The 28th National Beef Cook-Off will come to California in late September, during the peak of the area’s beautiful harvest season to host both a Chef/Media Challenge (as well as a home cook competition). Professional restaurant chefs working in the San Francisco Bay area and Sacramento metropolitan area counties are asked to submit their original, newly developed beef dish that best portrays “Sonoma-Style” cooking. Recipes should yield 24 servings. Six professional restaurant chef finalists will be selected from the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento counties to compete on Sept. 21 when they will prepare and present their original “Best of Beef” dish in a private Chef/Media Team Challenge, for prizes totaling approximately $5,000. One grand prize winner will receive one paid registration and trip to the December Texas A&M University “Beef 101 Seminar”; one People’s Choice Award winner will receive one paid registration to the 2009 Culinary Institute of America’s Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival; and four first place winners will each receive $500 in cash prizes.
The National Beef Cook-Off requires entrants to enter recipes online at www.beefcookoff.org, or by postal mail to: National Beef Cook-Off Entries, ANCW, P.O. Box 3881, Englewood, CO 80155 by March 31. Mailed entries must be postmarked no later than March 31 and received on or before midnight April 7.
FSB Holdings Inc. is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Clough as president of Pennant Foods. Clough has more than twenty years of management experience in the food industry, working across multiple channels including Foodservice, In-Store Bakery, Industrial and Retail. He most recently led the foodservice division of Menu Inspirations, a subsidiary of H.J. Heinz, focusing on gourmet desserts and appetizers. Prior to Heinz, he was general manager of ConAgra Foodservice – Frozen & Shelf Stable, where he was honored with the Innovator Award and Board of Directors Achievement Awards in several performance and financial categories.
The Animal Welfare Institute and the Animal Welfare Approved program have announced the first round of Good Husbandry Grants. Thirty-four recipients representing 17 states have been awarded grants ranging from $500 to $8,549 during this inaugural round. This initiative is designed to support farmers and processors by funding innovative projects with the greatest potential impact for improving the welfare of farm animals.
The Animal Welfare Approved program and food label promote the well-being of animals and the sustainability of humane family farms, uniting conscientious consumers with farmers who raise their animals with compassion. Animal Welfare Approved certifies independent family farmers who raise their animals with compassion and allows these farms to use the seal on their products. This accreditation was recently endorsed by the World Society for the Protection of Animals as having the most stringent animal welfare standards of any third-party certifier.
Examples of projects funded include development and expansion of pasture-based poultry operations, assembly of a Mobile Processing Unit (MPU) in North Carolina that will be shared among a group of Animal Welfare Approved farmers, a low-stress loading facility in Nebraska for pig farmers that will be shared by a network of pig farmers, and shelters for pastured pigs and laying hens.
2008 Animal Welfare Approved Good Husbandry Grant Recipients:
- B&B Farms, East Brinnell, Iowa
- Becker Lane Organic Farm, Dyersville, Iowa
- Bellecreek Farm, Rosharon, Texas
- Breezy Oaks Farm, Mebane, N.C.
- Cane Creek Farm, Snow Camp, N.C.
- Catalpa Farm, Columbia City, Ind.
- Cedar Meadow Farm, Ledyard, Conn.
- Chaudhry Halal Meats, Siler City, N.C.
- Cota Farms, Cardington, Ohio
- D&A Williams Farms, Autryville, N.C.
- Dogwood Nursery Farms, Maple Hill, N.C.
- Doolittle Farm, Shoreham, Vt.
- Eastern Plains Natural Food Co-op, Bennett, Colo.
- Fowl Attitude Farm, Cedar Grove, N.C.
- Fruitland American Meat LLC, Jackson, Mo.
- Hasselmann Family Farms, Milledgeville, Ill.
- High Country Meats, Raton, N.M.
- Howe Farms, Thurman, Iowa
- Independent Small Animal Meat Processors Association, Fairview, N.C.
- Laughlin Ranch, Crawford, Neb.
- Lester J. Huls, Carthage, Ill.
- Midsummer Farm, Warwick, N.Y.
- O'Brien Farms, Tilden, Neb.
- Parker Farms, Hurdle Mills, N.C.
- Perry Farms, Troutman, N.C.
- Petersen Farms, Decatur, Mich.
- S&L Family Farm, Louisburg, N.C.
- Stone and Thistle Farm, East Meredith, N.Y.
- Thundering Hooves Ranch, Walla Walla, Wash.
- Upstate Farmers Alliance, Pauline, S.C.
- Valley End Farm, Santa Rosa, Calif.
- Veritas Farms, New Paltz, N.Y.
- Wild Turkey Farms, Salisbury, N.C.
Athens Foodservice provides step-by-step guidance with a series of new recipe videos, along with chef Dino Lubbat of Dinotto Ristorante in Chicago, available at www.athens.com/trade/videou.aspx.
The videos demonstrate how to make:
- Hurricane Shrimp with kataifi, also known as shredded fillo dough, with shrimp and served with a spicy mango sauce
- Salmon Fillo Rolls with Ready-To Go Fillo Dough to create a light and fresh entrée
- Mini Fillo Shell Cream Cheese Hors d'oeuvres with corn, black bean, spinach and tomato fillo shells
- Tiramisù-filled Mini Fillo Shell recipe with chocolate and graham mini shells
"In the foodservice industry, it is imperative that operators stay ahead of trends," Lubbat said in a press release. "The foodservice business is fast-paced, and operators are always looking for an advantage. These videos serve as a great resource for busy chefs."
The 2009 Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI) Educators Summit is just around the corner, and there is still time to register! The FENI Summit will be held in Las Vegas Feb. 14 to 17 at the Tuscany Suites & Casino. This year, the offerings include more than 40 Master Classes, educational roundtables and speakers, as well as special events and awards ceremonies for poster board winners and the Educators of the Year. FENI's host school, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts—Las Vegas, offers a spacious facility with modern labs and state-of-the-art equipment. Please visit www.vegasculinary.com to discover more about our host school. Click here to download the 2009 FENI Summit Agenda and Registration Form, or visit www.fenisummit.com.
If your focus is hospitality education, you won't want to miss the inaugural Hospitality Educators Leadership & Development Conference. Continued training and leadership technique improvements are requisite for maintaining top performance in the hospitality field. Held in conjunction with the FENI Summit, this conference will help you to gain fresh ideas for achieving a balance of excellence and respect as a leader within your group. The Hospitality Educators Leadership & Development Conference is in cooperation with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and other leading hospitality-training programs and service providers industrywide. Click here for the registration form.
Share Our Strength has launched a new campaign to raise funds to help end childhood hunger. "Operation No Kid Hungry" responds to President-elect Barak Obama's call to action to end childhood hunger by 2015.
Share Our Strength has partnered with AT&T to offer two great ways that you can support and participate in "Operation No Kid Hungry":
- Donate by text: Simply text "SHARE" to 20222 on your mobile phone and donate $5 to our fight to end childhood hunger in America. AT&T will match all text donations up to $100,000. Find out more here.
- Hold a food drive: Beginning Jan. 19, a national day of community service, help feed those in need by holding your own community food drive at your restaurant. Visit www.strength.org to find a food bank and a list of the most needed nutritious foods.
For more information about "Operation No Kid Hungry" and how you can help end childhood hunger, visit Share Our Strength's Web site.
The 2009 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel Show will deliver a year's worth of business solutions in one place, including professional development opportunities focused on helping restaurant and foodservice operators increase profitability and productivity. Held May 16 to 19 at McCormick Place in Chicago, NRA Show 2009 will feature more than 65 free education sessions led by recognized industry experts on a range of topics including menu trends, environmental sustainability, workforce development and profit-building.
Highlights of this year's NRA Show education sessions include:
- Join the Green Restaurant Revolution: Learn proven "green" practices from industry leaders Ted Turner and George McKerrow, founders of Ted's Montana Grill. Turner and McKerrow will engage attendees in a candid discussion about their top-down initiative creating a green and sustainable restaurant chain. This spirited conversation will be moderated by Chris Koetke, Dean of The School of Culinary Arts, Kendall College.
- How To Recession-Proof Your Business: Discover results-oriented strategies to ensure your business remains relevant in this changing economic environment. Bryan Dodge, an expert in the field of management and leadership in restaurant operations, will help attendees understand how passion, enthusiasm, positivity and focus all play a part to maintain a competitive edge and grow profits.
- How to Stand Out in a Tough Economy: Drive traffic to your operation. Representatives from National Restaurant Association partner Fishbowl Marketing will lead a panel discussion on how restaurants can succeed even in this downturn. The session will cover innovative strategies to adapt to this economic environment, including monitoring and adjusting budgets, and allocating funds to create marketing buzz can improve business.
- Crush The Box: Creative Leadership Ideas for Developing Managers: Improve your bottom line with engaged and effective managers. John Isbell, president of CHART (Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers) and director of training and development for IHOP Corp., will share insights on how to develop visionary managers to lead motivated teams.
- On the Menu: What’s Hot, What’s Not, and What’s Next: Create patron-pleasing menus for any restaurant. Nancy Kruse, foodservice trends expert and president of The Kruse Co., will share the food, beverage and restaurant concept insights needed to successfully create innovative, on-trend menus.
- Sodium and the Healthy Plate: Gain perspective on the challenges and opportunities related to the issue of sodium. Sodium reduction is a major industry hot topic and will continue to be at the forefront of nutrition issues in 2009. Moderated by Shelia Cohn Weiss, RD, director of nutrition policy, National Restaurant Association, this panel includes the following people, who will provide insights foodservice operators need to know about sodium: James M. Galloway, Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, U.S. Public Health Service, regional health administrator, Region V; Robert Earl, MPH, RD, vice president of science policy, nutrition and health, Grocery Manufacturers Association; Pam Smith, RD, consultant, Shaping America's Health; and Michelle Reinholm, International Food Information Council.
For a full schedule of sessions, visit www.restaurant.org/show. In addition, a separate education program focused on beverage alcohol will be featured in the 2009 International Wine, Spirits & Beer Event, held in conjunction with the NRA Show May 17 and 18; see www.winespiritsbeer.org for scheduling.
The Holy Rosary Soup Kitchen in Port Chester, N.Y., will receive more than $40,000 in new, eco-friendly kitchen equipment from the FoodServiceWarehouse.com Certified Green Commercial Kitchen Giveaway.
The Holy Rosary Soup Kitchen recently made going green a priority and, as part of its commitment, entered the Certified Green Commercial Kitchen Giveaway. The online giveaway was part of the August launch of the FoodServiceWarehouse.com Certified Green Commercial Kitchen Program, a program aimed at saving money and reducing environmental impact through energy efficiency, water conservation and waste reduction.
In 2008, the Holy Rosary Soup Kitchen served more than 42,000 meals, 10,000 more meals than in 2007. Until now, the food has been served on paper and Styrofoam, but with a new eco-friendly dishwasher, Holy Rosary will be able to cut back on trash and reduce its environment impact by using ceramic plates and metal cutlery. The new kitchen equipment will also create more jobs for those employed to run it.
Mighty Leaf Tea, the originator of artisan-blended whole leaf teas, has announced an exclusive partnership with the James Beard Foundation, the highly regarded nonprofit organization whose mission is to celebrate, preserve and nurture America's culinary heritage. Mighty Leaf Tea will serve as the official tea provider for the James Beard Foundation and the renowned James Beard House. This relationship will be an integral part of the Mighty Leaf Tea Foundation, which works with artisans around the world to contribute to their success within their specialized craft.
The James Beard Foundation has specially selected Mighty Leaf Tea as one of its exclusive House Purveyors, which serves to provide product to chefs cooking at the Beard House. In turn, Mighty Leaf Tea will serve its collection of premium whole leaf teas at events and special programming at the James Beard House for the 2009. At the heart of this new partnership is an overarching goal to support the growth of the culinary arts in communities throughout the United States.
Mighty Leaf Tea first embarked on its partnership with the James Beard Foundation in November 2008 with the "Dumplings & Dynasties" fund-raising dinner and auction. At the event, Mighty Leaf's premium blends were introduced to the James Beard Foundation's friends and donors. Mighty Leaf Tea will continue to work closely with the James Beard Foundation to provide tea to noted chefs affiliated with many of the finest restaurants and top-rated hotels in the country.
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Chef's Stirrings is the official blog of Chef Magazine, the industry publication for restaurant and foodservice professionals. The blog offers culinary news and online exclusives from the editors ofChef.
