Ronald DeSantis of Yale University Named ACF Certification Commission Chair

Certified Master Chef® (CMC®) Ronald DeSantis, AAC®, CHE, of Staatsburg, N.Y., began his two-year term as chair of the American Culinary Federation, Inc. (ACF) Certification Commission at the group’s bi-annual meeting in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 13-14. DeSantis, director of culinary excellence and quality assurance for Yale Dining at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., says he and the commission’s 16 other current members will focus on increasing the awareness and credibility of ACF certification.

“My vision for the commission is to develop and project the message of certification relevance beyond ACF,” DeSantis said. “Members know certification’s value and importance. We need to make the dining public and foodservice employers aware of the value of certified chefs.”

ACF certification is based on education, experience and completion of official coursework and exams. ACF certification credentials distinguish culinary professionals as leaders in the culinary field, and demonstrate skill and expertise to peers and potential employers. Currently, more than 11,500 professionals hold ACF certification.

Since its inception in 2007, the ACF Certification Commission has been developing, implementing and monitoring a validated process of globally recognized certifications based on skills, knowledge, integrity and equality through an achievable process for all culinary professionals. The commission was formed in order to meet the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accreditation standards to obtain accreditation from the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). In August 2011, ACF’s Certificated Executive Chef® (CEC®) designation was accredited, making it the first and only culinary credential accredited by ICE. The commission is now in the process of accrediting its Certified Sous Chef™ (CSC™) designation and will seek accreditation for its Certified Executive Pastry Chef® (CEPC®) designation in 2013.

The Certification Commission comprises professionals with experience in culinary, media, marketing, management, education and government. Commission members represent many different levels of ACF certificants. In addition to DeSantis, Certification Commission members are:

• Past chair Derek Spendlove, CEPC®, CCE®, AAC®, baking and pastry chair, Sullivan University, Louisville, Ky.
• Chair-elect Donald Dickinson, CEC®, CCA®, AAC®, culinary-division director, Institute of Technology, Citrus Heights, Calif.
• Alex Askew, president, Black Culinarian Alliance, North Babylon, N.Y.
• Kirk Bachmann, CEC®, AAC®, president, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Chicago, Chicago
• Brad Barnes, CMC®, CCA®, AAC®, senior director, culinary education, The Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, N.Y.
• Chief Warrant Officer 4 (CW4) Russell Campbell, CEC®, chief, Advanced Food Service Training Division, U.S. Army, Fort Lee, Va.
• Wendy Chan, president, Definity Marketing, New York
• Karl Guggenmos, AAC®, university dean of culinary education, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.
• Erica Lattimore, CC®, banquet chef, Cincinnati Marriott North, West Chester, Ohio
• Jeanette Scarcella, culinary relations/program officer, Johnson & Wales University, Providence, R.I.
• Leonard Scranton, CEC®, CCA®, region vice president, Morrison Management Specialists, Atlanta
• Renee Shortlidge, CSC™, purchasing coordinator, Johnson County Community College, Olathe, Kan.
• Travis Smith, CEC®, CCA®, AAC®, executive chef and educator, The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Colorado, Denver
• Nick Versteeg, producer/director, DV Media/DVCuisine, Duncan, British Columbia, Canada
• B.J. Whitmore, CEC®, chef manager, Sodexo Campus Division, Hospers, Iowa
• Grace Yek, CCC®, assistant professor/chef-instructor, University of Cincinnati/Midwest Culinary Institute, Cincinnati

At Yale University, DeSantis provides leadership for all facets of culinary-concept design, development of innovative menus and cuisine and training of a culinary team. Prior to joining the staff in November 2011, he worked at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), Hyde Park, N.Y., as director of CIA Consulting, as director of education services and as a professor in the culinary-arts department. DeSantis is a 1981 CIA alumnus. He earned a Basic Food Service Certificate from the U.S. Marine Corps and a master’s in business administration (MBA) from Empire State College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He has held positions in restaurant kitchens worldwide, including chief cook for the U.S. Marines, Okinawa, Japan; banquet cook, The Ritz-Carlton, Chicago; commis de cuisine, The Grand Hotel Continental, Munich, Germany; chef de partie, Michels’ Küche Restaurant, Bamberg, Germany; and chef de cuisine, Restaurant Böttingerhaus, Bamberg. He is a member of Mid Hudson Culinary Association.

Learn more about ACF’s certification program and the value of certification by viewing a video available at www.acfchefs.org/Certification-Accreditation.

Satisfy Resolutions with Clear Springs Rainbow Trout

In 2012, why not resolve to look for new ways to feature rainbow trout on your menu? After all, your customers are looking for healthier alternatives, and Clear Springs® Rainbow Trout features heart-healthy omega 3’s, lean protein, zero grams trans fats and has a mild, nutty flavor—a perfect addition, giving your menu a little splash.
Effortless Enjoyment
Serving seafood has never been simpler for you! Our natural and butterfly rainbow trout fillets feature our exclusive Clear•Cuts® 100% boneless guarantee—saving you valuable preparation time and giving your customers a more enjoyable experience.

Rainbow trout is very versatile in that it pairs well with many flavor profiles. The possibilities are endless—try with a variety of sauces and toppings from chutneys to salsas as well as served breaded or seasoned. Grilled, baked, sautéed poached or boiled, rainbow trout is as flexible as it is delicious.
Swimming in Popularity
Rainbow trout is gaining ground as a relevant seafood option. Just look around the country to discover how top chefs are creatively preparing rainbow trout.

Consider The Dogwood in Baltimore, where rainbow trout is menued with a four-grain pilaf and a side of Tuscan-style roasted cauliflower with sweet garlic, crusty bread, anchovies and Parmesan. At the Basil Leaf Café in Chicago, rainbow trout is featured with baby spinach, wild mushrooms and roasted new potatoes. And the Apache Grill in Traverse City, Michigan, prepares fillets topped with a delicious sauce of white wine, peppers, onions and feta cheese. Or try rainbow trout in these three applications from Brennan’s in New Orleans: Trout Kottwitz, featuring a filet sautéed with sliced artichoke bottoms and fresh mushrooms topped with lemon butter sauce; Trout Amandine with almond slices, pan sautéed with brown butter and paired with haricot verts; and finally, Trout Pecan, fresh trout sautéed and topped with roasted pecans and pecan butter.
Check out more great Clear Springs Rainbow Trout recipes at www.clearsprings.com/recipes.

The Jan/Feb Issue of Chef Digital is Now Available

Welcome to Chef Magazine's January/February Digital Edition. 
    
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Mintel: Five Foodservice Trends that Will Shape Restaurant Menus in 2012

Competition in the foodservice industry is always fierce, and restaurant chains are constantly jockeying for business, money and attention in an overcrowded marketplace. In 2012, however, five trends outlined by Mintel Menu Insights will shape how operators appeal to their customers with regional and imported menu options, double-sided menus, customization and time-intensive preparation methods.

American regionalism. Consumers are not only more aware of global cuisine, they are also more aware and interested in the regional specialties that define American cuisine. Whether it’s Kansas City or Memphis barbecue, New England chowder or Low Country grits, more consumers and restaurants are looking at the regions and cities in the United States to identify the “Best of” cuisine.

Baby-back ribs seasoned with a combination of rich coffee and warm spices and topped with spicy Mexican-inspired BBQ sauce, from Kevan Vetter, executive chef for McCormick For Chefs, speaks to the demand among consumers for regional specialties that define American cuisine.

Double-sided menus. It’s unlikely that consumers are going to start demanding absolutely healthy menus in the near future and even less likely that restaurants are going to solely list these absolutely healthy options. However, consumers want choices, and the Double Sided Menu trend illustrates that choice. Menus will continue to feature widely indulgent options, but will be balanced with healthier, better-for-you options. Additionally, this goes beyond healthy and indulgent to include premium and value pricing. Operators understand it’s not either/or, it’s both, so we’ll continue to see both high-priced and low-priced options on the same menu.

Consumer control. Consumers expect that their voice will be heard and that their wants and needs will be met. And the surest way to listen to the customer and ensure their needs are met is to give them the ability to control their dining experience. Customized ordering systems will continue to flourish, as will greater flexibility in menu design.

Slow it down. Quick-service restaurants are able to drive margins through their standardized efficiencies, but more and more we are seeing fast-food restaurants return to more time-intensive preparation methods. As such, items described as “handmade” or “home style” are popping up on restaurant menus as consumers recognize that they want more from their dining experience than efficiency.

Importing ideas. For many restaurant chains, growth lies elsewhere, in international markets. And for those companies already with an international presence, menu concepts and product testing is taking place overseas. From there, good ideas are making their way to the U.S. market, as was the case with McDonald’s recent McBites, which launched in Australia. Given the importance of international markets for growth, this is one trend that will continue to grow beyond this year.

Technomic: 7 Leading Restaurant Trends for 2012

Just as the nation’s economic forecast includes mixed signals, restaurants across the United States face a varied landscape of expected trends in 2012. Chicago-based Technomic, a foodservice research and consulting firm, sees these seven developments making news in the coming year:

1. Consumers Seek a Twist on the Familiar. Shell-shocked consumers are in no mood to take risks, but novel flavors still tingle their taste buds. Look for comfort foods with a twist (gourmet, ethnic, artisan, wood-fired) as well as innovation in familiar formats (sandwiches, wraps, pizza, pasta) rather than breakout items taken from less-familiar global cuisines.

2. Commodities Costs Drive Rustic Fare Made in-House. Commodity costs are rising, labor costs hold steady and diners demand rustic fare, the simple preparations of fresh ingredients. Result: Operators will curtail purchases of value-added items in favor of cheaper cuts, beans, grains and produce that require more back-of-house prep to transform into honest, homestyle food.

Giving comfort foods a twist, such as crispy calamari transformed into an Asian noodle bowl, also delivers ethnic innovation in a familiar format. Courtesy King & Prince Seafood

3. The Next Steps in Local Sourcing. The rising use of seasonal and local items suits the less-is-more culinary trend. To facilitate flexible purchasing, growers, manufacturers, distributors and operators continue to work toward a more transparent, safe and efficient supply chain, streamlining workflow, recording every step and reducing waste.

4. Social Networking Influence Accelerates. Consumers increasingly trust friends and peers more than professional marketers. They’re taking control of social media to share their restaurant experiences and opinions with the public (via review sites such as OpenTable), with their own circles (via Facebook and Foursquare) or both (via Twitter). This helps some restaurants rocket to popularity and leaves others quiet.

5. Customers Want More Information. Consumers want transparency—looking for disclosure of everything from calories and allergens on menus to labor and local-sourcing practices. A small but growing number are serious about nutrition, labeling, sustainability and community involvement, and they are using such knowledge to make purchasing decisions.

6. Operators Try to Resist Discounting. The foodservice industry will continue to operate in a take-share environment, but discounting is cutting to the bone. To counter daily deals and other forms of discounting, operators turn to creative, sometimes in-the-moment, methods to reward their best customers, such as a free dessert out of the blue.

7. Brands Expand through Flexible Formats. Format flexibility is required as restaurants cater to new around-the-clock dayparts, switch gears from fast-casual by day to full-service at night, or transform their kitchens into catering commissaries during slow times. This flexibility is also evidenced in streamlined, high-efficiency, smaller-footprint units and brand extensions.

Warshaw of Etc. Steakhouse Wins Kosherfest 2011 Culinary Competition

Chef Seth Warshaw, owner of Etc. Steakhouse in Teaneck, N.J., won this year’s “Iron Chef”-style culinary competition at Kosherfest—the two-day trade show for everything kosher that attracted approximately 6,000 people to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, November 8-9.

Three chefs at top kosher restaurants in the New York metropolitan area, which also included Chef Moshe Wendel of Pardes Restaurant in Brooklyn and Chef Craig Solomon of Ariel’s in Englewood, N.J., were given 45 minutes to cook, plate and present a kosher dish that featured the mystery ingredient: boneless duck breast. Warshaw’s winning entrée, which earned him a $1,000 cash prize, included seared duck breast breaded with grapefruit and pomegranate, and red-onion salad with lime honey and avocado purée.

Judging the competition, which was based on taste, presentation and creativity, were Jack Silberstein, director of culinary and business operations at Jack’s Gourmet; Philippe Kaemmerle, lead pastry chef at The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts in Brooklyn; and Chaim Szmidt, editor-in-chief of The Kosher Scene. The competition was produced in partnership with The Center for Kosher Culinary Arts, which, in addition to hands-on cooking and baking classes for men, women and children, offers on-site demonstrations, private cooking lessons, small catered affairs and personal-chef work (www.kosherculinaryarts.com).

Kosherfest 2012 will be held November 13-14 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center with new events, programs and seminars. Get updates at www.kosherfest.com.

ACF and Hidden Valley Original Ranch Partner in Support of Chefs Move to Schools

Schools across the country are improving school lunches by adding more healthful ingredients such as whole grains, low-fat dairy and vegetables with low-fat ranch dip. Chefs are at the helm of the effort to bring change through their involvement in First Lady Michelle Obama’s Chefs Move to Schools program. Now, the American Culinary Federation (ACF) is teaming up with the makers of Hidden Valley® Original Ranch® Dressing to raise funds to support ACF’s involvement in the program.

With help from celebrity cooking personality Cat Cora, ACF and the makers of Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressing are hosting Lunch Break for Schools, a national fundraising event to benefit ACF’s involvement in the Chefs Move to Schools program. From February 27 to March 2, 2012, chefs such as Cora will create and sell delicious, healthy lunches, with all proceeds going to ACF to create resources for nutrition educational programs at schools.

 

Cora

“Since creating the best flavors using whole foods is at the heart of what we do, chefs can help break down the barriers kids have with certain foods—like vegetables—and teach them that nutritious foods can taste amazing and be fun,” said Cora. “With Lunch Break for Schools, some of America’s best chefs will create healthy lunches that will not only be supporting an important program like Chefs Move to Schools, but also show that good food can taste great, too.”

For the fundraiser, chefs will develop a culinary spin on classic school lunches using the sample lunch menu created by the White House last year as a framework. The chefs’ gourmet menus will include plenty of the better-for-you options too often lacking in today’s school lunches. Cora, who attended the Chefs Move to Schools kickoff at the White House in June 2010 and works with a school in Santa Barbara, Calif., will serve as the fundraiser’s national spokesperson and executive chef.
 
The commitment from the makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings is part of the brand’s Love Your Veggies™ nutrition-education campaign. Since launching the campaign in 2006, they have donated more than $1 million to nutrition-education programs.

This year, in addition to the money raised through the fundraiser, Hidden Valley will donate $150,000 to ACF’s Chef & Child Foundation to create curriculum, tools and other resources needed to help chefs working in schools.

“Our chefs have been a key part of the Chefs Move to Schools program since the day First Lady Michelle Obama announced it on the White House lawn,” said Michael Ty, CEC, AAC, ACF national president. “This fundraiser will help us enlist more chefs and secure more resources to educate kids about food and nutrition.”

Chefs are invited to sign up to participate in the fundraiser now through January 15, 2012, by visiting www.acfchefs.org/lunchbreakforschools.