Puréed fruits and vegetables have long been produced by hand by classically trained chefs as a staple kitchen ingredient. When European-prepared purées were first introduced in America’s professional kitchens in the late 1970’s, chefs readily integrated them into their cooking.

Today, chefs and bartenders constantly seek innovative ways to keep costs low while still offering top quality. Most professional kitchens and bars simply cannot afford the added time and cost associated with keeping hand-made purées in stock year-round because of fluctuations in produce availability, quality and price.

Sample The Perfect Purée’s robust flavor line-up of fruit purées, concentrates, zests and blends and find out why it's a staple ingredients for chefs and bartenders, bakers, brewers and confectioners nationwide. Introduce new flavors, increase efficiency or find a favorite flavor out of season. Teachers, students and foodservice professionals can curate a complimentary sample box of flavors any time and find inspiration at The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley.

A Great Speaker Lineup

CAFE is proud to be producing the 8th annual Deans and Directors Retreat, March 13-15, 2020, in New Orleans.

Each week prior to the event we will highlight different speakers that we are fortunate to be working with for this Retreat.

The Retreat is limited to 50 attendees, so don’t hesitate to sign up: either request to be invoiced or use your credit card. Hotel location is at the Riverside and rooms are limited. Click here for registration.

Poppy Tooker, Culinary Activist/Radio/TV Host will be one of the headliners at the Retreat

She’s a cultural ambassador on a mission. In fact, you can call it destiny. “It has been my lifelong dream to bring my great-grandmother’s favorite saying to life. When I was a little girl, she would never tell me to clean my plate. Instead, she’d say ‘Poppy, eat it to save it!’” This became her life’s mantra and fueled her desire to work as a culinary activist promoting and preserving food culture and history, while safeguarding the planet’s bio-diversity. Poppy brought her motto to life through a television pilot, Eat It to Save It! Poppy founded the Slow Food New Orleans Chapter in 1999 creating one of the first 10 chapters in the United States. She was selected to serve as an International Governor with the movement. Following Hurricane Katrina, Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini awarded Poppy with its first ever leadership award.

Following Hurricane Katrina, Poppy was recognized by the Times Picayune as a “Hero of the Storm”, a story which was nationally told on the Weather Channel. In 2012, Southern Living magazine named Poppy a “Hero of the New South” for her work in foodways. The International Association of Cooking Professionals recognized Poppy’s efforts in April 2008, with their first ever Community Service Award.

Important Links

CAFE Membership
Deans and Directors Retreat, 2020
Annual CAFE Leadership Conference, 2020
October issue of Gold Medal Classroom
Previous week’s updates
Industry Resources Available
CAFEvision
Subscription to GMC (free)
Journal for Culinary Education Best Practices (members only)
Photos from CAFE Events

IMPORTANT DATES

Deans and Directors Retreat
“A Case for Change”
March 13-15, 2020, New Orleans

16th Annual CAFE Leadership Conference
“Innovations and Inspirations”
June 17-19, 2020, Portland, Maine