mise en place issue 57 School Food

No. 57, September 2011

b ea

ns

and k m il

oils

f r ui ts

veg etab les

g ra

i ns

me a

t

ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA

6

6

Children on the Line The past, present, and future of feeding our children

14 The Lunch Box Remembered

A nostalgic look back at the evolution of lunch boxes

at school

13 Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids Conference Leaders in education, industry, and government join forces

19 Menu for Healthy Kids

Foundation helps CIA develop tools for school foodservice workers

14

20 17 Across the Plaza

Following the Presidential Trail | Kudos San Antonio Paella Challenge

21 Education for Life

ProChef at 1,000 | Atop the Bell Curve | Book Shelf Q&A with Nathan Myhrvold

28 28 Gifts at Work

Doing Good x 4 | Partnerships That Keep the CIA Cooking Why Give? | Giving’s Impact

32 Class Notes

Class Notes | In Memoriam

Bologna with mayo and lettuce on Wonder bread, a bag of Wise potato chips, a two-pack of Hostess cupcakes, and a thermos of whole milk were what I toted every day to elementary school in my red plaid lunch box. I lacked any culinary imagination whatsoever—unless you count the days I’d swap out bologna for a tuna fish sandwich.

I can still remember the smell each time I opened my lunch box. It was a moist, tinny aroma. And like Pavlov’s dog, every time I caught a whiff of it, I salivated!

mise en place® No. 57, September 2011 Nancy W. Cocola, Editor Leslie Jennings, Designer

Contributing Writers Christine Wendland Felicia Zammit

Anyone who carried a lunch box to school remembers how the illustrations on the sides were a point of pride. Whether they were super heroes, characters from a favorite TV show, or the stars of a newly released blockbuster movie, it was

Editorial Board Dr. Tim Ryan ’77 President

Chet Koulik Francisco Migoya

bag. Even back then, I knew the cafeteria food was somehow “not healthy,” and

Victor Gielisse Vice President for Advancement

that my mother didn’t want me to buy my lunch. But oh, how I looked forward

Mark Ainsworth ’86

Tama Murphy

to the days when the menu was rubbery hamburger, soggy French fries, and an

Brad Barnes ’87

Anthony Nogales ’88

supremely important that you were carrying just the “right” lunch box when the first day of school rolled around in September.

By junior high school, I was carrying my lunch in an innocuous brown paper

individual dish of creamy chocolate pudding. I’d muster together my allowance and cough up the 55 cents so I could walk the line and dine off a tray! It was a guilty pleasure.

The topic of school food remains as complex now as it was then. It continues to evoke strong and differing opinions from all the stakeholders—students,

Sue Cussen Ron DeSantis ’81

Chris Loss ’93 Douglass Miller ’89

Jen Stack ’03

Heather Kolakowski ’02

parents, lunchroom workers, chefs, politicians, and government agencies. But, bottom line, the growing concerns about the health and wellness of America’s youngsters is forcing all of us to take positive action and see how we can effect change. There is no silver bullet, no quick fix. We all need to become aware, educated, and committed to change.

Mission

pudding!

Mise en place is the college magazine for alumni and friends of The Culinary Institute of America, and reflects its principles and core values. Its mission is to foster a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between the CIA, its alumni, and friends by:

So, grab a healthy snack and enjoy this edition of mise en place.

Providing information of interest about the college, its alumni, faculty, and students.

These days, I bring my tuna fish on whole wheat bread to work in a fancy plastic container. No chips for me; instead I nibble on carrot sticks with my meal. For dessert I enjoy sliced cantaloupe and strawberries. But oh, sometimes I miss the

Nancy Cocola, Editor n_cocola@culinary.edu

Presenting substantive, balanced, and accurate coverage of major issues and events concerning the college as well as highlighting alumni leadership and contributions to the foodservice industry.

Creating a forum to help alumni network and build community. ©2011 The Culinary Institute of America All rights reserved.

Photography: Keith Ferris.

4

Visit www.cialumninetwork.com to

including sundried tomatoes, kalamata

fill out the nomination form.

olives, artichokes, anchovy fillets, pesto, and pepperoncini. Two highlights of the

Sponsors + Ingenuity = Pizza Cook-Off Success

event, held in Farquharson Hall, were a

With inventive names like

than 650 attendees voted on the People’s

Rat-pa-tootie, Neapolis, Team Mustache, The Temararious Bears,

New Alumni Items for Sale!

Show your CIA Pride—visit www. ciaalumninetwork.com to purchase your CIA Alumni cap. And, while you’re there, don’t forget to pick up a CIA Alumni window decal. Perfect for your car or business window, the decal adheres using static electricity, so it’s easy to move from place to place.

Alumni Council Nominations Being Accepted

Arrabbiata, and Beach Bums, six student teams competed to win the grand prize of $1,000 at the CIA’s Inaugural Pizza Cook-off on May 1, 2011. Teams were given $100 to purchase ingredients, and with the help of two corporate sponsors, brought their “A” game to the contest. Saputo Cheese USA, Inc. generously donated 21 types of cheese, including classic mozzarella and such specialty varieties as kasseri and pepper jack. American Roland Foods spiced up the ingredient options

pizza dough stretching and a pizza dough tossing competition. A panel of judges determined the cash prizes, while the more Choice award. In the end, Team Mustache swept the competition, winning first prize, the People’s Choice, and the showmanship awards for their seasonally inspired pizza pie with ramps, fresh basil, olive oil, and mozzarella cheese melted to perfection.

Turns out, this event was no pie-in-the-sky idea—we are already planning next year’s event!

Correction: In mise en place #55, we referred to new CMC Brian Beland’s graduation year incorrectly. He graduated in 2004.

with a huge variety of tasty toppings,

We have opened up nominations for membership on the CIA Alumni Council.

We seek alumni who are making their mark in their careers and communities, and want to give back to their alma mater.

Participation in alumni initiatives and a strong background in volunteerism and community leadership are definite assets.

Because we want the Council membership to reflect the college’s core value of diversity, we are seeking participants of all ages, from all geographic regions, and all types of cultural backgrounds.

Alumni Council members serve for a two-year term. The Council meets three times a year. You can nominate yourself, a classmate, or a friend for consideration.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

team mustache proudly displaying the winning pie

5

By Nancy Cocola There is nothing new under the sun. And while that comment can seem pessimistic, when used in reference to school food, it speaks to the never-ending quest of generation after generation to do right by our children. Concerned people have been talking about how to nourish and educate our children since as far back as 1794. But what is new for the current generation of school food activists is the reason they are speaking out and mobilizing for change. The dialogue is centered on how the epidemic of childhood obesity has placed youngsters at high risk of contracting adult diseases like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and joint problems. Ostensibly, children are old before their time. Reversing this trend is a real challenge for school foodservice professionals who understand that it is our children’s lives that are on the line.

6

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

In 1794, American-born physicist and statesman Benjamin Thompson traveled to Europe and established the Poor People’s Institute in Munich, Germany. There, he served poor and vagrant adults and children. The youngsters worked for part of the day, with the rest reserved for lessons in reading, writing, and arithmetic.

Much sought-after for his unique approach, Thompson traveled around Europe developing large-scale programs to feed the destitute. In London alone, he fed upwards of 60,000 poor people a day out of his soup kitchen. The sheer volume prompted Thompson, who was a scientist interested in heat theory, to invent the first enclosed cooking range, the double boiler, and the pressure cooker—all forerunners of the items seen in today’s school kitchens.

In 1865, famous French man of letters Victor Hugo provided funds for children in a nearby school to receive a hot meal each day. Six years later, The Society for People’s Kitchens in the Public Schools was established in Angers, France. If a child couldn’t pay, he or she received the food for free. If a child could pay, the charge was two cents. (This was the first free and reduced lunch program ever!)

Victor Hugo offering a banquet to children in Veules-les-Roses (France)

mise en place no.57, September 2011

7

New york city school children garden circa 1914

Robert Hunter’s book Poverty, published in 1904, influenced the U.S.

But it was the Great Depression that was the real impetus for the

government to feed hungry, needy children in schools. Hunter wrote,

modern school food movement. During those intensely lean years,

“Few of us sufficiently realize the powerful effect upon life of adequate

the Works Progress Administration (WPA) School Lunch Program

nutritious food. Few of us ever think of how much it is responsible

employed upwards of 12,000 needy heads of households to feed

for our physical and mental advancement or what a force it has been

balanced meals to 500,000 youngsters in more than 10,000 schools per

in forwarding our civilized life.” But no full-scale programs emerged

day. In only a year and a half, the WPA workers served 80 million hot

until 1908, when New York City Superintendent of Schools William

meals! The program was originally intended to serve only children

H. Maxwell appealed to the Board of Education to create “in-school

whose families were on relief. However, it became apparent early on

facilities where the pupils may obtain simple and wholesome food at

that the lunches children brought from home were often woefully

cost price.” Malnourishment was of primary concern then. A pilot

inadequate. Their lunches often consisted of only a slab of bread, a

program was established in which 143 children received a school meal

cold sweet potato, a biscuit spread with fat, corn bread spread with

while another 81 did not. It was determined that the 143 children

molasses, or a cold pancake. Those children also began receiving a

gained 10.2 ounces each, over a three-month period. Of the 81

meal at school. The result? Lunches were a draw, school attendance

students who did not receive a meal, each gained only 3.4 ounces. This

soared, and more children had the opportunity to learn.

proved the positive effect one healthy, planned meal each day at school could have on a child. It was all the evidence needed to go forward with the program.

Act into law, creating the National School Lunch Program. Its primary goal was to find a market for agricultural surplus, with a secondary

During WWI, when thousands of American men were drawn away

goal of eradicating nutrient deficiencies and addressing the issue of

from their farms to fight in Europe, their lands lay fallow. The

under-consumption. The program enabled schools to provide low-cost

National War Garden Commission began a campaign to encourage

or free lunches to qualified students through subsidies to schools.

patriotic Americans to plant gardens on every spare plot of land.

The project found its way into schools. The Commission’s book, War Vegetable Gardening, was distributed to every school in the land, becoming a standard for education and the precursor to today’s school gardens.

8

In 1946, President Harry S. Truman signed the National School Lunch

The Child Nutrition Act of 1966 moved the National School Lunch Program from an agricultural-based program to an anti-hunger initiative as part of the War on Poverty established by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. It authorized that special milk and school

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

michelle obama breaking ground with students for white house organic garden, jan. 2010

breakfast programs be added to the already successful lunch program

These overwhelming statistics may be why the USDA invited

to feed those children who were not receiving breakfast at home.

the National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine (IOM)

Another pivotal point in our school food story began in the 1980s when school populations boomed and budgets and personnel were unable to keep up with demand. Schools turned to outside vendors to provide meals and additional income. Pizza and fast food outlets, and vending machines with soft drinks and high calorie treats once fought by districts, were now allowed in. It was all about economics.

to review the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and make recommendations for the 2010 update. The IOM’s final report, School Meals: Building Blocks for Healthy Children, adopted standards for menu planning that include increasing the amount and variety of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; providing low-fat or fat-free milk; setting a minimum and maximum level of calories; and focusing on reducing saturated fat and sodium. The IOM also offered a less-complicated

By 1995, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dietary Guidelines for

set of elements for planning a school meal. Also noted was the need

Americans (a document that is reviewed every five years) made a real

for involvement of students, parents, and communities, coupled

attempt at reining in fat, sugar, and salt consumption. Coupled with

with nutrition education, foodservice worker training, and industry

a call to eat more whole grains and vegetables, it included exercise as

development of healthy, appealing food. After all, food isn’t nutritious

part of a healthy lifestyle. Still, our children were growing more and

until someone actually eats it!

more obese.

The Center for Disease Control reports that childhood obesity

changes

on

the

line

...

has more than tripled in the past 30 years with nearly one in three children classified as overweight or obese. In the Hispanic and African-American communities, that number is even higher, at almost 40%. These numbers are staggering. The U.S. Military has issued its own call to arms. Between 1995 and 2008, the proportion of potential recruits who failed their physical each year because they were overweight rose to nearly 70 percent. Weight is now the leading medical reason for rejection of an otherwise qualified candidate.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

the

realities

Since the 1980s, the consumer trend toward preprocessed convenience foods has prevailed. This same trend showed up in our schools. And, to be fair, concerns about food safety drove a lot of schools to look for pre-packaged, pre-cooked foods to feed their students. More and more schools gave up their cook-ready kitchens for prep spaces. Foods that

9

are cooked often come out of centralized kitchens and are shipped to satellite schools for re-heating. Foodservice workers who had previously cooked meals for students were now simply cutting open bags and laying food out on steam tables.

intermediaries in order to bring all necessary products into the school.

“Procurement,” Alyssa says, “is a very complicated part of the school food system. There are endless rules and regulations governing the process, which can read like War and Peace, in its original Russian.”

Lack of money is an important part of the equation. It’s a littleknown fact outside the industry that school food programs are not funded by school budgets but rather must be self-sustaining. That

keys

to

success

means all salaries for the workers, insurance, etc. come out of the money collected for each meal, whether that’s from government

First Lady Michelle Obama has done much to raise our collective

reimbursement or from the student who pays. Though this may seem

consciousness, champion healthful programs, engage children to get

counterintuitive, school districts with the poorest populations do

up and move, and entreat our nation’s chefs to join the battle against

better financially than those where most of the students can afford

childhood obesity. But while we are all in agreement regarding the

to buy their own lunch. Government reimbursement is higher in the

need for change in our school food programs, there is no one-size-

former, giving foodservice directors larger budgets to work with.

fits-all solution. However, four major areas appear to be real keys

Today, most of the support the USDA provides to schools is cash

to change—increased federal monies, education, continued product

reimbursement per meal. If a child qualifies for a free lunch, the school

development by the foodservice industry, and improved nutritional

is reimbursed $2.72. If a child qualifies for a reduced-price lunch, the

profiles of entitlement goods.

school is reimbursed $2.32. And finally, if a child is a paying customer, the school is reimbursed $0.26 cents—the cost of milk. Schools also purchase entitlement (formerly commodity) foods that are surplus

dollars

agricultural stock at a reduced price, and can pay to have these items processed. For example, if a foodservice director purchases USDA pork, he or she can arrange for it to be processed into patties, links, pizza topping, or BBQ before it reaches the lunchroom. While this sounds reasonable and expeditious, the processing may well add salt, sugar, and fat to the item. The USDA is working hard to reduce those elements from its processed foods, but districts clearly have less control over what they are feeding their kids if food is pre-processed.

and

cents

Last year, through the Child Nutrition Act, the federal government increased the school lunch reimbursement rate for the first time since 1973. The government will now pay an additional six cents per meal to school districts that comply with the new nutritional standards.

Those standards are not expected to eliminate popular foods from the menu, just make them healthier. While this increase is welcome, many foodservice directors were looking for an increase more in the range

The Defense Logistics Agency of the Department of Defense (DOD)

of 75 cents to a dollar per meal. And while it hardly seems like six

uses its diverse network of produce suppliers—mostly small businesses—

cents is a lot of money, those six cents will cost the government $4.5

to distribute produce items to schools. Started as a pilot project in

billion over the next 10 years. Another disappointment was the fairly

1993, this program has grown and offers a distinct benefit to schools

insubstantial $25 million allocated by Congress over the next five

by leveraging buying power, increasing delivery frequency, choice,

years for farm-to-school programs and to establish school gardens. So,

product variety, and freshness. In addition, the DOD offers online

districts are turning to pilot program funding and individual grants to

ordering, providing an opportunity for one-stop shopping.

subsidize their meal service. And districts are looking to save money

Alyssa Moles ’08, The Food Trust’s regional coordinator for the National Farm-to-School Network, explains that USDA entitlement foods make up only 20% of the food districts’ procure. She admits that farm-to-school is easier in smaller districts because local farms

by retrofitting kitchens with ovens and stoves so more fresh foods are being prepped and cooked on site. However, in order to do this, the foodservice staff (a.k.a., lunch ladies) requires culinary training and students require nutritional education.

cannot hope to produce the volume of products a large district needs.

There are currently no government subsidies for districts to buy local.

However, in places like Washington, DC, local legislation has been enacted to offer financial incentives to schools to shop locally. Since many schools do not have the labor to actually clean and process produce directly from a harvest, the National Farm-to-School Network has relationships with regional agencies that will wash and cut the vegetables before they arrive at the schools. In the end, foodservice directors have to deal with a vast number of distributors and

10

education According to New York City schools executive chef Jorge Collazo ’82, every moment is a teaching moment. “You’ve got to teach percentages in math class, so why not have students learn to read nutritional labels—it’s the perfect way to teach that concept,” he explains. Jorge recognizes that we need to teach children about healthy eating within

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Online resources from the National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi, inhouse training courses, and the now well-known Chefs Move to School program launched by Michelle Obama last year, are all focused on the needs of foodservice workers.

industry There are hundreds of companies finding creative ways to help support the drive toward healthier, more nutritious meals for school children.

As Tim Prosinski says, “We have tim prosinski ‘94 cooking up a storm with middle school kids

to be realistic about the changes we can make that fit into our budget

the existing curriculum, but believes it can be done. That does appear to be the key to success for programs like Cook for America® Junior Chef program co-founded by Andrea Martin ’06. She has a full-time curriculum writer on staff to ensure that her program is not adding a teaching burden and is complying with the educational guidelines that already exist. Programs like The Edible Schoolyard, started by Alice Waters in 1995, are all well-integrated into the curriculum. It seems

and available facilities.” Tim, like so many others in the trenches, has turned his attention to what industry is doing to create healthier, more nutritious meals that take into account budgets and facilities. In fact, industry is heeding the call, albeit more slowly than some would like. Jorge Collazo points to McCain’s Farmer’s Kitchen™ chopped roasted red potatoes as an example. Seasoned with rosemary, garlic, parsley, onion, and olive oil, then frozen, they are a delicious natural

we can now all agree that it is as important to teach children about food, as it is to teach math. Thankfully, food is a topic that seems to transcend subject areas and can be taught in math, history, culture, art, and English classes! Tim Prosinski ’94, foodservice director for the Berlin School District in Connecticut, has initiated Chef Tim Days and the Cooking Club to introduce students to new foods and flavors, and empower them to make good and informed food choices.

Beyond educating our children, the task of educating foodservice workers is key. School cafeterias are the front line in the war against childhood obesity and the foodservice workers are the foot soldiers.

That’s why Andrea Martin’s Cook for America week-long Boot Camp works to not only teach culinary skills, but to empower the lunch ladies and transform them into Lunch Teachers™. Garrett Berdan ’09 is now an independent nutrition and culinary educator and consultant specializing in school district child nutrition programs. He sees school cooks having a real interest in learning more culinary skills—and making the move from sheeting and heating food to scratch cooking.

Ann Cooper ’79 has done much to give voice to the issue of school food over the last 12 years, and is committed to helping get salad bars into schools—a proven method of getting students to eat more fruits and vegetables. Michelle Obama is behind this cause and she hopes to get 6,000 salad bars into schools over the next three years.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

andrea martin ‘06 training new lunch teacher™

11

food. “You just open the bag, put it in the oven, and it’s fabulous.

to getting better, more sustainable food into our nation’s schools,”

All the spices give it great flavor with reduced salt.” McCain, like

explains Chipotle Chairman and CEO Steve Ells ’90.

so many other large companies, has a website for school purchasers that not only offers commodity-equivalent information but also prep suggestions for different cooking equipment, nutritional facts, and

improved

entitlement

food

allergen information.

Kellogg’s Regional Manager for K-12 Schools Michael Finelli ’91

nutritional

profiles

presented an example of how industry approaches the school market.

Of Kellogg’s annual earnings, $1.3 billion comes from the school market, with the other $13 billion coming from the retail market.

In its Battle Creek, MI food laboratory, the company is working on reducing salt and developing healthy ingredient replacements for its popular retail brands. But the company’s ever-popular breakfast food, Pop Tarts, is a great example of how industry caution can slow the availability of healthy alternatives. The school food sales force implored the development team to come up with a whole grain Pop Tart. Skeptical, the company said they would do it but the sales force had to guarantee the sales or “eat” the losses. After a number of years of development, Kellogg’s R&D came up with a whole-grain version.

It was healthier by far, but it was also chewier—something not seen as a positive by kids. After more research, they found they could mill the grain finer, give a crisper mouth feel, and still keep 16 grams of fiber in each Pop Tart. It was wildly successful, and the company is now rolling out the whole grain Pop Tart to the retail market. Yes, it’s still a Pop Tart, but it moves the dial to “healthier” in a very real way.

because of space and staffing constraints. That is why schools send out USDA entitlement foods for preprocessing as described previously.

And while Ken Hecht, executive director of the California Food Policy Advocates, has positive things to say about the strides the USDA has made in offering healthier options to districts, he believes the greatest strides need to be made in the area of off-site processing. In addition, he believes schools need to bite the bullet and order healthier options. “We are impressed with the USDA’s efforts to offer healthier items through the federal entitlement program,” said Hecht. “Yet the advantages of these healthy changes are being lost because school districts continue to order mainly high-fat items—and the benefits of many of the healthier commodity foods are adulterated by additives during processing.” The gradual training of lunchroom workers to learn more culinary techniques, as well as districts investing in a few key pieces of kitchen equipment to aid in preparation, may well ameliorate some of the unhealthy results of outsourcing the processing

Campbell’s Soup Company recently unveiled a 10-year/$10 million

of food.

plan to reduce childhood obesity and hunger in its “hometown” of

The issue of school food is complex, frustrating, ever-changing, and

Camden, NJ. Almost all of Camden’s 23,000 school children are enrolled in the free and reduced school breakfast and lunch programs.

Obesity rates in Camden outstrip the national average, with kids ages 3 to 19 at nearly 40%. Campbell’s will tackle the problem by focusing on providing increased access to affordable healthy food; expanding availability of, and participation in, physical activity and physical education; and increasing nutrition and health education.

Michelle Obama, the nation’s symbolic leader of the Let’s Move! and Chefs Move to School initiatives, has successfully negotiated with giant retailer Walmart to lower their prices on fruits and vegetables and to work to reduce the amount of fat, sugar, and salt in its own foods. This is part of her quest to ensure that every family has access to healthy, affordable food.

Chipotle Mexican Grill spent the summer of 2010 collecting spam.

The company’s “No Junk” campaign asked people to forward junk or spam e-mails to them. For every 100,000 junk e-mails sent in, Chipotle donated $10,000 to The Lunch Box, a not-for-profit foundation founded by Chef Ann Cooper. “With The Lunch Box, we have found an organization that shares many of our beliefs and is committed

12

Very little of the food a school orders is actually processed there

improving. Having our nation’s leaders and renowned chefs giving voice to the issues of childhood obesity, health, and fresh foods has done wonders to mobilize us all to take a closer look at what we are feeding our children both at school and at home. What is also apparent is that, like any large-scale program, there are flaws and areas in need of improvement and overhaul. Resources abound and programs are waiting for those who wish to join in the exciting and challenging work of helping our children on the line.

Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids A Summit with a Mission A rallying of leadership.

operating officer and education market president, Sodexo

A sharing of best prac-

School Services.

tices. A call to arms.

Everyone who was invited to attend the launch of the CIA’s Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids

dr. janey thornton

• Assistant White House Chef and Senior Policy Advisory for Healthy Food Initiatives Sam Kass spoke about Michelle Obama’s Chefs Move to School initiative.

• Dr. Chris Loss ’93 and Rico Griffone ’05 focused on their research

National Leadership

project, Menu for Healthy Kids, designed to foster dialogue between

Summit at the college’s

chefs and school foodservice professionals, develop training

San Antonio, TX campus

materials, and provide culinary resources to improve a school’s

last May was there for

ability to provide healthy and appealing food options to students.

one reason only—to support the creation and promotion of healthier, more flavorful and appealing foods and beverages for our nation’s school children. So many youngsters are already experiencing many of the health problems largely associated with adulthood. Now the government, parents, school foodservice professionals, doctors, chefs, and countless others are joining forces to ferret out solutions to the growing problem of childhood obesity and its subsequent health issues.

(See page 19 for more about Menu for Healthy Kids.)

These were only a few of the fascinating and edifying presentations and panels that were heard by the more than 200 diverse professionals from around the country who attended the conference. Plans for next year’s conference are already in full swing. To learn more, visit www.ciaprochef.com/healthykids.

“The CIA has the capacity to use its wide reach and influence in the foodservice sector to move the critical issues of childhood obesity and school lunch programs to a larger audience,” explained CIA President Dr. Tim Ryan ’77. “By convening Healthy Flavors, Healthy Kids, we are creating a unique forum for professionals of differing opinions to work through these complicated and critical issues.” And work they did, during the three days of the summit. Key players in different sectors of the industry spoke to the issues and innovative solutions emerging in the school food arena.

• USDA Deputy Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services Dr. Janey Thornton presented the newly proposed meal standards for schools.

• Dr. Tami Cline and Sharon Olson, owners of the research company Y-Plus, gave an eye-opening presentation on children’s views about food, nutrition, and health.

• The United Fresh Produce Association’s vice president of nutrition and health, Dr. Lorelie DeSogra, spoke about how free fruit and vegetable snack items and the Let’s Move Salad Bars to School movement are effective strategies for increasing children’s fruit and vegetable consumption at school and at home. The benefits of salad bars and their growing success in schools was discussed by a panel that included CIA Board of Trustees member Lorna Donatone, chief panel of middle school students discuss food preferences

mise en place no.57, September 2011

13

The Lunch Box Remembered For generations, children and workers carried their noon meal in all

In 1957, the Aladdin Company introduced a dome-top lunch box,

manner of contraptions from animal skins to gourds, from wicker

which resulted in some pretty fabulous designs including Disney’s

to oilcloth. Farmers in the fields would gravitate to the shade of a

school bus lunch box, which was the best seller of all time. The ’60s

tree before opening the gingham cloth that held their midday repast.

saw the advent of embossed boxes that gave the images a three-

Children sat on the stoop of their one-room schoolhouse to quickly

dimensional effect.

down their lunch so they had time to play. Then, with growing industrialization, a worker’s metal lunch box became a symbol of class status. Carry one and you were immediately tagged as a laborer who couldn’t afford to buy a hot meal.

At the height of their popularity, in the two decades between 1950 and 1970, more than 120 million steel and vinyl lunch boxes were sold.

It is said that after a group of concerned mothers in Florida lobbied the state to ban steel boxes, claiming they could be used as unwitting

By the 1880s, children began fashioning their lunch boxes out of used

weapons on playgrounds, a movement against the steel boxes spread

tobacco, candy, or biscuit tins. All that was needed was a little work to

across the country and vinyl took its place. These vinyl-covered

affix handles. Eventually, the companies saw the need and made the

cardboard boxes couldn’t stand up to the wear and tear kids were

tins with handles already attached. In 1902, the very first lunch box

putting them through and ultimately they would fall apart. Attempts

designed specifically for kids was created. And in 1911, in what would

were made by the industry to appeal to teenage girls by introducing

later be considered a true stroke of genius, the American Thermos

the brunch bag, with its shoulder strap and oval shape. In a last-ditch

Bottle Company created the first worker’s lunch kit with thermos

effort to revive a flagging industry, all-plastic versions were created,

bottle—making a truly hot or cold beverage possible for the first time.

to no avail. The industry began a slow decline and by the mid-’80s

By the 1930s and ’40s the utilitarian tin box gave way to the more

companies started closing down production.

durable steel. But it wasn’t until television and blockbuster movies hit

Now, at least for collectors, these vintage lunch boxes are all the rage

the mass market that the lunch box business burgeoned into a multi-

and they are commanding top dollar in antique shops and eBay! Take

million-dollar industry. TV characters emblazoned on the sides of

a look at the boxes on these pages. Maybe you’ll find the one you

boxes made them desirable kiddie status symbols.

carried to school every day.

Pre-TV

14

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

’50s

’60s

’70s

Images from The Fifties and Sixties Lunch Box by Scott Bruce and Collector’s Guide to Lunchboxes by Carole Bess White & L.M. White.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

15

’80s

16

Movies

Products

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Following the Presidential Trail Getting the word out about all the things we are accomplishing at the CIA is a large part of the president’s job. During these last few months, it’s clear that means everything from accepting awards acknowledging the mission of the CIA to speaking directly to individual alumni about the role they play in the health and future of the college.

Proceeds from the event support our students.

Tim also spent invaluable time with alumni at a reception held in Chicago during the National Restaurant Association Show last May. He made a presentation to the gathering, updating them about initiatives and programs at the CIA’s four campuses and reminding them of their importance to the future of the college.

Spanish Exchange Tim hosted Ferran Adrià at the Hyde Park, NY campus in March.

Owner of elBulli and pioneer of what he likes to call avantgarde cuisine, Adrià was on campus for a panel discussion that included Lisa Abend, author of The Sorcerer’s Apprentices—a book about working in Ferran’s restaurant. Two former apprentices of the famed elBulli, Will Goldfarb and George Mendes ’92, were part of the panel discussion as well. At this event, Adrià shared news of his elBulli Foundation, which will be the focus of his efforts now that his restaurant is closed. The foundation will foster the “freedom to create,” and be a repository for culinary brainstorming. He hopes to have it open in 2014.

tim accepts the faces of diversity award

Faces of Diversity Award In April, Tim accepted the National Restaurant Association’s 2011 Faces of Diversity Award on behalf of the CIA and Silver Ventures—a San Antonio-based investment firm headed by Kit Goldsbury that is the CIA’s close partner in developing our new

Since turnabout is fair play, Chef Adrià welcomed a group from the U.S. to enjoy one of the last meals to be prepared at elBulli.

Hosted by Nathan Myhrvold, the group included Tim; Johnny Iuzzini ’94, executive pastry chef at Jean-Georges; Max Bilet, coauthor of and chef for Modernist Cuisine; Steven Shaw, author and founder of eGullet; and Thierry Rautureau, owner of Rovers and Luc Restaurants in Seattle. A fantastic meal was had by all!

Texas campus. Created four years ago, the Faces of Diversity Award acknowledges the diversity of the restaurant industry and honors model companies that have successfully embraced diversity and inclusion.

Alumni Gatherings Board of Trustees member Lori Daniel ’79 hosted a delightful gathering at her home in Long Beach, CA to support the CIA Student Scholarship Fund. Alumni who attended this event strolled Lori’s beautiful gardens, sampled delicious street food, and had the opportunity to meet Tim. Alumni networked, renewed friendships, and talked with Tim about what is new at their alma mater and ways they can get and stay involved with the college.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

left to right: thierry rautureau, nathan myhrvold, steven shaw, max bilet, johnny iuzzini ‘94, and tim

17

KUDOS

China Masters Japan Professor Shirley Cheng may be a native of Sichuan Province, China, but as it turns out, she is an expert in Japanese cuisine. She tested that expertise at the recent Japanese Ingredient Culinary Challenge at the 2011 International Restaurant and Foodservice Show of New York and came up a winner. Charged with using Japanese ingredients in nontraditional ways, she earned a $15,000 culinary tour of Japan with her winning entry of Black Cod Skin and Tails with Napa Cabbage (left).

Many of you will remember Chef Cheng from your days at the CIA. She has taught here since 1990 and was the college’s Faculty Member of the Year in 1996. Chef Cheng teaches Cuisines of Asia, a course that encompasses the cuisines and cooking methods of China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.

Oh, and let’s not forget that third place in the same competition went to CIA graduate Ben Pollinger ’97, executive chef at Oceana Restaurant in New York City. He prepared a Manhattan clam chowder using kombu and bonito flakes in the broth for richness and umami.

Congratulations to James Beard Nominees and Finalists!

Michael Tusk ’89 (Quince, San Francisco, CA), Best Chef: Pacific

In all, 21 CIA alumni, two trustees emeriti, a current trustee, and one CIA instructor were nominated for the coveted James Beard Award.

We all know that in a field of culinary stars, it’s amazing to even get nominated. The alumni winners are in RED, but we’re proud of all the nominees.

John Fleer ’91 (Canyon Kitchen, Cashiers, NC), Best Chef: Southeast

Mario Carbone ’00 and Rich Torrisi ’00 (Torrisi Italian Specialties, NYC), Best New Restaurant

Frank Falcinelli ’86, Frank Castronovo, and Peter Mehan (The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual), Best American Cooking Book

Rajat Parr ’96 (Mina Group, San Francisco, CA) Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional Award Andy Chabot ’01 (Wine Director at Blackberry Farm, Wallend, TN), Outstanding Wine Service Award Gary Danko ’77 (Restaurant Gary Danko, San Francisco, CA), Outstanding Chef

Linton Hopkins ’95 (Restaurant Eugene, Atlanta, GA), Best Chef: Southeast Bryan Caswell ’99 (Reef, Houston, TX), Best Chef: Southwest

Rajat Parr ’96 and Jordon Mackay (Secrets of the Sommeliers), Best Beverage Book Michael Chiarello ’82 (Michael Chiarello’s Bottega), Best Cookbook from a Professional Point of View Fany Gerson ’98 (My Sweet Mexico), Best Baking and Dessert Book

Aaron London ’06 (Ubuntu, Napa, CA), Rising Star Chef of the Year

Duff Goldman ’98 (Ace of Cakes), TV Food Personality/Host

Thomas McNaughton ’04 (Flour + Water, San Francisco, CA), Rising Star Chef of the Year

Ace of Cakes (Duff Goldman ’98, Host), Television Program on Location

Susan Zemanick ’01 (Gautreaus, New Orleans, LA), Rising Star Chef of the Year

CIA Chef-Instructor Francisco Migoya (The Modern Café), Best Cookbook from a Professional Point of View

Paul Virant ’94 (Vie, Western Springs, IL), Best Chef: Great Lakes

Chairman Emeritus Nick Valenti was inducted into the Who’s Who Hall of Fame.

Gerry Hayden ’86 (North Fork Table & Inn, Southold, NY), Best Chef: Northeast Michael Cimarusti ’91 (Providence, Los Angeles, CA), Best Chef: Pacific

18

Stephen Stryjewski ’96 (Cochon, New Orleans, LA), Best Chef: South

Trustee Emeritus Kevin Zraly was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Trustee Thomas Keller’s restaurant Per Se won the Outstanding Service Award.

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

a campaign for positive change Approaching the front line in any battle has to be done strategically and with great care. So when the CIA team of Dr. Chris Loss ’93, Rico Griffone ’05, and Mary Donovan ’83 visited the kitchens of seven Dutchess County, NY school districts, their preliminary tactic

Change, One School at a Time The immediate outcome of this project is a website—www.healthykids. ciachef.edu—hosted by the CIA. It is conceived as a national online

was to listen, observe, and learn. The front line in this particular

repository of information and resources directed to all key constituents.

campaign is the lunch line. Funded by the Bruce and Marsha

• Administrators—offers links to best practices, examples of ongoing

Moskowitz Foundation, the project, Menu for Healthy Kids, is charged with conducting observational studies and focus groups to guide the development of culinary-based interventions and produce positive change in school food.

Change in that particular theater of operations is built on consensus.

successful programs, and government standards for nutrition.

• Foodservice Directors—provides links to culinary techniques, training dietary guidelines, menu and nutrition planning, batch cooking recipes, skills posters, foodservice equipment guides, and program and grant opportunities.

Lunch workers of long standing, deeply committed to the children

• Teachers—offers educational learning modules and lesson

they serve, are necessarily wary of “interlopers” who arrive

plans for grades K–5, resource

with big ideas and criticize

library of nutrition action

current practices. So the team’s

kits with student and family

first step was to engage each

activities, food calendars,

school’s foodservice director

posters, and handouts.

and school lunch employees (a.k.a., lunch ladies) to share

• Parents & Kids—provides

some of their best practices.

information to help parents

Turns out, the schools had a

understand decision-making in

long list of successes that were

the school food environment

tangible and edible including:

and find existing farm-to-

delivering more vegetables,

school programs, and offers

fruits, and whole grains via

recipes, games, and activities

salad bars and deli lines;

to engage their children

monitoring student preferences;

around healthy eating.

providing tastings of new foods; creating attractive displays; developing marketing strategies; coding food groups to guide students toward healthier choice; and meeting with other school districts to share ideas. A real strength was the interaction and relationship between the lunchroom workers and the students.

With the districts’ help, the team identified specific challenges and opportunities for change. They included timing multiple lunch sessions, needing adequate equipment, keeping up-to-date nutritional information, requiring a point-of-sale system to measure efficacy of nutrition intervention, coping with suppliers unable to provide low

• Industry—offers connections to foodservice associations committed to the health and nutrition of our youth, and information on how to place bids to provide healthful products to school districts.

In addition, the test kitchens at the CIA are working on healthy recipes that rework USDA recipes, add a dash of stealth health, and fold in a dollop of CIA recipe expertise. These will be added to the site, offering schools alternatives they can count on to meet the new nutritional guidelines. The work on this project is just beginning as elements of the website are expanded and enriched.

sodium items, suffering a lack of storage and production space, and

Friend Menu for Healthy Kids on

having kitchen workers with insufficient skill levels.

www.ciaculinaryintelligence.com to watch an informative video.

or visit

Ongoing funding for Menu for Healthy Kids comes from the Moskowitz Foundation, the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Foundation, and the Joseph D’Alessandro Foundation.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

19

San Antonio Paella Challenge A Family Affair

Ted Lawrence ’86 no longer works in the foodservice industry.

He joined Mircrosoft in 1995 and then opened his own consulting business in 2006. Microsoft is currently his best customer. So how did he end up competing in the 2nd Annual Paella Challenge in San Antonio, TX? The Internet, a magazine, and a visit to the CIA’s Hyde Park campus inspired the move. First, he reconnected with his CIA roommate Hugh Lowenstein ’85 on Facebook.

Then he saw the article about the 2010 Paella Challenge in mise en place. But it was attending the 2010 Alumni Homecoming at the Hyde Park campus that sealed the deal for him. “The CIA has that aura that just brings food to life. It’s still a magical place,” Ted explained. He thought the Paella Challenge would be a great place to have some fun while helping to raise money for the CIA Scholarship Fund. He felt so inspired he went out to buy a new chef’s jacket!

“I was fortunate to have a very special team in place for the Paella Challenge,” Ted said. “Hugh was my sous chef, and my extended family—15 strong, including five nieces, ages four to 24—was wellrepresented. We rented a ranch south of San Antonio, which came with two indoor and one outdoor kitchen. On Saturday, everyone had a specific job. Crawfish was picked in one kitchen. Shrimp was peeled and deveined at the outdoor kitchen. Pork was roasted on one ‘barbie,’ while peppers roasted on another. It was a fun, family event.”

Ted wanted to create a dish that was appropriate to the Texas

ted (right) and hugh put finishing touches on judges’ pot

venue, so he smoked his pork roast over mesquite to provide some background flavor for his Gulf Shrimp and Crawfish Paella.

Additional flavor came from a mélange of peppers, tomato concassé, calabaza squash, and sweet white onions. Both Bomba and wild rice provided the signature component, and it was all brought to life with a rich seafood stock.

In front of a crowd of more than 2,500, San Antonio chef Jeff Balfour, of Citrus restaurant in the Hotel Valencia, took first prize.

John Besh ’92 along with Steven McHugh ’97, executive chef at Besh’s Lüke Restaurant on the Riverwalk, took second. Chef Jhohans Priego of Veracruz, Mexico snagged third place. While Ted didn’t win a trophy, he came away feeling like a winner. He’d had a great time renewing his passion for cooking, while spending a unique and exciting time with his family.

Special thanks go out to Johnny Hernandez ’89, chef/owner of La Gloria Ice House, who organized the event with the San Antonio

ted (left) and his cooking clan

Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to benefit education programs.

20

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Jeremy Acuna, PC I, Aramark • Andre Adams, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Vernon Browning, PC I, Aramark at Berry College • Lyle Broussard, PC II, Pinnacle Entertainment • John Husby, PC II, Lakehouse, Inc. • Teresa Vanderford, PC II, U.S. Air Force • Michael Edwards, PC III, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon • Maria Gamble, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • Patrick Kilduff, PC III, Delaware North Companies • Allen Butler, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Sharifa Diaz, PC I, New York Institute of Technology • Matthew Knotts, PC I, Lobar Sushi Bar • Timothy Conklin, PC II, Aramark at UMass Lowell • Robert Kristof, PC II, The Culinary Institute of America • Carlos Villanueva, PC II, Merion Cricket Club • John Meagher, PC III, Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club • Jochen Voss, PC III, Canoe Brook Country Club • Amanda Zimlich, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • David Paton, PCI, Aramark • Anthony Martino, PC II, Fairfield Caters • William Allison, PC III, U.S. Marine Corps • Gary Havner, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Scott Tope, PC II, Aramark • Catherine Moore, PC III, Private Chef • Andrew Stanley, PC I, The Eat Spot • Adam Fox, PC II, Aramark at Furman • Tyler Lyne, PC III, Ristorante Banfi, Statler Hotel • Roberto Toro, PC I, U.S. Air Force • Richard Woo, PC II, Frisbie Memorial Hospital • Lance Nitahara, PC III, Camp of the Woods • Clayton Slieff, PC I, Circus Circus • Anca Timmons, PC II, Reynolds Plantation • Bryan M. Tobias, PC III, Portofino • Aaron Young, PC I, Chartwells • Amory James, PC II, Thompson Hospitality • James Zellers, PC III, Lords Valley Country Club • Jeremy Acuna, PC I, Aramark • Andre Adams, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Vernon Browning, PC I, Aramark at Berry College • Lyle Broussard, PC II, Pinnacle Entertainment • John Husby, PC II, Lakehouse, Inc. • Teresa Vanderford, PC II, U.S. Air Force • Michael Edwards, PC III, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon • Maria Gamble, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • Patrick Kilduff, PC III, Delaware North Companies • Allen Butler, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Sharifa Diaz, PC I, New York Institute of Technology • Matthew Knotts, PC I, Lobar Sushi Bar • Timothy Conklin, PC II, Aramark at UMass Lowell • Robert Kristof, PC II, The Culinary Institute of America • Carlos Villanueva, PC II, Merion Cricket Club • John Meagher, PC III, Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club • Jochen Voss, PC III, Canoe Brook Country Club • Amanda Zimlich, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • David Paton, PCI, Aramark • Anthony Martino, PC II, Fairfield Caters • William Allison, PC III, U.S. Marine Corps • Gary Havner, PC I, U.S. ® Launched 2003 at the CIA, the ProChef Certification program was•designed to Stanley, offer foodservice professionals Marine Corps • Scott Tope, PC II, inAramark • Catherine Moore, PC III, Private Chef Andrew PC I, The Eat Spota • Adam means for validating their and advancing in their field. And boy, it! Not only have from• Richard Fox, PC II, Aramark at Furman • Tyler Lyne, PCskills III, Ristorante Banfi, Statler Hotel • has Roberto Toro, PCprofessional I, U.S. Airchefs Force virtually every industry segment put their to the test newfound Woo, PC II, Frisbie Memorial Hospital • Lance Nitahara, PCskills III, Camp of and the emerged Woodstriumphant, • Claytonthey’ve Slieff, taken PC I,their Circus Circus • Anca inspiration, to work to help their businesses Timmons, PC II, Reynoldsconfidence, Plantation • Bryanand M. perseverance Tobias, PCback III, Portofino • Aaron Young, thrive.

PC I, Chartwells • Amory James, PC II, Thompson Hospitality With • James Zellers, PC III, Lords Valley Country Club • Jeremy Acuna, PC I, Aramark • Andre Adams, PC more than 1,000 certifications now awarded, we wanted to pause and take a look back at where it all began— I, U.S. Marine Corps • Vernon Browning, PC I, Aramark at Berry College • Lyle Broussard, PC II, Pinnacle Entertainment • John and find out what the future holds. So The ProChef Journal spoke with a few of the many people at the CIA who have Husby, PC II, Lakehouse, been Inc. •instrumental Teresa Vanderford, PC II, U.S. Air Force • Michael Edwards, PC III, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon to the program’s development and continued success: • Maria Gamble, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • Patrick Kilduff, PC III, Delaware North Companies • Allen Butler, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Sharifa Diaz, PC I, New York Institute of Technology • Matthew Knotts, PC I, Lobar Sushi Bar • Timothy Conklin, Mark Ainsworth ’86 of America • Carlos Villanueva, PC II, Merion Cricket PC II, Aramark at UMass Lowell • Robert Kristof, PC II, The Culinary Institute A ProChef advisor, judge,Voss, and Level III-certified chef, Chef Ainsworth uses Club • John Meagher, PC III, Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club • Jochen PC III, Canoe Brook Country Club • his Amanda Zimlich, knowledge and insights to helpMartino, other ProChef PC III, Campbell Soup Company • David Paton, PCI, Aramark • Anthony PC II,candidates Fairfield succeed.

Caters • William Allison, PC III, U.S. Marine Corps • Gary Havner, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Scott Tope, PC II, Aramark • Catherine Moore, PC III, Private Chef • Andrew Stanley, PC I, The Eat Spot • Adam Fox, PC II, Aramark at Furman • Tyler Lyne, PC III, Ristorante Banfi, Statler Hotel • Bob Briggs Roberto Toro, PC I, U.S. Air Force • Richard Woo, PC II, Frisbie Memorial Hospital • Lance Nitahara, PC III,father” Camp of the Woods The former associate director of continuing education and “founding • Clayton Slieff, PC I, Circus Circus • Anca Timmons, PC II, Reynolds Plantation • Bryan M. Tobias, PCCIA III, degree Portofino • Aaron Young, of ProChef Certification, Chef Briggs is now teaching in the PC I, Chartwells • Amory James, PC II, Thompsonprograms.

Hospitality • James Zellers, PC III, Lords Valley Country Club • Jeremy Acuna, PC I, Aramark • Andre Adams, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Vernon Browning, PC I, Aramark at Berry College • Lyle Broussard, PC II, Pinnacle Entertainment • John Husby, PC II, Lakehouse, Inc. • Teresa David Bruno ’88 Vanderford, PC II, U.S. Air Force • Michael Edwards, PC III, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon • Maria Gamble, PC Chef III, Campbell Company • Patrick Kilduff, PC III,the Delaware Bruno is a Soup ProChef advisor and judge, and understands program North Companies • Allen Butler, PC I, U.S. Marine Corps • Sharifa Diaz, PC I, New York Institute of Technology • Matthew Knotts, from both sides of the judging table, as he proudly holds ProChef Level III PC I, Lobar Sushi Bar • Timothy Conklin, PC II, Aramark at UMass Lowell • Robert Kristof, PC II, The Culinary Institute of America • Carlos Villanueva, certification.

PC II, Merion Cricket Club • John Meagher, PC III, Beaver Dam Winter Sports Club • Jochen Voss, PC III, Canoe Brook Country Club • Amanda Zimlich, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • David Paton, PCI, Aramark • Anthony Martino, PC II, Fairfield Caters • Tama Murphy William Allison, PC III, U.S. Marine Corps • Gary Havner, PC Marineand Corps • Scott PCMurphy II, Aramark • Catherine Moore, The director I,ofU.S. certification training at theTope, CIA, Ms. is the driving PC III, Private Chef • Andrew Stanley, PC I, The Eatforce Spotbehind • Adam Fox, PC II,and Aramark Furman Tyler Lyne,program.

PC III, Ristorante Banfi, the expansion success ofatthe ProChef•Certification Statler Hotel • Roberto Toro, PC I, U.S. Air ForceShe • Richard Woo, PC II, Frisbie Memorial Hospital • Lance Nitahara, PC III, Camp also serves as an exam proctor and evaluator. of the Woods • Clayton Slieff, PC I, Circus Circus • Anca Timmons, PC II, Reynolds Plantation • Bryan M. Tobias, PC III, Portofino • Aaron Young, PC I, Chartwells • Amory James, Hinnerk PC II, Thompson Hospitality • James Zellers, PC III, Lords Valley Country Club • von Bargen Jeremy Acuna, PC I, Aramark • Andre Adams, PCChef I, U.S. Marine Corps • Vernon Browning, PC I, Aramark at Berry College • Lyle von Bargen helped develop ProChef during his time in the Continuing Broussard, PC II, Pinnacle Entertainment • John Husby, PC II, Lakehouse, Inc. • Teresa Vanderford, PC II, U.S. Air Force • Michael Education Department in Hyde Park. He now teaches at the CIA San Antonio, Edwards, PC III, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon • Maria Gamble, PC III, Campbell Soup Company • Patrick Kilduff, PC III, Delaware where he also serves as a mentor to ProChef candidates and as a judge for North Companies • Allen Butler, PC I, U.S. Marineexams Corps • Sharifa Diaz, PC I, New York Institute of Technology • Matthew Knotts, held on and off campus. mise en place no.57, September 2011 PC I, Lobar Sushi Bar • Timothy Conklin, PC II, Aramark at UMass Lowell • Robert Kristof, PC II, The Culinary Institute of America 21

ProChef Certification at

Becoming the Industry Standard for Excellence

How did the idea for ProChef Certification come about?

Murphy: The thing that separates the ProChef Certification

Ainsworth: Chefs, especially those without formal education, needed

fundamentals of each topic. In addition, they have to have stamina

a well-recognized certification process.

program from others is that it tests both competencies and academics.

Participants must be well-versed in the history, culture, science, and and perseverance through four days of evaluation, critique, and

Briggs: We had always offered four- and five-day CE courses, but

written tests. As much as we are testing their knowledge, skills, and

they were never quite linked together, even when students took three

abilities, the week is an educational process.

consecutive classes. They got three separate certificates. So we started thinking, “What can we give these folks?” and it just naturally evolved.

Also, the only accreditation at the time was from the ACF. But people wanted something more hands-on. We came up with the general idea of ProChef certification. The ACF gave us their support, and we initially offered dual certification. We felt strongly that the program wasn’t just about taking a test; it was about gaining an education.

What benefits do culinary professionals gain from going through the process?

Briggs: The participants get lengthy, constructive, critical feedback.

The judging is an educational experience; it’s not just the awarding of a score. The candidates are all present for each other’s critique, so they learn from their peers. There’s this dynamic of not going through it

What were some of the challenges you faced in launching a program of this scope?

alone, and many of the students still remain in touch with each other.

Briggs: It took almost two years to get Level I off the ground. The

give them someone to talk to, and coach them along.

work of it was looking at every single class we offered and restating the objectives and outcomes at each level. It involved rewriting almost every course, as well as creating new courses to fill in the gaps. As each new level was introduced, we ran a pilot program with about five or six students. It was slow initially, but it’s really got legs now.

The mentoring is another benefit. As ProChef advisors, we reach out to students, field their questions, remind them what they need to do,

Bruno: The best comments I’ve heard are the ones that have to do with the revitalization one feels after going through the process, whether they have passed or failed.

program, we had to have an advisor for each student, and also get the

How is the program different today than it was back then?

word out to the industry.

Bruno: ProChef has been a solid program that has sustained little

Ainsworth: In addition to there being a lot of moving parts to the

change over the years. The only changes I can think of would be slight

What was the significance in making ProChef a competency-based certification?

tweaking within the study guide to make it clearer for the reader and

von Bargen: Once you understand a competency, you can

von Bargen: The program itself hasn’t changed much—the

apply them to anything. Level I essentially tests the execution of competencies; Level II adds management, finance, and culinary specializations; and Level III evaluates global cuisines, wine and food pairing, and strategic finance and management.

Bruno: Competencies are measurable, gradable, and a standard by which we can hold someone accountable. They are also based on culinary fundamentals, which are another kind of standard for our industry. ProChef Certification focuses on hands-on skills and academics, which in turn makes it more comprehensive. One can think of it as a benchmark or measurement of one’s skills that are

some changes in ProChef Level I having to do with ingredients.

competencies are about the same—but it has most certainly been streamlined and runs more smoothly. We review the program periodically and make adjustments, but without compromising the quality. What has changed is that it is acknowledged by the industry as a whole, not just the restaurant industry.

Murphy: The industry has accepted it as a standard of excellence.

If someone has passed ProChef, there is the expectation that the chef has a certain competency level. It also says something about chefs’ character—that they are willing to put themselves out there to be critiqued, judged, pushed, and, yes, praised. From the employers’

judged by peers; something that is not often the case in the workplace.

perspective, we are seeing job listings and postings that say “ProChef

Ainsworth: When an employer hires someone with a ProChef

performance evaluation and promotion criteria. These are huge

credential, they know what they are getting—they can be assured of that person’s competencies in the culinary arts. Other certifications

Certification preferred,” and some have added ProChef to their indicators of the significance of the program to the industry.

are based on a one-time performance test. ProChef is much more involved, and the students can accomplish a lot of it through self-study.

22

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

What feedback have you received from ProChef graduates and employers about the effect the program has had on their careers and their business?

Bruno: Employers have told me that this certification program has made their business stronger in so many ways, from making their team into better cooks to sparking new ideas to instilling a sense of pride for the industry.

von Bargen: Oh, we get lots of feedback. Most people

We are seeing job listings and postings that say ‘ProChef Certification preferred.’ This is a huge indicator of the significance of the ProChef program to the industry.

Tama Murphy

feel energized and rejuvenated by the experience, and find they get much greater pleasure from their work. Many chefs at first are a little taken aback; they’re putting their food in front of the evaluators, and getting feedback. But by the end, they say that it was one of the best experiences they’ve had. It helps them get out of a rut, and gives them inspiration. It also helps in the job search, because ProChef is acknowledged by the industry.

Murphy: When participants share what they got out of the exam, they rarely focus on a culinary skill. Rather, self-awareness, management, and passion are the most common themes.

Where do you see the ProChef Certification program going in the future?

Bruno: I see ProChef as the industry standard for certification; we have the best, most comprehensive program that exists for culinarians. We need to continue to grow the program in ways that keep our test current and relevant to the industry. As we look to the future, we need to develop a certification for baking and pastry chefs as well.

von Bargen: I expect that we’ll run it even more off campus, with custom clients, like we’ve done for the Air Force at Lackland. I see it going worldwide, especially with our new campus just having opened in Singapore. And I see ProChef growing for professionals in other areas, such as food journalism, nutrition, and food science.

Murphy: We still have a lot of work to do! But I am looking forward to achieving the goal of 2,000 ProChef certifications.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

23

Atop the Bell Curve

Coming Together Through Food

By Christine Wendland In the ever-expanding universe of modern cuisine, there seem to be

The recent increase in foodborne illnesses from factory processed

as many chefs and styles as there are tools in a kitchen drawer. What

foods, additional GMO crop lawsuits, and school-age children with

is readily apparent is that the basic manipulation of ingredients into

shorter life spans than their parents (projected by the New England

artful food goes either one of two ways—honoring the ingredient and

Journal of Medicine) has resulted in the American consumer becoming

its heritage in the manner of farm-to-table, or using the ingredients as

acutely aware of the consequences of his or her food choice. Many are

building blocks for creating innovative food design, as in avant-garde

jumping on the bandwagon of whole, unprocessed foods; community

cuisine. Both of these approaches were formerly fringe food fads. Now,

supported agriculture; and farmers’ markets; while others are turning

these two broad styles of cooking are shaping the cuisine of the 21st

to growing their own food—an effect magnified by the economic

century and inspiring budding chefs. The question—is one method

recession. In the last three years alone, sales of vegetable and herb

better than the other?

seeds have jumped 20%–40% per year, while flower seed sales wane

The path of the Slow Food movement, paved by the passions of Carlo Petrini and Italian traditional cuisine, has merged seamlessly into the American farm-to-table movement. The mission of chefs in this arena is sustainability, resourcefulness, support of the local farmer/ purveyor, and doing little but allowing the food to speak for itself in form and flavor. With Alice Waters, Melissa Kelly ’88, Alan Wong,

(The Washington Post). What chefs of the farm-to-table movement are doing is graduating the ingredients from the backyard to the white tablecloths of restaurants, respecting the traditions of the food and making it accessible to everyone. The idea of slow food as a cuisine of necessity, and a cuisine of elegance, connects the average person to the restaurant table.

and Dan Barber grounding the cuisine, this snout-to-tail, root-to-tip,

On the completely opposite side of the culinary bell curve is the

full-organism consumption has moved from the fringes of professional

avant-garde movement. Anchored by Ferran Adrià and his famed

cuisine into the mainstream. In turn, these chefs deliver uniquely

elBulli restaurant, and the innovative culinary concepts of Heston

familiar yet elegant cuisine that challenges previously held notions of

Blumenthal, Wylie Dufresne, Will Goldfarb, and Grant Achatz ’94,

what it means to be organic, local, and sustainable.

the avant-garde has slowly been eking into mainstream cuisine. At first, it was all about sous vide. Now, ambitious chefs are tinkering with liquid nitrogen, foams, vapors, and various pure chemical thickeners to achieve artistic plates that would give Picasso goose bumps. This type of food is decidedly more technical, often relying on powdered gelling agents and emulsifiers to create the intricate textures and designs. The food creations are limitless, and the dishes are often outstanding in both form and flavor.

Avant-garde cuisine has succeeded in intriguing consumers and budding chefs alike, but it is a cuisine most often achieved in the professional restaurant setting. Seemingly indifferent to the economics and politics of food, avant-garde food is available to people of a certain means, and created by chefs who are also scientists with expensive laboratory quality equipment. The focus is to manipulate the ingredients into something unique and inspiring. There is an air of exploration, of reaching the next frontier and stretching the boundaries that sets these chefs worlds apart from the farm-to-table crowd.

carlo petrini

24

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

objectivity of science. He precisely demonstrates that proper technique and the use of the best-quality ingredients available is universal across all cuisines. We all want to cook the best food with the best method possible, whether we prefer a sauteuse or an immersion circulator. Dr. Myhrvold has effectively settled the matter of where modern cuisine is headed. He has given us the manual of acceptance in which we can recognize similarity in each other’s work, and respect for what each other is doing. Under his exacting work, these two formerly fringe food movements can find common ground, and common goals, at the top of the culinary bell curve.

At the end of the day, when we place our knives back in their case, turn off the stove, and flick the lights, we are all the same. Nathan Myhrvold and his cooking laboratory allow us to embrace one another’s style and understand a bit more what makes us all tick.

Can you sous vide a local, freshly laid egg? Sure. Can you emulsify a nathan myhrvold

Yellowstone carrot purée and use it to sauce pastured Berkshire pork tenderloin? Of course! The convergence of these two culinary worlds is

As the debate about our food economy, ethics, and health rage on, a

where the future of cuisine resides—at the top of the bell curve.

great divide is forming between these two schools of thought. Where is

Christine Wendland is a CIA student working towards her AOS degree

the common ground? How can two such extreme points of view about

in 2012.

preparing food work together to define the food of the future?

That common ground might be found with the help from Dr. Nathan Myhrvold. He’s a PhD, Microsoft-pedigreed genius who literally wrote the book on modernist cuisine. Part Thomas Edison, part Julia Child, with a healthy dose of Mr. Wizard thrown in, Dr. Myhrvold has spent the better part of 10 years dissecting cuisines of all types down to their elements and then challenging our notions of “common culinary knowledge” with unequivocal scientific proof. He unravels the science through intricate experimentation, charting temperatures, pressures, and degrees of color variation. He focuses on nutritional content, heat loss and transfer, and the hows and whys of all food. He dedicates an entire volume to the study of the ingredients themselves, their properties, and their anatomy, and how we as chefs can utilize these to the best of our abilities. The dynamic way he approaches the subject of cooking doesn’t distinguish farm-to-table from molecular gastronomy, avant-garde, or nouvelle. He treats them all equally and with the

ferran adrià

mise en place no.57, September 2011

25

Book Shelf

Beaten, Seared, and Sauced On Becoming a Chef at The Culinary Institute of America

What We Feed Our Patients

By Jim McGrody ’90

By Jonathan Dixon ’10

Jim McGrody has 27 years of

From his first knife cut to

experience in the foodservice

his graduation, follow CIA

industry and is currently

alumus Jonathan Dixon

the director of food and

on his journey through

nutrition at Rex Healthcare

the AOS program at the

in Raleigh, NC. His book

CIA. Written from the

offers a behind-the-scenes

perspective of an older

look at the changing world

student—Jonathan was 38

of hospital foodservice.

Through personal anecdotes, Jim is able to offer advice and guidance for those thinking of a career in hospital foodservice. He shares his struggles, failures, and accomplishments in his quest for appealing,

when he began his studies—he uses a mixture of humor, candid revelation, and a touch of sarcasm to tell his personal story. Anyone who has been through the program will recognize situations, people, and events that made their CIA experience both the “highest” and “lowest” of their lives.

nutritious food for hospital patients.

Modern Batch Cookery

Keep the Beat™ Recipes for Deliciously Healthy Family Meals

By Victor Gielisse, CMC and Ron DeSantis ’81, CMC Packed with beautiful, fullcolor photographs and vital information, Modern Batch Cookery brings two of the

By David

CIA’s Certified Master Chefs together to share

Kamen ’88

their experience in the

and the National Heart

volume kitchen. They offer world-class guidance for creating enticing menus that will enthrall even the most demanding guests. The book features more than 200 healthy, nutritious, large-batch recipes designed to yield 50 servings and cover every meal part and occasion. The book delivers a refreshing repertoire of delectable dishes including Gorgonzola and Pear Sandwiches, Tequilaroasted Oysters with Salsa Cruda, and Chesapeake-style Crab Cakes.

Modern Batch Cookery is a comprehensive resource for all culinarians and foodservice operators working in resorts, hotels, college foodservice, healthcare, retirement communities, banquet facilities, country clubs, and

Lung and Blood Institute This new Keep the Beat™ cookbook contains 40 recipes developed just for the NHLBI, with full-color food photographs. The focus is on family-friendly meals and snacks and getting children involved in meal preparation with their caregivers. Dishes such as Baked Eggrolls, Mexican Lasagna, Oatmeal Pecan Waffles, and Wow-y Maui Pasta Salad are sure to please all family members. The cookbook also includes information on cooking, nutrition, and feeding children (including picky eaters).

on-site catering companies.

26

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

MODERNIST CUISINE Q& A w i t h Au t hor Na t han M y hr v old, au t hor o f Moder nis t Cuisine

You’ve taken the techniques of Ferran Adrià, Heston The cut-away photos in the book, particularly of the Blumenthal, Grant Achatz, and Thomas Keller, along wok, are both dramatic and baffling. How did you with some of your own, and made them accessible to get that effect? chefs. What are you hoping the “ordinary” chef will We cut about one third of the wok away. Then our chef, Maxime Bilet, take away from their read of your book? cooked and threw the food in the air for the shot. Things caught fire By taking the knowledge, which lots of people have been developing

three times before we were done. His eyebrows even caught fire. It’s a

over the last 10 years, and making it available in one place, it’s easier

good thing eyebrows grow back!

for chefs to acquire techniques that, frankly, they could only have learned by working in a half a dozen restaurants across the world,

How do you go from brainstorm to implementation?

for at least two years each. And even then, they would only have a

We have lots of ideas, lots of which don’t work. We test them. We

fraction of what we’ve packed into the book. We’ve put a great deal of

fail. We have to fail. Some of the ideas are good and some are happy

information, from food safety to cooking techniques to recipes, in a

accidents. From there we spend lots of time refining.

format that is very accessible.

You talk about your book being “disruptive.” What do you mean by that?

You have so many ideas—the sheer volume of them is an inspiration to so many. Who serves as your inspiration?

Sometimes culinary innovation spreads one dish at a time, like Jean

We are enormously inspired by the work of lots of chefs. I go through

Georges Vongerichten’s molten-centered chocolate cake. Now you can

cookbooks for inspiration. I go to lots of places to eat. It’s impossible

get a version of that cake in every city across the country. However, we

to write a cooking book if you don’t eat. We frequently will have meals

are in the phase of a culinary revolution that will disrupt the foundation

that will inspire something. Chefs have been incredibly generous to us.

of the culinary world. There are lots of chefs out there doing new and exciting things. This book compiles all these revolutionary approaches and puts them in one place.

What is the last book you read?

Grant Achatz’s Life, on the Line.

You debunk a number of long-standing “culinary truths.” How do you square these revelations with the chefs who have created stellar dishes using the “wrong” techniques?

It’s not that a particular technique is wrong, but rather the rationale for its use that people have come up with over the years, that is frequently wrong. For example, people have been told that you sear meat to keep in the juices, when in fact, it makes the juices run out of the meat.

Though the reason for searing the meat may be wrong, the technique isn’t. The correct reason to sear meat is to caramelize it and give it an appealing texture and color. People have been doing the right thing for the wrong reason.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

27

Doing Good x 4 Raymond Williams ’77 oversees Empty Bowls. Jamie Mammano ’80 honors his graduation from the CIA with cake. Peter Blohme ’86 is part of a culinary USO. Christian Hanrahan ’09 also cooks for the troops…Cub Scout troops that is. What do each of these CIA grads have in common? They do good.

peter blohme (center) with his culinary compatriots

Peter if he would like to join him to support our troops. Through the organization AmericasChefs.org, a group of fun-loving and talented chefs with big personalities do the equivalent of a culinary USO show for troops as far away as Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. And like

Bowled Over

those USO entertainers of the past who brought a tiny bit of home to

Employed at the Newark

cook, horse around, and make the troops food that reminds them of

Senior Center in

home. That’s “mission accomplished” if ever there was one.

the troops, this culinary chorus line does much the same thing. They

Newark, DE, Raymond Williams is also the Meals on Wheels coordinator who leads a very special fundraising event with a culinary bowl selections

twist. Each year he hosts the fun and unique

Empty Bowl event to raise money for Meals on Wheels. Participants choose from an array of ceramic bowls to purchase and then opt for a down-home soup to go in it! In addition, people can buy extra soup for $3.50 a quart. Last year the event raised $3,500 and everyone went home with a full belly and a lovely soup bowl.

Honoring the Troops When Cub Scout Pack 31 held its Blue and Gold Banquet dinner at the Alden Place Elementary School in Millbrook, NY, CIA BPS student and Jones Dairy Farm Scholarship recipient Christian Hanrahan, an Eagle Scout, donated his time to cook at the event. Fellow CIA grad, John Burley ’10, joined him. Jones Dairy Farm President Philip Jones was once a scout and supported Christian’s efforts by donating three hams for the event. In order to use the Alden Place kitchen, the scouts had to “hire” Walter Robinson, the school lunch manager, to be in the kitchen to oversee the event. Turns out, Walter is a 1985 alumnus of the CIA! And in the true spirit of generosity, Walter refused payment and donated his time as well.

April in Boston In honor of his April 1980 CIA graduation, Jamie Mammano—owner of restaurants Mistral, Teatro, Sorellina, Mooo, and L’Andana in Boston, MA—created a dessert special that ran through the month of April. The proceeds from the sale were donated to the college to support educational programs for young culinarians. The dessert was a chocolate devil’s food cake with milk chocolate sauce and vanilla bean ice cream. Delicious and generous!

Entertaining the Troops Peter Blohme first met Guy Fierri when he was featured on Food Network’s Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It was the day they spent together filming the show that cemented a friendship and led Guy to ask

28

left to right: walter robinson ‘85, john burley ‘10, christian hanrahan ‘09

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Corporate Relations

Inside Partnerships that Keep the CIA Cooking

By Felicia Zammit When you visit the CIA, it is obvious that there is excitement and

• Cook-Off Events—the ever-popular annual chili and chowder cook-

magic in the air. What is not always obvious is what goes on behind

offs, that test our students’ culinary skills against the best of the best

the scenes to make that magic happen. Each day, the CIA relies on

on campus, surrounded by an all-day festival atmosphere.

its corporate partners to help offset expenditures while providing top-quality equipment and ingredients for our students to learn with.

Whether it’s through gift-in-kind, scholarships, event sponsorships, or educational lectures to students, our corporate friends play a major role in the day-to-day functioning of the CIA. Last year, the college gained several new corporate partners, Morton Professional, the foodservice division of Morton Salt, and Saputo Cheese USA, Inc. While many companies like to test the water and start their partnerships off in one or two areas of interest, Morton and Saputo are doing quite the opposite. In just a single year, the two companies have had their hands in more than a dozen areas

• Worlds of Flavor Conference and Festival held at our Greystone campus—widely regarded at the country’s most influential forum on world cuisines, food cultures, and flavor trends, attracting more than 700 chefs, experts, and connoisseurs.

“Working with Morton has been a very exciting and rewarding experience for the CIA,” says Elizabeth Mulvaney, CIA coordinator of student activities. “The students have definitely taken note of the Morton brand and developed a broader knowledge about salt through trivia games we’ve included during events. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the 2011–2012 school year.”

of interest! In this article, we will be profiling Morton Salt and its

While this relationship is very new, Morton’s sees its partnership with

commitment to the CIA.

the CIA growing in the years ahead, and is excited about working

Jon Burdette, brand manager for Morton Professional, explains that the company decided to partner with the CIA because it sees the college as a great resource. “We get to interact with passionate students and can play a direct part in educating future foodservice leaders, all the while increasing brand recognition and product knowledge of

with CIA Consulting to help create innovative products for the future. Burdette explains it best when he says, “The CIA is very much involved in the foodservice industry and will be an integral partner as Morton develops its foodservice marketing and insight capabilities.”

Felicia Zammit is a CIA advancement officer.

Morton salt,” he explains.

Morton’s participates in our Gift-in-Kind program by donating salt in exchange for getting its product in the hands of 2,300 potential new customers. Morton realizes the impact that has on sales, because as students use their salt, and become familiar with its characteristics and flavor profiles, they are more likely to purchase that product once they graduate.

Morton’s also signed up to sponsor four signature student events through 2012.

They are: • Deep Freeze Weekend—an annual wintertime event that includes a semiformal dance, student-run talent show, and cake decorating competition. give-away table at the chowder cook-off 2011

mise en place no.57, September 2011

29

Why Give?

Dr. Bruce and Mrs. Marsha Moskowitz

reaches an entire community of school children with the very real

Endowed the Bruce and Marsha Moskowitz Foundation, Inc.

expectations, but that does not surprise us because we know that’s

What Makes Giving Meaningful?

How Do You Give?

What makes giving meaningful to my wife and me is the return on

Half of our giving is financial, and the other half is in the time and

investment. Most people hear that and immediately think in financial terms, but it’s so much more than that to us. We look for a significant improvement to society. Our expectations are rooted in how our investment improves lives and opportunities for others. That’s what

potential of having impact nationwide. The program exceeds our the level of excellence the CIA delivers.

energy we dedicate to the causes we believe will benefit society. We spend a lot of time and energy building relationships that lead to partnerships of giving. We are hopeful the fruit of our giving will spark others to give of their resources. We are especially hopeful that

creates real meaning for us.

as the Menu for Healthy Kids program grows and reaches out to a

What Motivates You to Give?

the country to get involved with their local community school food

We are motivated by ideas and by people. We seek meaningful

the worthy cause of making school food more healthful and flavorful

partnerships with people who are productive and whose teams are effective at getting the job done. Our partnership with the CIA is very

broader national audience, it will spark CIA graduates from across programs. We hope they’ll contribute their blood, sweat, and tears to for our nation’s children.

special to us because we have confidence in the CIA team to see our ideas through to fruition. The Menu for Healthy Kids program started as an idea with hopes for a positive outcome. Now, it’s a program that

30

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Giving’s Impact Ciana Anais Patterson AOS in Baking & Pastry Arts ’10 BPS in Baking & Pastry Arts Management ’11 (Anticipated) Recipient: Joseph and Anne McCann Scholarship, Guest Services Endowed Scholarship, PartridgeInvitation Endowed Scholarship, CIA Faculty/ Staff Endowed Scholarship

The Beginning Technically, I shouldn’t be here. Immediately after a complicated birth, I was placed on a respirator. The doctors told my mother that I wouldn’t make it through the night. Mom prayed and the next morning was told that even though I had turned a corner, if I ever came off the respirator, I’d have diminished mental capabilities, limited mobility, and serious health problems. A month later I was beating their predictions to begin a normal, healthy childhood.

Mom sometimes worked three jobs to make ends meet. I wanted to help her so I started cooking by mastering the microwave. I quickly worked my way up to bigger and better things.

Outside Interest/Hobbies As a young child, I was on soccer teams. Even now, I still enjoy soccer

After three years of undergraduate studies at Texas A&M, with my eye

and basketball. I work out and exercise up to two hours every day. It’s

on Harvard Law School, I realized that it was baking that brought me

an investment in myself because I know that the stronger and healthier

the greatest joy. I had wanted to go to the best law school but found

I am, the more focused I can be at work.

my true calling was at the best culinary college.

College Highlights

Hopes for the Future I’m getting married after graduation! We’ll be living in Las Vegas

In addition to the incredible education I’ve received, I truly enjoy

and working at a hotel. I don’t want to be the next Duff, but I admire

the campus community at the CIA. I’m a member of the Culinary

how he’s helped elevate cakes to an art form. I want to make beautiful

Christian Fellowship and the Black Culinary Society, and serve

cakes for weddings and special occasions and make people happy.

as chapter president of the Eta Sigma Delta honor society. I derive satisfaction from the charity events we sponsor including: Coats for Coffee—collecting winter clothing for those in need; Giving Tree— providing holiday gifts for children living in shelters; and Casino Night—raising funds for Astor House Shelter for abused women and children. The way I see it, I’m blessed. Through others’ generosity, I was able to go to Texas A&M and to the CIA. Now I seek out opportunities to help others and to give back.

mise en place no.57, September 2011

The Impact A week before I concluded externship, I fell asleep while driving home from visiting my mother. I was extracted from the wreckage with the “jaws-of-life”—once again beating the odds and surviving. The medical bills from the accident wiped me out; all my savings for school were gone. If not for the CIA scholarship program, I wouldn’t have finished my associate degree, let alone be pursuing my bachelor’s degree.

31

’73

Clifford Minakin is food

’75

Michael V. Guercio is chef/

service manager for Health

Concepts Ltd. in Coventry, RI.

owner of Pasta and Pizza Res-

taurant, which he recently opened after

’82

Scott Mandel is CEO of

’83

Michael D’Errico is build-

Bona Pinasa, Inc., a fledgling

restaurant hospitality website.

ing services manager for

North Jersey District Water Supply in

10 years of designing and building restau-

Wanaqua, NJ. After more than 20 years in

rants for others. His lunch chef is none

foodservice, he needed a change. Michael

other than classmate Robert Fowler ’76.

has been married for over 23 years and

Fifteen years ago, Michael helped Robert

has two children. He still works in a res-

launch his own restaurant. Turns out,

taurant on weekends in order to keep in

they’re a good combination!

touch with cooking—it’s in his blood. Jay M. Miller is vice president of research

’76

Daniel Pascarelli is bartender for the Venetian Hotel

in Las Vegas, NV. Ralph Rendsland spent the last 22 years as director of special events at the Buena Vista Palace Hotel in Orlando, FL. He started his own

and development for Perkins–Marie Callender’s Inc. in Memphis, TN.

’84

Raymond J. Cattley is chefinstructor for The FoodBank

of Monmouth and Ocean Counties in

company selling liquid nitrogen cook-

Neptune, NJ. In 2010, he became an

ing systems and called it THREE2OH

ACF-approved certification evaluator.

because 320 degrees is the temperature of

A year later, he became president of the

liquid nitrogen. He recently participated

Jersey Shore Chefs Association.

in the South Beach Wine & Food Festival.

ken schaffer ‘10 in front of the berlin wall

’63

David A. Viveros retired

Charles felt it was the most exciting and

from Diman Regional

rewarding experience anyone could have,

Vocational High in Fall River, VA after a

but it was time to move on.

successful 28-year career. He is currently working part-time as a culinary job coach at the South Coast Educational Collaborative in Seekong, MA.

’64

James V. Farina is chefinstructor for the Boys and

Girls Club of America at the organization’s only Technical Training Center for culinary arts in the U.S. He began his work there after 50 years in the culinary profession. He is now enjoying the rewards of teaching life skills to young adults from difficult environments.

’65

Marietta, GA.

’70

Michael S. Freid is chef/ owner of East Side Pies in

Austin, TX. East Side Pies was named

beach in Ixtapa, Mexico in February

one of Austin’s Best Pizza Shops and

2011. CIA hats were considered formal

was recently voted one of Austin’s top

attire (below)!

10 restaurants using produce from local farmers.

’81

Lawrence P. DePellegrin is now retired and living in

Logan Station, PA.

’86

Daniel Bamrick is director of food and beverage for

The Peabody Hotel Group in Memphis,

Ronald Alterio is team leader for Compass Group

at Wilton High School in Wilton, CT. Loring W. Bush retired after 50 years as a chef. He spent the last 30 years of his career in the Poconos of Pennsylvania working at Mount Airy Lodge, the Tamiment Resort, and Skytop Lodge. He met his wife while studying at the CIA when children.

after 33 years as the executive

Stowe, VT.

’71

Geofry F. Tlush retired from Blue Mountain Bed &

Breakfast in New Tripoli, PA due to poor

Charles L. Ludwig retired

health. He remarried five years ago and is

after 19 years as a corrections

enjoying spending time with his wife and

officer with the Department of Reha-

building and flying radio-controlled giant

bilitation & Corrections at the Grafton

scale airplanes and RC helicopters.

Correctional Institution in Grafton, OH.

32

chef at Parc Communities in

ried his sweetheart on the

’85

it was still in New Haven. They have five Marshall L. Faye retired

pastry chef at the Trapp Family Lodge in

’66

’68

Eugene W. Harmes is sous

’80

Chuck Aprahamian mar-

Chuck aprhamian ‘80 and his bride in ixtapa, mexico

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Chef Tim Cooks for Kids

TN. Prior to 2007, Daniel worked for Delaware North for 11 years. He has been married for 29 years and has six children between the ages of 13 and 23.

’87

It’s the philosophy of Tim Prosinski ’94, foodservice

Supreya Tansuphasiri

director at the Berlin Public

Voelkening is chef/co-owner

of Epicurean Catering in Las Vegas, NV.

Schools in Connecticut, that

Supreya and her husband Steven, who

if schools are committed to

attended the CIA for one year, met in Las

teaching kids the right way to

Vegas. They have two boys, ages 15 and

apply math and science, they

20. Steven and Supreya have owned Epicurean Catering for 11 years, providing

should teach them the right way

hors d’oeuvre and canapés for most of the

to eat. In his estimation, it’s just

hotels in Las Vegas.

as important. After years in the hotel and restaurant business,

’88

Brian Michael Boston is chef/owner of The Milton Inn

in Sparks Glencoe, MD. The Restaurant Association of Maryland named Brian the 2011 Chef of the Year. The Milton Inn was recognized as the #1 Restaurant

james hayek ‘92 and his bride

food ostensibly because he

tim at the white house

much, he attended classes in the ’50s, the

had young children at home and a wife who worked long hours for an

’80s, and the ’90s in New Haven, Hyde

insurance company. He felt it was time to spend more time with his kids.

Park, and Greystone, respectively.

Since taking the job as foodservice director, he can honestly say it’s the

in Baltimore as well as the surrounding counties by the Baltimore Sun. Maria

Tim made the change to school

best thing he ever did.

Please!, a retail cheese shop that opened

’92

in August 2010. She has combined her

an instructor at the Lincoln Culinary

do so much and have a really positive impact. I’ve started a cooking

Institute in West Palm Beach, FL. He got

club, helped the horticulture club get the greenhouse up and running

married in October 2010 (above). John

so it’s going full bore in the fall, and I hold “Chef Tim” days to generate

Tisdall (Puopolo) is owner of Cheese...

love of all things cheese with important European provisions. Visit her website at www.chzplz.com.

James R. Hayek has been a personal chef in Palm

Beach for the past 15 years. He is also

Polkowski is senior food service director for Compass USA/Morrison Manage-

’89

Chuck D. Wallace is baking and pastry arts instructor for

Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro, NC. He is married and has two

bakery for seven years.

’90

Brian G. Gribbon is chef/ owner of the High Falls Café

in High Falls, NY. The restaurant just celebrated its sixth anniversary, and with their motto “Great Food, Great Music,

Chicago Fire Department. On a recent trip to Germany, he posed in his CIA t-shirt in front of the Berlin Wall (opposite, top). Brett L. Tucker is executive chef/general manager for The Food Guy Catering in Lakewood, CO. He recently re-married and has three children.

’91

Henri Patey is chef-instructor at Oxnard College in Oxnard,

CA. He loved his CIA education so

interest in new foods,” Tim explains. Putting on his chef’s jacket and walking around the lunchrooms gives him a kind of “rock star” status

of his children are martial arts brown

with the students. He takes the time to solicit their opinions about the

belts and enjoy raising Rhode Island Red

food and their suggestions for change, and offers “cool” demos to try and

chickens.

get them to try new flavors and ingredients.

’93

Carrie L. Anderson is a chef for Amtrak in Chicago,

At a time when 90% of school food is pre-cooked, Tim is always looking for the balance between healthier options and the realities of his budget.

IL. Anthony Epp is manager barista for

He has done things like removing potato flakes from the kitchen shelves

Java GoGo in Kansas City, MO. Chris-

and replacing them with real potatoes that can be sautéed or mashed.

topher D. O’Neil is culinary manager

Sure, they come peeled and cut in cryovac packages, but since his staff

for Ruby Tuesdays in Union, NJ. He has recommended a number of new students to our degree programs.

doesn’t have the time or space to peel hundreds of potatoes every day, the small step forward is important.

Inspired by Michelle Obama’s Chefs Move to School project, he joined

Good Times,” its not hard to see why.

Ken Schaffer is a firefighter with the

cost-effective meals in the school setting, Tim loves his job. “You can

ment Specialists in Bridgewater, NJ. Both

sons. Before taking the position with Wilkes CC, he owned an artisan bread

Despite the obvious challenges of preparing healthy, nutritious, and

’95

Jonathan Hayward couldn’t

thousands of other chefs for the kickoff event in Washington, DC.

resist sending a picture of his

“It’s something I’ll never forget,” Tim declared. Clearly, many of the

CIA t-shirt enjoying the tropical breezes on the beach at the National Cahuta Park, Costa Rica (next page, top left).

initiatives hoped for by the movement are already on Tim’s radar as he currently helps his kitchen staff gain the training and skills they need to “up their game.” He offers opportunities for students to get “close”

’97

Matthew Andrae is owner/ baker of Andrae’s Bakery in

to their food sources and food options. And now, Tim is one of the seven chefs selected by the School Nutrition Association to participate

Amador City, CA. He just celebrated 10

in a roundtable, which includes New York City’s executive chef Jorge

years of business and opened his second

Collazo ’82, to set up guidelines to help the Chefs Move to School

location in Jackson, CA. Allison Benyo

mise en place no.57, September 2011

campaign maximize its impact.

It’s clear from everything he does that Tim is totally committed to showing the students in his district the right way to eat.

33

jonathan hayward ‘95 poses his cia t-shirt at a costa rica beach

is research and development pastry chef for Love and Quiches Desserts in Freeport, NY.

’98

Alan J. Pitotti is pastry chef/ owner of Dolce Patisserie

in Hellertown, PA. Scott Wehrle is a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service

’03

jocelyn dubuke ‘10 at the coliseum in rome

Lindsay A. Wolfe is in

Gourmet’s 20th Annual U.S. Pastry Com-

graduate school at Penn State

petition. In 2007, he won the grand prize

in University Park, PA, studying food

at the Salon of Culinary Art of the Société

science. She is also doing research in the

Culinaire Philanthropique.

’04

school foodservice manager

’07

Shaibu Abdulai is food

Burgess M. Brightman ’57

production coordinator at Rex

Richard T. Gagnon, ’58

Healthcare in Raleigh, NC. Nicholas

for the New York City Department of

Licata is chef at Jack’s Luxury Oyster

children. He also makes birthday, wed-

Education in Long Island City, NY. She

Bar, where he works closely with the

ding, and other special occasion cakes on

gave birth to her son Xavier in January

restaurant’s veteran sake sommelier.

the side.

2010. Apparently, he is a very picky eater

in Tappan, NY. He is married with two

and only likes gourmet food. Rob Van-

’01

Benjamin Miles is chef de cuisine for BLT Steak in

Charlotte, NC. Ben and his wife have two children, a son and a daughter. He is

Voorhis is chef/owner of All Smoked Up BBQ and Catering out of Danbury, CT.

’05

Merle A. Trott, Sr. ’59 Robert J. Kennedy ’61 Gerald Moore ’70 Michael Edward Spoerndle ’72

’08

Mackenzie T. Arrington

Robert Thomas Carlisle ’75

is line cook for Momofuku-

Walter J. Schuster ’75

Má Pêche. He is also a part-time on-air guest at QVC, where he promotes Maine

Albert A. Borally ’76

Emily Fay Ambron is night-

lobster. Mac is the 2009 Maine Lobster

Johnnie Jasper Johnson ’76

time line supervisor at the

Chef of the year. He tied for third place

David Saul Crecca ’77

Garden. Jeffrey M. Power is executive

Woodcliff Hotel and Spa in Rochester,

in the 2010 Great American Seafood

chef for the Dettera Restaurant and Wine

NY. She is married to the hotel’s execu-

Cook-off in New Orleans with his Atlantic

John W. Hawthorne, Jr. ’77

Bar in Ambler, PA.

tive sous chef and recently gave birth to

red crab cakes.

the founder of the Sterling Community

’02

Jesse Kraft was selected as a semi-finalist in the A Recipe

for a Better Tomorrow competition sponsored by Sodexo and held at the James Beard House. The event focused on sustainability, taste, and presentation of the recipes. Stella Bussey Parks is pastry chef at Table 301, an upscale French-inspired tapas restaurant in Lexington, KY. She documents her culinary adventures on Bravetart.com, and would love for you to visit her online.

CIA in 2029. Matthew Ryan Ianetta is executive sous chef for Marriott International in Bethesda, MD. He is proud to announce the recent birth of his son.

Eric A. Schappert is general manager for Metz Culinary Management in Melbourne, FL. Salvatore C. Settepani is chef/owner or Pasticceria Bruno, a restaurant and bakery in Staten Island, NY. Salvatore won the Food Network Sugar Adventure Competition in 2009. That same year, he won second place in Paris

John Matchuk ’77 Joseph M. Welsh ’77

their first child, who is set to attend the

34

J. Herbert Brennan ’49 Robert Charles Riedmiller, Jr. ’52

area of food chemistry.

Shinae McBean-Ortiz is

In Memoriam

’10

Ashley Magruder is pastry cook at Greens in San

Francisco, CA. Ryan McLoughlin took a picture of his classmate and girlfriend, Jocelyn Dubuke, while she read

Peter Daly Bradford ’79 Glenn M. Skinner ’79 Paul V. Kerrick ’80 Clifford W. Stewart ’91

mise en place in front of the Coliseum in

Leslie G. Crain ’92

Rome while on their CIA BPS Food,

Timothy James Costello ’96

Wine, and (Agri)culture course trip to

David G. Kadigishvili ’01

Italy (above, right).

Matthew S. Skelley ’02 Ryan E. Sitko ’09

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

Kids in The Kitchen

Contest results

OUR WINNER!

bl ake mitchell woods ‘94 mom: valerie

nicholas m arra aunt: kell y johnson ‘02

winner eric horne

So many of you sent us such terrific pictures of your children that it was almost impossible to choose the winner. Finally, we selected Eric Horne, son of Jade Horne ’99 and Brian Horne ’95. We were henry hill fontes gr andpa: william he nry

captivated by his face, his obvious love of baking, and his mise en place! The kids that received honorable mention were so cute we fontes ‘77

couldn’t keep them to ourselves, so here they are for you to enjoy.

To view the pictures that were submitted for consideration, visit

in endear a desk in ‘96 (conner) Desk cy an fr mom:

www.ciaalumninetwork.com.

ick Joseph freder erick ‘99 dad: jesse fred

maddy wilson aunt: angela wilson ‘95

de gianna pignagr an gr ande ‘04 dad: Antonio pigna

derek economico mom: sabrina kraus ‘00

sydney kerstein dad: kevin kerstein ‘89 adriana stanzion e parents: mario ‘99, katie (lander s)

‘99

The Culinary Institute of America Alumni Relations 1946 Campus Drive Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499

LAST CHANCE to Register for Alumni Homecoming 2011 Join us for two days of food, fun, and friends on

Friday and Saturday, October 14–15 Exciting events are scheduled: • “Thyme to Mingle” Reception • A Dinner to Remember

• Discussion and Demo with Dennis Chan, owner of Blue Bamboo

• Dancing and Dessert Reception with Karaoke Contest

• Baking Demo with Derek Corsino ‘09

• “Run for Your Knives” 5K Run/Walk

• “Down-Homecoming” BBQ Lunch

• Campus Update from President Tim Ryan ’77

• Campus Tours, and more!

Call the Alumni Relations Office today at 845-451-1401 or register online at www.ciaalumninetwork.com.

Homecoming

2011

Alumni Relations Admissions Advancement CIA Websites Career Services Conrad N. Hilton Library Professional Development 845-451-1401 1-800-285-4627 845-905-4275 ciachef.edu 845-451-1275 845-451-1270 1-800-888-7850 ciaalumninetwork.com ciagiving.org ciaprochef.com

General Information 845-452-9600