, improve, and develop products for athletes on the go. Clif Bar and Co. boasts a faculty that promotes eco-awareness and preservation. They use organic ingredients, sustainable production methods, and are self-proclaimed foodies!

The common thread between all these opportunities is the education required to fill such positions. Anyone can throw out a bag of peanuts, but luckily CIA grads are not just anyone. It takes a true and trained mind to market, differentiate, and maximize the profits of successful businesses. To be a private chef to an athlete or work in a high-end dining room, such as the Phillies’ own Executive Dining Room (reserved for only the beautiful, rich, and famous), a degree in the culinary arts should do the trick, however, a bachelor’s degree would seal the deal. According to CB&C, a Clif Bar employee is required to have a bachelor’s degree in an applied field of study such as food and nutrition.

Such possibilities are flourishing in this industry and continue to grow with each season as more and more private chefs will be needed and the demand for new products increases. The exponential potential in this realm anchors its spot in the future and promotes the unending love for food and sports.

How Residence Life Advised Me

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 13:09:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Brighdin Nemec

My year anniversary of becoming a resident assistant at The Culinary Institute of America just recently passed. I applied and accepted this position as early as any student is able, which is during Skills I class for culinary students. I also immediately reaccepted the resident life position after returning from externship.

When I first chose to embark upon this endeavor many of my peers repeatedly asked me why I would enlist for a position that has not always been so well-received by the college community. However, little did they know that residential assistant duties extend beyond making the door decks that occasionally get torn down by inebriated students on Saturday nights or requiring students to tidy up their rooms every other block. The ResLife staff has also been responsible for organizing and hosting over 52 entertainment events this past year that have been enjoyed by hundreds of students and even their families.

Last October, the entire ResLife staff worked together all month long in order to hold Wicked Weekend which was a series of Halloween-related events. These events included movie showings of “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” pumpkin carving competitions, and a murder mystery dinner theater in which a professional acting troop was hired to run an interactive event while students enjoyed an Italian-themed meal. S.P.I.C.E. and ResLife worked together in order to bring the first student participated drag show to The Culinary Institute of America.

Moving onward to January, the staff members ran an event called New Year’s Part Deux, which was a masquerade ball in Renaissance Lounge with a mock ball drop and other festivities. Souper Sunday proved to be another popular event sponsored by the Lodges in which students enjoyed soup and hot wings while watching the Saints beat the Colts. Students were welcomed to the Renaissance Lounge in order to “don’t hate but celebrate” by introducing and meeting other students for both friendship and/or dating purposes.

In addition to these dance and celebratory events, ResLife has been responsible for big and small fundraising and charity events that have benefited the local and faraway communities. In May, ResLife hosted the school’s first Mother’s Day Brunch as well as the Relay for Life event. The brunch raised over $600 for a shaken baby syndrome charity, which the Relay for Life event donated over $12,000 to the American Cancer Foundation. Smaller but just as important activities included cookies for the troops in which baking classes donated sweet treats and residents made cards for a specific troop in the United States Army that has been “adopted” by the Pick-Herndon staff.

So when asked why I chose to become and continue as a resident assistant making door decks, bulletin boards, and telling people to clean up their rooms are not personal incentives. However, being in the position to know the student body better through organizing these ResLife sponsored events do rank among the reason of why I became and am proud to be a resident assistant. By recapping this past year as a resident assistant, I have only become more excited for the ResLife events to come.

Oh, What a Year!

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 13:28:00 +0000

Remembering some of the people, places, and things that made 2009-2010 memorable.

Student Contributor: Laura Glenn

For the CIA campus, 2009 was an incredibly busy year, filled with events like the Chowder Cook-Off, Stars and Stripes Weekend, Oktoberfest, and Wicked Weekend keeping everyone busy into 2010. Off campus, the James Beard Awards and the CIA’s own Augie Awards celebrated the best of the industry.

In 2009, the Eighth Annual Chowder Cook-Off was a roaring success. On April 5, a group of about 400 students, faculty members, and community members gathered in the Rec Center gym to choose between ten different takes on chowder. Starting with the simple definition of a chowder as any creamy soup, typically one that showcases a particular ingredient, students created submissions as varied as crayfish and potato, oysters and champagne, and a classic Maryland and corn chowder. The blue ribbon was awarded to Mikey Kilbourne and David Yoshimura. 2010’s Chowder Cook-Off boasted inventive creations like a Manhattan style clam chowder paired beverage and another with a coconut milk based broth. The winning team, “Cap’N Case N the Beej” took home the award for both People’s Choice and Judge’s Competition.

In June of last year, Independence Day was marked with a bang on campus, with fireworks going off for 20 spectacular minutes. After the explosions, students gathered on Anton Plaza under a clear star-studded sky where a DJ spun Top 40 hits and the occasional hip-hop classic.

This year’s fireworks impressed Baking and Pastry student Jordan Leech, who thought that the school did a “great job!” Jasmine McClenny also loved the show, and thought that they “were almost as good as Disney’s.” Many students loved the free fireworks glasses, which made the impressive show even better. Last year’s beverages were provided by the RAs of Rosenthal Hall and this year the Latin Fusion club offered fantastic mango, guava, and Jamaican juices.

As the warm weather tapered off, events like Oktoberfest and Wicked Weekend – in the fall of 2009 – kept the campus celebrating. Despite some damp weather, the second annual CIA Oktoberfest was a great success, with student clubs like the Angler’s Society, Latin Fusion, Gourmet Society, Eta Sigma Delta, Baking and Pastry Society, Chefs in Community Service, Chefs Sustaining Agriculture, Black Culinarian Society, Alliance, Chaîne Des Rôtisseurs, Garden Society, S.P.I.C.E., Pitmaster’s Association, SGA, and Brew Club all contributed extraordinary treats like candied apples, deep-fried goodies, and a whole pig roast! Brew Club, which was created in 2008, showcased their wide selection of hand-crafted beers and the entire school community came together to celebrate their hard work from the past few months. They featured an IPA, Indian Brown Ale, Hard Cider, Chocolate and Triple Chocolate Stout, Blood Orange Hefeweizen, and Pumpkin Porter.

October was capped off with an exciting Wicked Weekend festival. On Friday night student clubs enriched the excitement of Pumpkin Fest with everything from pumpkin carving to bobbing for Apple iPods. Saturday night saw the Halloween Dance and Drag Show. Students remarked that 2009’s dance was better than other years, and enjoyed all the hard work that S.P.I.C.E., Alliance, Residence Life, and Student Activities put into the event. Hundreds of students came decked out in outlandish costumes and danced in Farquharson Hall as the Drag Show contestants lip-synched pop songs.

Despite the economic slump of the last few years, career fairs at the CIA stayed strong, introducing students to many opportunities. On May 19, students gathered to make the rounds and greet representatives of hotels, resorts, and restaurants that traveled from all over the country to come to the CIA. Mary Lou De Santis, from the Career Services Office, said “We invite over 5,000 companies to attend the Career Fair, and although the overall turnout is lower than what we’re used to, we are still excited to offer our students a chance to talk to these companies.”

Later that year, the summer career fair welcomed recruiters from Disney, ACF, The Biltmore Estate, and Boca Raton Resort & Club. Openings were available in a variety of establishments, from small restaurants to major resorts and casinos. As an extra benefit to students, extremely helpful members of the Career Services, Financial Aid, Mentorship, CE, and Student Employment departments were available to meet and talk.

Off campus, the CIA was thoroughly represented in the year’s top awards ceremonies, the James Beard Awards and the Augie Awards, which were both held in New York City.

At the 2009 James Beard Awards, Culinary Institute faculty, staff, and alumni took home five out of nine CIA-related awards. Three professors of Wine Studies, Steve Kolpan, Brian Smith, and Michael Weiss won the award for Best Book in the Beverage category for their fantastic guide “WineWise: Your Complete Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Enjoying Wine.” As Peter Weltman reported, Professor Smith found “solace” in the finished product after 20 years of dedicated work. Weltman reported from the press box at this prestigious event, remarking that “a sense of camaraderie amongst all of the chefs, journalists, television personalities and others was evident.”

The 2010 James Beard Awards were reported on by our own Editor-in-Chief Brigid Ransome. CIA graduates were nominated for 26 awards, and President Ryan was recognized for his outstanding role in the industry by being named 2010’s “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage.” Ransome noticed how the “awardees were truly humbled by the recognition…cognizant that they too were once young cooks trying to make it.”

Created in 2007, the Augie Awards are named after Auguste Escoffier and celebrate the success of the industry’s best. More than 400 people attended this years bash at the Caipriani 42nd Street in New York on March 18, Cat Cora ’95 and Chris Muller ’88 were named Alumni of the Year and Eric Ripert was named Chef of the Year. Attendees included Daniel Boulud of Daniel, NYC and the renowned restaurant architect Adam Tihany.

A whirlwind of events, on campus and off, definitely kept The Culinary Institute of America busy in 2009 and the first half of 2010. With many holidays and lots of special events planned for the rest of the year, we have plenty to look forward to.

Podcast with CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan Explores Culinary Education, Leadership, and Food Trends

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 17:17:00 +0000

Dr. Tim Ryan, president of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), talks about the advantages of a formal culinary education, leadership, food trends, and more in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast. "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with CIA alumni and other luminaries who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 22-minute podcast, Dr. Ryan discusses how the restaurant and hospitality field is more competitive, sophisticated, and complex than it was when he joined the industry in 1977 upon graduating from the CIA. In this environment, education and leadership go hand-in-hand.

"Back in the day when I was entering the industry as a graduate from the CIA, basically all you needed to do was to be a really good cook," Dr. Ryan recalls. "Today, if you're going to be a successful chef, restaurateur, or entrepreneur, you need to know not only how to deliver great quality food, but how to manage people, how to communicate, how to manage finances. You need to know about the legal issues, about marketing, about technology. It's so much more complicated. As things become increasingly more complex, one needs more education."

As president of the CIA since 2001, Dr. Ryan has been instrumental in generating the sustained growth, innovation, and quality improvements that have shaped the college. A leader in the American Cuisine movement, Dr. Ryan helped develop the American Bounty Restaurant while a faculty member in 1982. He has championed support of local agriculture, the integration of nutrition and healthy eating practices in the college's curriculum and conferences, and more in-depth study of global cuisines and cultures. During the podcast, Dr. Ryan talks about initiatives in CIA classrooms and new innovations that will keep the college in the leadership position it has held since its founding 64 years ago. He also speaks about trends in food, the success of fellow alumni, and the future of the hospitality industry.

"What all this spells for people that are entering the industry or graduating from the institution is opportunity," says Dr. Ryan. "You can be very successful; you can be critically acclaimed in a wider variety of venues and opportunities today and in the future than in the past."

Dr. Ryan speaks from experience when advising aspiring culinary professionals how to prepare for a career in food. He began working in restaurants at an early age, and soon knew he wanted to make foodservice his career—a decision he never regretted. He went on to captain the first U.S. team to win a Culinary World Cup and the team that won the World Championship at the 1988 Culinary Olympics. Dr. Ryan was the youngest person to become a Certified Master Chef and the youngest president of the American Culinary Federation.

"Make sure this is the industry for you. You have to have real passion. It's an industry full of passionate people—at least those that are successful," Dr. Ryan says. "When everyone else is playing, that's when we're working...Once you are sure you have the passion for the industry...go to school. And choose the right school."

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, Nate Appleman, John Besh, Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Ruhlman (honorary), Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Tim Ryan or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Master Pea

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 16:13:00 +0000

Student Contributor: BJ Lieberman
Degree Program: A.O.S. Culinary Arts

I know, I know, I start every column with a quip about the weather. But come on, have you been outside this week? It is incredible. It almost makes me not miss the South for a brief moment. Now, if we only had a beach near here, we’d be set.

Alas, this is supposed to be a food column and not a weather report, so I have to say that besides the weather, there are a number of hints that we are indeed in the full swing of spring. Asparagus is here, for one, as well as an assortment of mushrooms and onion/garlic varieties that we only get to enjoy in their prime for a few short months. I mean, just with the elements I’ve already named plus some bacon, stock, cheese, Arborio rice and some know how, you’ve got one heck of a Risotto. But we’re missing something. Something that screams spring, but few people ever think of.

Spring peas are probably my favorite spring vegetable, yes, even more than asparagus. They go great in everything spring themed, from salads to light pastas to just being served on their own. Pea Mousse is one of my favorite side dishes. They literally taste of spring freshness, mixed with a little sweetness and a palate pleasing pop when you bite into them. How can you argue?

And I haven’t even gotten to the best part. For many years now, farmers have been clipping the pea shoots only 2-4 weeks after germination and selling them as a garnish/salad green that has really only recently hit the food scene in America. Pea Shoots are recognizable by their pig-tail-esque twirly green shoot and vibrant green leafs, not to mention that they taste exactly like the spring peas themselves. As I stated earlier, you can use them as a garnish or in a salad…basically anywhere you would use a normal spring pea, and they can be served completely raw.

The Professional Image Seminar at a Glance

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 13:42:00 +0000

Student Contributors: Anna Frost & Eve Kan
Degree Programs:
A.O.S. Culinary Arts, A.O.S. Baking & Pastry Arts

Whether we like it or not, we are all in the field of sales & marketing. Some of us are aspiring bakers, others culinarians, but we are all salespeople. If you’re skeptical, simply peruse the food items that you have sitting around; if you see shiny wrappers, bright colors, stamped on health claims, or packaging disproportionate to the food item size, that’s sales & marketing at work.

Need more evidence? The next time you’re being greeted and seated at a restaurant, pay attention to the person selected for that position. Well groomed and friendly? Are they better looking and more pleasant than the average Joe? Again, sales & marketing my friend: specifically, it is the power of first impressions.

As students, the need for sales & marketing may not seem to apply to us, but in reality, it is vital. We are charged with selling the most important commodity: ourselves. In pursuit of our dream jobs, it’s vital that we understand the power of our personal brand, and how to effectively market it.

This was the topic being discussed at the Professional Image Seminar on a crisp, Saturday morning in EcoLab Theater.

Questions such as, if you meet the star chef or Human Resources recruiter for your dream job in the elevator today—would you have a clear, concise, and convincing speech as to why he or she should welcome you? And if you do have that answer, could it be delivered in the time it takes for the elevator to reach the top floor?

There were also questions such as, when you walk into the career fair doors, armed with resumes, are you also armed with an outfit that will silently do as much to open or close doors as those pieces of paper? Do you know what that outfit should look like?

These questions and more were posed to the group of CIA students in attendance, and luckily, without forcing responses, fashion guru Mario Roman from Cornell University, along with a stellar group of CIA Staff and Professors, provided attendees with the tools to, when asked the same questions again, say with confidence a resounding YES.

“Hello. I’m graduating in October 2010, and my goal is to make the world a happier place through food and hospitality. I’d love to do this as a member of your company.”

I’ll follow this elevator speech with a firm handshake while wearing a conservative, well-fitting, dark-fabric suit, and a wrinkle-free shirt where the collar does not exceed the lapel. My nails will be buffed and my shoes will match my belt. If I’m able to execute my outfit correctly, the recruiter will look me in the eye, undistracted by any component of my clothing. He or she might even feel a flickering sense of familiarity with me, despite our having just met. This momentary thought, while inaudible and unperceivable to the outside observer, will mark a small, but important victory. It will signify a perfect execution of the lesson that fashion guru Mario Roman regularly teaches his Cornell students, and on a crisp, bright Saturday morning, taught to a room full of CIA students; to look as if you already work in the company that you’re applying to.

At a formal interview I’ll arrive at least 15 minutes early, mise en place in hand, i.e. a list of questions that reflect my research and interest in the company. And even if I’m horribly nervous, perhaps even on the brink of nauseousness, I’ll smile and be polite to the receptionist. I’ll know that receptionists are scouts incognito for the hiring manager; diligently scrutinizing my every move, and ready at the drop of a hat to report any juicy and potentially revealing tidbits.

I might wear a string of pearls, or a simple necklace, but my impressive diamond jewelry, matching necklace, earrings, ring and bracelet, that I bought after learning from Professor Murphy in Personal Finance to “feed the pig,” would stay at home; wouldn’t want the recruiter to think that I didn’t need the job.

As you may have guessed, none of this has happened…yet, and I do not in fact own a matching set of exquisite diamonds; but, with the pearls of wisdom and knowledge shared by fashion guru Mario Roman and the CIA Staff & Professors who so generously donated their time, it doesn’t seem so far from reality.

Once a Professor, Twice a student

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:03:00 +0000

A look at the new man on campus, Gastronomy instructor, Brent Wasser

Student Contributor: Brigid K. Ransome
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
A.O.S. Culinary Arts

There are two types of instructors that walk the halls of this school, the greats and the soon-to-be greats. We all know the greats. They teach with a quiet fortitude, knowing that their years in the field are buoyed by some of the best experience, the world over. They also exercise unhuman amounts of patience when dealing with us, the young, idealistic “chefs of the future” (as Chef Fred Brash dubs his students). And they also don those three telltale stripes of achievement on the collar of their chef’s coat. They’re greats, alright and it goes without dispute.

But behind those greats are an emergent group of instructors, the soon-to-be greats. Some students say that they’re too methodical, others contend that they’re fresh and relevant – but whatever the charge, they add to the academic bottom line, and Professor Brent Wasser, has definitely made (and continues to make) his contribution.

His food adventures took off during his undergraduate years at Swarthmore College, in Pennsylvania. He was the head chef of the entirely student-run restaurant called Paces. He recalled with a knowing smile, “it was a great time to play with food” and his stint there only served to heighten his interest in not just food, but more saliently, what food means in the context of different cultures.

So armed with an enduring passion for food (as well as a comparative literature degree), Wasser did the thing that people do when they want to learn more about different cultures; he travelled and travelled and travelled. From farmlands in Austria and breweries in Germany to restaurants in France and patisseries in Belgium – he did it all. And with each closing of the suitcase, Wasser came to a continuous realization that food was not linear but a multi-faceted network of expression. He recalls, “very rapidly, I began to understand that food was more than a dish or cooking but a way of a culture, for so many people in many different ways.”

When he returned to the U.S., his passion for food was acutely defined and so he enrolled in the one school that churns out great culinarians and great food thinkers – The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park. Well accustomed to academe (he earned The Fulbright Scholarship in Anthropology during his European travels) he excelled in the A.O.S. Culinary Arts program, and continued to apply scholastic theory to the social science of global food culture.

Some years later, Brent Wasser now stands on the other side of the Anheuser-Busch Theatre. When asked, how the CIA has changed since you were here? He said that the fundamentals of the school has not strayed too much, “the [school] is still consistent in its dedication to excellence. The teaching here reflects the technology and ideas that are present in industry today which is all very relevant.”

However, in the face of tremendous schooling, both inside and outside the classroom, Wasser maintains that some of his most pertinent lessons come from his students. And even though he is now grading assignments instead of turning them in -- the learning process has never tapered off. “The students here are all keenly aware of that which is happening in the industry. They don’t know it, but they force me to remain dynamic in what I teach. Roughly 15-20 percent of my assignments change each block and that’s because my teaching incorporates a current events focus. I have to teach both tradition and trends.” But he wouldn’t have it any other way. He notes that in teaching and simultaneously learning from his students, his classes and lesson plans are hinged on personal life experiences. He said, “I think, look at, and consider food all the time and because of that, my personal experience finds its way back into the classroom. But it’s great because it’s one the few fields where a majority of my personal experience applies.” But, he does keep his anecdotes of his private life to a minimum in classes, “it’s like a good spice.”

Hear Chat with One of Food & Wine Magazine's Best New Chefs

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 14:51:00 +0000

Nate Appleman '99 Shares His Exciting Career

Ten years after Nate Appleman graduated from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), he was named one of the Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine magazine. Appleman recently moved to New York City to open an Italian restaurant in Manhattan's Bowery district after making a name for himself in fine Italian dining in San Francisco.

The 1999 CIA graduate shares his story in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with CIA alumni who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 14-minute podcast, Chef Appleman shares the value of learning proper meat fabrication and talks about his time in Europe, learning the food and culture of Italy. He also recalls seeing CIA alumni featured in the 1998 Food & Wine Best New Chefs issue when he was a student, and set a goal to earn the same honor.

"This is a very intense school, and a lot of information is covered," Appleman says about his time at the CIA. "Touching on every aspect of this industry helped me form my own businesses." In addition to his restaurant success, he won a 2009 Julia Child Cookbook Award for Best First Book, A16 Food + Wine (Ten Speed Press, 2008).

The Ohio native's advice for young people considering careers in food: "Never say 'no' to anything in the food world, whether it's a chef telling them what to do or an ingredient they think they don't like," he says. "And go to school. Go to the CIA. Go to the top."

Chef Appleman recorded the podcast while on campus to judge presentations made by CIA bachelor's degree students for their Marketing and Promoting Food course.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Ruhlman (honorary), Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Nate Appleman or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

Winter is for Citrus

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Heather Hodge
Baking & Pastry Arts Degree Program:
A.O.S. Baking & Pastry Arts

It’s ironic to think that during the harshest months of winter, you can make the most delicious pitcher of iced lemonade. Lucky for us, however, you can also get the tastiest orange juice right now that will boost the immune system. The broad family of citrus fruits is hardly limited to oranges and lemons, but also includes everything from kumquats to tangelos to bergamot. Do a little research and find what flavor profile you’re searching for to get the best result for your product.

The quality and condition you’re looking for when shopping for the majority of citrus fruits is quite simple. Buy fruit that is heavy for its size, and has smooth, fairly thin skin. If you find green tints on some varieties of citrus such as grapefruit and oranges, consider yourself lucky – the fruit is usually sweeter and tastier. Though most people do enjoy just peeling and eating many types of citrus fruits, the culinary, baking, and pastry possibilities are absolutely endless. Not only can the luscious, sweet or sour fruit be utilized, so can the flavorful zest.

You can’t find orange juice on the market better than freshly squeezed, so this is the best season to start mixing up some mouth-watering concoctions. Take a couple of oranges, about 3 or 4 make one 8-fluid-ounce cup of orange juice, and start squeezing. Grab a blender if you want to add a combination of flavors and use your imagination. There are very few fruit flavors that don’t marry well with orange. If you’re trying to keep to seasonality all around, go for some tropical fruits; most are currently at their prime. If you’re looking to make some cocktails, keep citrus flavors in mind, a good result is nearly fail-proof.

Vitamin C isn’t boosting your immune system quite enough? Instead of steak and potatoes, go for salad and fish. Get some fresh salad greens and the work is half-done. Make a citrus vinaigrette (you can choose anything from a lemon to a blood-orange) and you have a simple yet gratifying salad. Like your salad with a little more of the mix-ins? Add cheese, other vegetables, nuts, and chunks of orange, tangerine, or grapefruit. Once the salad is decided, start working on the fish. For many people, fish is not their first choice of a protein. In fact, for some, it’s their last choice. The reason not many people go for fish is not usually due to the person choosing dinner, it’s actually the person making dinner. You’re not going to want to eat something if it’s not tasty and the texture is all off. Fish is often a very delicate protein to work with, meaning it has to be done right to be delicious. Before worrying about marinating or seasoning the fish, figure out how to cook it right. Once you have that down, incorporating the citrus is easy. Lemon is an amazing flavor to pair with so many different species fish. Incorporate some other flavor-enhancing ingredients and you will have an incredible dish that will change your mind about fish.

When whipping up dessert, use citrus as the main flavor or just an accent. Make some blood orange or Meyer lemon sorbet for a chilly and tangy treat. Citrus and cheese often pairs well, and a bleu cheese cheesecake with a hint of lemon is a creative dessert that will truly surprise you. Making it is half the fun (the ratio has to be perfect). A very interesting flavor to play around with is bergamot. This citrus is what makes Earl Grey tea, Earl Grey tea. It has a very recognizable bitter, yet tangy flavor. Definitely use this flavor as an accent; even though it's very good, too much really is too much.

When incorporating citrus fruits into culinary, baking, or pastry applications, there is truly no limit. Explore this vast family and you will find many different varieties that will surprise you.

The following has always been an all-time favorite recipe of mine. The lemon juice makes it! It’s the simplest breakfast to make and it is so delicious.

*************************************************

German Baby

Ingredients:
• 3 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• Melted butter, lemon juice, powdered sugar – as needed (some like more, some like less)

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and put 10” iron skillet in oven.

Combine the eggs, milk, flour, and salt together.

Let butter melt completely in skillet and pour in the batter.

Bake until done (about 20 minutes). It will be very puffy!

After it comes out of the oven, drizzle with butter, lemon juice, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Eat right away – it will not be very appetizing in a few hours!

Chilean Wines Earn Deserved Recognition

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 16:47:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Jill Wasilewski
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
B.P.S. Culinary Arts

What comes to mind when you think of Chile? The Andes, long and skinny, Santiago. But wine? At first, most people do not associate Chile with good wine, but actually, the region offers delicious and diverse wines. After attending a Bacchus Wine Society-sponsored tasting and lecture in the Wine Spectator Room by Michael Green, former Wine And Spirits Consultant to Gourmet magazine and current owner of Liquid Assets Consulting Group, students left with a new appreciation for Chilean wines.

One thing about Michael Green's lecture is for certain: no one fell asleep. Green was so bursting with energy and enthusiasm for the wines that it became contagious and drew each and every student to his sincere passion for wine. According to Green, he entered the wine industry illegally when he worked as a stock boy in his dad's wine shop at the age of 6. He began selling wine at age 13 and started importing at 21. He became the Wine and Spririts Consultant for Gourmet at the age of 26, up until recently when the magazine shut down. Green has been featured on numerous Food Network shows as well as CNN, CBS, Fox news, and in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Business Week. Interestingly enough, Green is the creator and co-writer of Wine Lovers, the first interactive wine tasting musical to debut in 2010.

As Green explained the features of Chilean geography that benefit wine, it all began to make sense. Because of the counrty's long and skinny layout, it offers extrememly diverse topography, geography, and climate. The audience tasted five different wines: Leyda Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (bottle market price: $12), Concha y Toro Casillero del Diablo Sauvignon Blanc 2008 from Central Valley ($12), Le Dix de Los Vascos 2006 from Colchagua Valley ($50), Suyai 2007 from Colchagua Valley ($60), and Albis 2004 from Maipo Valley ($62). After a quick introductory lesson for newer students on how to taste wine, Green led the group through how to describe wine flavors and had everyone evaluating each wine. Along the way, brief lessons about aging, alcohol content, wine temperature, and more topics were explained.

As the lecture and tasting wrapped up, Green was happy to answer questions about wine menu design and also discussed the availability of jobs in the beverage management industry, encouraging all to contact him if in need of assistance. Of all the tips and advice given by Green on this eventing, the best was more general than it was technical. At one point he told students, "Good wine tastes like it comes from somewhere - not like it was made in the mind of a marketing focus group." Above all, we are lucky to have opportunities to learn outside of the classroom like this at the CIA and they should not be taken for granted. The value of learning more about a fantastic, underappreciated wine region was only surpassed by Green's undeniable passion for wine and teaching.

Greystone's 12th Annual Worlds of Flavor Conference and Festival

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 19:45:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Andrea Morris
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
B.P.S. Culinary Arts

Recently, comfort food and street food have taken a place in the spotlight as the new trendy choice for a meal or snack. Hamburgers and tacos can be found in many different guises, from white tablecloth restaurants to mobile trucks on street corners. This is why the CIA chose to make "Frontiers of Flavor: World Street Food, World Comfort Food" the theme of their 12th Annual Worlds of Flavor International Conference and Festival that took place recently at the Greystone Campus.

Distinguished chefs from all over the world came to give live demonstrations of preparing traditional dishes from their home towns, such as: tamales and tortas from mexico, anticuchos (spicy grilled marinated beef heart) from Peru, tapas from Spain, meze from Greece, and traditional roadside dishes as well as current foods-on-the-go from the United States. Highlighted regions and food cultures included Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, India, Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia, Persia, Mexico, the Caribbean, Peru, Brazil, and culinary hot spots across the United States.

The Hyde Park campus was lucky to get a live broadcast of the event from the West Coast. The expertise of the featured chefs was undeniable. Each country had a presentation on the history and current food culture, and their street food customs in particular. Images of old women folding tamales and children eagerly eating skewered delicacies aroused nostalgia for an unfamiliar place. The sense of community was common to all of the presentations, coming together as not only a celebration of the backbone of so many cuisines, but also of unity and the perseverance of customs that have made each country unique.

Highlights included Chef Rick Bayless, chosen to introduce the Mexican cuisine segment, who showed a clip of himself visiting his favorite food stand in Mexico, called "Super Tacos Chupa Cabras." The clip demonstrated both the delicious-looking food and the huge diversity of those who ate it, from truck drivers to people in full suit and tie. A Brazilian chef, Edhino "Edson" Engel, prepared Moqueca Baiana, a seafood stew influenced by African cuisine. Though he admittedly had a limited vocabulary, his passion for cooking the dishes of his counrty shone through as he explained the regional differences within Brazilian cuisine and the principle flavors.

This year's Worlds of Flavor conference successfully managed to embrace centuries-old cooking styles while still staying current. The live broadcast was a great chance for students and faculty at this campus to get to experience listening to and watching award-winning chefs from around the globe prepare the dishes closest to their hearts. The only question that remains is: what will next year's theme be?

New Podcast with the Author of The Making of a Chef

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 19:05:00 +0000

Michael Ruhlman Shares What He's Learned in a Decade of Writing about Food, Chefs, and Cooking

In the mid-1990s, Michael Ruhlman came to The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to research a book about students learning what it takes to become a chef. That book, The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at The Culinary Institute of America, sparked an interest in Ruhlman that led to a dozen more books about food, chefs, and cooking, and even a stint working in a restaurant kitchen.

Ruhlman talks about the unexpected direction his career took in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from the CIA. "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world. Ruhlman was awarded an honorary CIA degree in 2006.

The lasting lesson he learned is that the skills needed to be a successful chef translate to any endeavor. "You've got to be really organized. You've got to keep you station clean. You've got to be prepared. You've got to work long hours, fast and hard. You don't say 'no.' You get it done," he says. "Those qualities work well everywhere, because so few people really have them. So the 'muscles' you develop learning to be chef help you in any which way."

During the 17-minute podcast, the Cleveland, OH native says one unintended result of his research was an "amazing" culinary education. "The book is only 300 pages long, and I have 1,000 pages of notes from those days," he recalls. Ruhlman urges students to take advantage of what the CIA offers. "This place is like no place on earth. There is more culinary experience and more culinary knowledge than anywhere on earth. [The students'] job while they're here is to suck up as much of that as they can," Ruhlman says, adding that the advice holds true not just for CIA students, but for anyone wanting a career in food. "Take notes. Write everything down. Interview. Don't take a chef's word for it. Ask 'why?' Be inquisitive. Act as a journalist as much as a cook."

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Anne Burrell, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Michael Ruhlman or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

A Look at Single-Origin Chocolate

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:53:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Jill Wasilewski
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
B.P.S. Culinary Arts

For culinary students, it is important to know and understand the origins of certain food items in order to be knowledgeable about their quality and uniqueness. These include items such as wine, cheese, olive oil, and coffee, all to which terroir is of utmost importance. Just as wine, cheese, and olive oil are major components in a culinary student’s world, chocolate is a major part of a baking and pastry student’s world. However, it is important for all students to embrace and understand the complexities and unique qualities of single-origin chocolate.

When chocolate was first mass-produced, the only choices a consumer had to make were between white, milk, or dark. Later came bittersweet, semisweet, and unsweetened. Then, in the mid-1980s, chocolate bars began carrying percentages displaying their cocoa content, and it suddenly became trendy in the chocolate world to enjoy the bars with the higher percentages. Now, chocolate is being marketed by the regions in which the cacao beans grew, as single-origin or varietal chocolate.

First, a few key terms one must know to better understand chocolate labeling are as follows. Single origin refers to chocolate made with beans from one specific area—this can be as broad as a “region” or as specific as naming the exact farm from which the beans were harvested (also known as single estate). Single variety means that only one species of cacao bean was used in the chocolate. “Grand cru” is a borrowed wine term, used by Valrhona chocolate company, that is simply another way of saying single origin.

Personally, I find it intriguing to taste and note the diverse nuances in different single-origin chocolates from around the world. However, traditionalists argue that the art of chocolate making is the ability to combine different varieties of chocolate to achieve the most balanced blend. Chocolatiers are challenged to create quality chocolate despite the changes in weather, terrain conditions, local economics, and other components that may affect the beans. For instance, Maurice Bernachon, a famous chocolatier in Lyon, is known for his chocolate blends that use up to 13 different cacao varieties. Also, the well-known John Scharffenberger and his business partner John Steinberg own a small factory in San Francisco in which they independently roast and blend small batches of cacao beans to attain high-quality blends. Single-origin chocolates, therefore, directly counter the talent and artistry required to make superior chocolate blends.

So, chocolate marketed as single origin, while it promotes an awareness of terroir, does not necessarily mean that it was made with the highest-quality varieties of cacao. In fact, the term indicates nothing of cacao quality, only of location. The other side of the argument holds that a single-origin chocolate, especially the ones so specific to name the exact farm on which the beans were harvested, must make the manufacturers proud in the sense that they want to place the specific place the cacao beans came from on the label of their chocolate.

Another dimension of single-origin chocolate is the pairing that usually occurs with organic growing and fair trade practices. According to Transfair USA, a non-profit organization that certifies and standardizes labor laws, approximately 1% of chocolate sold in the United States is made following generally accepted fair labor standards. Single-origin chocolate allows consumers to choose their chocolate based on regions that practice fair labor laws. A few single-origin chocolates are also grown organically. Unfortunately, the cacao pods have a high susceptibility to pests, so organically grown single-origin chocolate is not only difficult, but many times of low quality.

Recently, chocolate has proved that is has just as many dimensions as wine, but its terminology and labeling in the United States is still progressing. Both single-origin and blended chocolates have their pros and cons and should be enjoyed for different reasons. I challenge you to pick up a few single-origin chocolates the next time you visit a specialty foods store and learn to appreciate the differences among them—whether you prefer carefully crafted chocolate blends or not.

Chef Crispo Shares His “Coach” Approach to Teaching

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 19:32:00 +0000

Student Contributor: Will Nardi
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
B.P.S. Culinary Arts

Walking into the Escoffier Restaurant—E-Room as it’s affectionately known on campus—the observer would undoubtedly be taken by surprise to be greeted with décor dating to the Victorian era. However, sitting down for a meal and understanding the philosophy of the restaurant’s kitchen is an experience of wonder. For 16 months Professor Phillip Crispo has been polishing senior culinarians in the Escoffier Restaurant teaching the Advanced Restaurant Cooking class. The cuisine of the restaurant is far from the public’s stiff perception of French cuisine, and it is kept so by an educational philosophy that throws aside the traditions of kitchen management.

The restaurant’s fare is founded upon the fundamentals. Chef Crispo states that “braising is braising, and the action of sautéing is unchanged. The students are taught to make these basic techniques their own, to reinvent the flavor.” They are taught to compound the cuisine, each senior given ownership of their development. The object is to refine technique and develop the soul of cooking, the taste of the dish. Chef Crispo does not allow his students to be satisfied with only knowing “how”. He feels that a leader and a true culinarian must always reinvent “how” they cook by asking “why” they cook—why they add the ingredients they do, and why they structure the plate and the recipe a certain way.

The inquisitive spirit fostered by Chef Crispo in the Escoffier kitchen is founded upon the beliefs and values of its namesake, Auguste Escoffier. He feels that if Escoffier were alive today “he would have been beyond molecular gastronomy.” This philosophy was reinforced to his students just weeks ago in a lecture presented by Ferran Adrià. It is the spirit presented in the Escoffier quote:

“The life of a chef is no idle one; apart from the labor of actual preparation and serving of diverse dishes, his brain must ever be on the alert and his inventive powers always acute. But there is actual and lasting satisfaction…in accomplishing the very best that can be accomplished.”

Utilizing the innovation, the skill, and the dedication of Escoffier, Chef Crispo continues to pursue his culinary styles. Apart from being ProChef-certified at level III, he is also training for his Certified Master Chef exam.

In order to instill these ideals in his students, however, he has begun to innovate beyond the culinary realm. To foster innovation, respect, and professionalism in the classroom, he has changed his title from “Chef” to “Coach” and has begun utilizing a revolutionary kitchen management philosophy by encouraging an environment of shared ownership rather than autocracy—a socialistic, somewhat “utopian” kitchen.

Students in Escoffier are taught to work as a team. They are encouraged to question, but more important, they must find the answer and justify it. The diner at the Escoffier Restaurant must understand that there is no “chef” in the kitchen. It is a team of culinarians who work in unison to present their craft, showcase their skill, and bring to life the art of their flavor development. The students must speak with each other to coordinate plating for a table at the same time, and understand each other’s station to facilitate the presentation of food simultaneously. They are encouraged to find better ways to develop their dishes and earn extra credit for specials they contribute. Each time a change is presented to their “Coach,” he questions them on their thoughts, encouraging the two most important skills of any leader: introspection and critical analysis.

These ideals challenge the traditional kitchen management system and grow out of the application of contemporary management and educational technique. By applying them to the culinary culture, “Coach” Crispo has begun to reinvent kitchen organization for the 21st Century. His legacy at the Escoffier Restaurant and to his students is the demolition of autocratic innovation and the application of kitchen “socialism” within a culture of shared ownership. He has instilled an insatiable appetite for new answers built from the foundations of cuisine and the values of leaders everywhere.

Podcast Reveals "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef"

noreply@blogger.com (The World's Premier Culinary College) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Chat with Food Network Star Anne Burrell, Class of 1996, is Newest in Series

Anne Burrell, host of the Food Network's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, talks about her career in the newest "Insight from the Inside" podcast from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA). "Insight from the Inside" is a series of chats with CIA graduates who have exciting jobs in the food world.

During the 17-minute podcast, the 1996 CIA graduate provides her "secrets" about how to become a successful restaurant chef. She also shares highlights of her career, from serving as Lydia Bastianich's sous chef to having millions of viewers watching her cook each week on television. Last year, she was awarded Rising Star Chef of the Year by StarChefs.com.

Chef Burrell says there was never any doubt in her mind that she would attend the CIA after having an "epiphany" that she needed to change careers at age 23, and that the culinary world was for her.

"It was the first time I was a straight-A student. It was the first time I was a sponge for knowledge. I couldn't learn enough," Chef Burrell says about her experience as a CIA undergraduate. "I wanted to do so well. I was one of those people who was super-competitive. It was because I wanted to learn so much."

Burrell recorded the podcast while on campus to deliver the commencement speech to graduates in May 2009.

"Insight from the Inside" has featured CIA graduates Grant Achatz, John Besh, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Duff Goldman, Johnny Iuzzini, Sara Moulton, Charlie Palmer, Michael Symon, and Top Chef winners Ilan Hall and Hung Huynh. To hear the interview with Chef Burrell or receive future podcasts, visit www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.