By Adam Weiner, CFSE

Chef Weiner suggests five steps to help students overcome their reticence toward baking.

Teaching baking in 50 minutes has some unique challenges. But it is more challenging to realize that we are teaching a generation who have not only grown up without seeing their parents bake from scratch, but have also grown up not seeing their grandparents bake from scratch. With Betty Crocker's first cake mix coming out in 1943, baking from scratch at home has become a lost art.

Fortunately, baking at home and in restaurants is making a comeback. However, we have to help our students overcome their shyness of baking. Here is a proposed 5-Step Program:

1. Start Simple and without Explanation. Divide your students into groups, give each group the same chocolate-chip-cookie recipe, and have them go at it. Stand back and don't get involved. Each group will produce a very different-looking and tasting cookie.

Courtesy of the American Lamb Board

Barbecuing lamb brings together a richly flavored, homegrown product and one of America’s specialty cooking methods. It also helps teach our students about cuts of lamb that they may not often cook.

The term barbecue is somewhat confusing. To many in the United States it refers to outdoor cooking in general. To others, it conjures up images of putting burgers or steaks on the grill. For culinarians and many of those who live in the south, barbecuing refers to a very specific cooking method where low, indirect heat is used to slow cook full-flavored and tougher cuts of meat. Often the heat comes from burning wood, so a rich smoky flavor is infused into the meat. Various cuts of lamb are ideal for this cooking method and yield up some really tasty treats.

By Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE

Colorado State University’s hospitality-management program wins the third-annual CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award.

From procurement to recycling and composting waste, from introductory classes to senior seminar, for the Colorado State University (CSU) Hospitality Management Program at Fort Collins, Colo., sustainability is always at the forefront of decision-making.

In recognition of those efforts, the program was presented with the 2011 CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award at the recent CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Providence, R.I. The award included $1,000 from Kendall College, free registration at the conference and a commemorative plaque.

Madison, Ala.-based Women Chefs & Restaurateurs is now accepting nominations for the 2011 Educator of the Year Award. Recipients will be honored during the Women Who Inspire Awards Gala on Sunday, November 6, during the 2011 WCR National Conference in Cambridge, Mass.

This award recognizes excellence in culinary education and honors a woman whose dedication to teaching is making a difference to the culinary community. Former recipients are Brigid Flanigan (2010), Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester; Peggy Ryan (2009), the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, Chicago; Louise Hoffman (2008), New York City College of Technology; and Eve Felder (2007), The Culinary Institute of America, Singapore.

Kristin Swaggart of Kennewick, Wash., a culinary-arts student at Walla Walla Community College, Walla Walla, Wash., was named winner of the American Culinary Federation’s (ACF) Be Like “Mike” contest and will shadow ACF National President Michael Ty, CEC, AAC, at the 2011 ACF National Convention, July 22-26, in Dallas. Airfare, accommodations and a full registration to the convention will be provided.

Swaggart was selected as winner of the Be Like “Mike” contest from four other semifinalists. Eligible applicants had to be either a first-, second- or third-year full-time culinary student enrolled in a degree-granting culinary program at a university or college, or an apprentice in an American Culinary Federation Education Foundation apprenticeship program; an ACF member; and at least 18 years old. Entrants had to submit a signed letter of endorsement from their department chair and/or school/apprenticeship director, as well as a 500-word essay describing why they aspire to be a culinary leader and how shadowing Ty at the 2011 ACF National Convention would help them reach their goal.

Karl Waitner, food and beverage supervisor at Little River Casino and Resort in Manistee, Mich., is the recipient of the 2011 Lamp of Knowledge for Outstanding Distance Learning Student award presented by the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI). Waitner received the award during the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) Summer Summit in Atlanta during the AH&LA Stars of the Industry Awards Luncheon on June 15.

Sodexo, the leader in Quality of Daily Life Solutions, has pledged a gift of $150,000 toward scholarships at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), San Antonio. The scholarships will provide additional educational opportunities for Hispanic students who aspire to be the foodservice leaders of tomorrow. Sodexo is also establishing a new paid externship for students at the college's San Antonio campus.

The newly established Sodexo Scholarship Fund will provide two scholarships a year for the next three years for qualified Hispanic students. One scholarship is for new students who enroll at the CIA San Antonio. The other will help current students demonstrating financial need, who maintain a minimum grade point average of 3.0. In addition, Sodexo is creating an externship beginning in 2012, for CIA San Antonio students to complete the required field experience to earn their associate degrees.

"Sodexo is proud to be able to assist talented individuals who otherwise might not be able to access the world-class education The Culinary Institute of America provides," says Lorna Donatone, chief operating officer and education president for Sodexo. "This is a win-win for the students and Sodexo, because our company will now have a wider and more diverse group of talented CIA graduates from which to recruit our future leaders."

Sodexo has a long relationship with the CIA, including participating in the college's quarterly career fairs to hire students for externships and management positions throughout the company. As part of this gift, CIA Career Services will work with Sodexo to create a customized employee recruitment plan.

Photo: Hispanic students have greater opportunities for career advancement in the foodservice industry with the help of Sodexo Scholarships at The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio. Courtesy of CIA/Keith Ferris.

The Idaho Potato Commission (IPC) is offering a unique, information-packed guide designed to make purchasing potatoes a walk in the park. Everything from storage to performance to a special section on sizing and packaging is covered. A Size Guide to America’s Favorite Potatoes also includes 10 actual photos of potatoes ranging in size from 5.3 to 16 ounces, which helps the operator order with ease. Take the guesswork out of ordering spuds with useful tips from the experts.

To obtain copies of this practical brochure, simply email the IPC at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., include “Size Guide” in the subject line and your mailing address in the text. You may request up to five copies.

For more information about America’s favorite potato, visit www.idahopotato.com or for a non-traditional spin on spuds, visit www.spudtacular.com.

The Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) has awarded its Endorsement Program seal to a series of lesson plans designed for foodservice education provided by the Irvine, Calif.-based Hass Avocado Board.

The Board’s resources instructing on proper handling of and cooking and baking with Hass Avocados, as well as applying sound nutrition principles to concept and menu development, provide comprehensive training developed by several experts representing The Culinary Institute of America, the Culinary Institute of Charleston and the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts. Five distinct modules make up the series:

Olson Communications, a full-service agency that specializes in delivering innovative marketing-communication strategy to its portfolio of select food-industry clients, announces the winning recipients of its fourth-annual Chefs of Tomorrow™ grant program for culinary educators.

Dana Cox, a chef instructor at the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts at 900 N. North Branch Street, was selected among greater Chicago postsecondary culinary educators to receive a $1,500 grant from Olson Communications’ Chefs of Tomorrow™ initiative based on juried review of her application and essay.  Cox will use the grant to visit heirloom-grain farms in Illinois and South Carolina as research for a book she’s writing on her 12-month experiment of eating only foods grown on family farms. (She currently is eight months into her endeavor.)