Students dazzled editors representing some of the food industry’s most prominent publications at the 2011 Chefs of Tomorrow™ media dinner held at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Washington in Arlington, Va., on November 9 during the International Foodservice Editorial Council (IFEC) Conference.

The elegant, multicourse dinner in the school’s public fine-dining restaurant, Culinaire, featured innovative use of products from companies represented by Chicago-based Olson Communications, a full-service agency that specializes in delivering innovative marketing-communication strategy to its portfolio of select food-industry clients.

The Culinary Institute of America has announced the creation of the role of provost at the CIA. As the senior academic administrator of the college, the provost is vested with oversight of education, research, accreditation, continuing education and food and beverage operations at all CIA campuses. The provost will report to Dr. Tim Ryan, president of the CIA.

In making this announcement, Ryan also announced that Mark Erickson, CMC, vice president-dean of culinary education at the CIA, will take on this new role effective January 1, 2012. An honors graduate of the CIA Class of 1977, Erickson also holds a bachelor of science degree in restaurant & hotel management from the University of New Haven and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Marist College. Erickson was a member of the gold-medal-winning United States Culinary Olympic Teams in 1980, 1984 and 1988, and part of the U.S. team that won the 1985 Culinary World Cup.

Kendall College School of Culinary Arts student Tayler Moore, a 20-year old sophomore pursuing his bachelor’s degree in culinary arts, won an all-expenses-paid weeklong trip to experience the foods and flavors of Taiwan in the first cookoff of its kind at Kendall College on Dec. 12. The competition, hosted by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Chicago, highlighted the official launch of Taiwan’s Government Information Office’s multilingual Web site (http://taiwanfoodculture.net) celebrating Taiwan’s diverse foodways. Moore’s winning dish featured a chicken thigh fabricated to resemble a lollipop.

The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) proudly announced last autumn that NRAEF ProStart alumna Jazmin Eck was awarded a full scholarship to California Culinary Academy in San Francisco, where she planned to begin her education in September. Eck was chosen for the scholarship while attending the 25th Annual NRAEF Salute to Excellence awards held on May 21, 2011, in Chicago.

“The ProStart program unites industry and the classroom to create life-changing opportunities for students,” said Lynette McKee, executive director of the NRAEF. “This was brought to life at Salute to Excellence when Jazmin networked with key industry leadership from across the country and received this incredible opportunity to further her education and career development with our partners at Le Cordon Bleu.”

High-school students seeking assistance with the rising cost of culinary school are in luck. The American Academy of Chefs (AAC), the honor society of the American Culinary Federation (ACF), the nation’s largest professional chefs organization, and The Chefs Academy (TCA), an ACFEF-accredited program in Indianapolis, are pleased to announce four new scholarships available for students accepted to TCA, totaling $5,000 over four years.

“ACF is thrilled to be working with TCA to provide scholarships that will help mold tomorrow’s culinary leaders,” said Rajeev Patgaonkar, CEC, AAC, ACFEF AAC Scholarship Committee chair. “This partnership shows that TCA is dedicated to helping students achieve their goals. We hope that high school students will look into the scholarship requirements and submit their applications by the April 30 deadline.”

The Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) is pleased to award its Endorsement Program seal to the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) Foodservice Toolkit, a comprehensive teaching resource.

With the Idaho Potato Commission Foodservice Toolkit, foodservice educators and their students can explore how Idaho® potatoes win culinary accolades for performance and consistency and why leading chefs across the country insist on the “Grown in Idaho®” brand. Contents include Idaho potato history and propagation; scientific distinctions and specification/purchasing basics; potato-cooking chemistry and problem solving; preparation how-to and typical cooking yields; “Potato 101” knife and cutting skills; and a cost-per-serving calculator.