Most Americans consume 10 times more salt than needed each day, and less than 10 percent of the U.S. population meets the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) suggested nine to 12 servings of daily fruits and vegetables. Learn more about healthful cooking techniques and easy ways to cut back on the amount of fat and salt used in your dishes in this month's issue of "Culinary Nutrition News," provided by the American Culinary Federation (ACF) Chef & Child Foundation and Clemson University at www.acfchefs.org/CNN.
Also included in this month's article is a list of suggested fat substitutions, such as replacing sour cream with plain low-fat yogurt or vegetable oil with applesauce. In addition, authors describe how to "cook by color" and how to make nutritious meals appeal to children.
The American Culinary Federation's Chef & Child Foundation and Clemson University have partnered to offer a series of monthly "Culinary Nutrition News" articles. Written by experts, articles will bridge the nutrition gap for chefs by providing up-to-date research information. Articles are free, and are posted on ACF's Web site, www.acfchefs.org/CNN, the first Monday of each month.
The National Restaurant Association announced the election of its new officers during the Association's September Board meeting in the nation's capital. Michael Gibbons, president and CEO of Mainstreet Ventures Inc., was elected chairman of the Board of Directors. Sally Smith, president and chief executive officer of Buffalo Wild Wings Inc., was elected vice chair; and Rosalyn “Roz” Mallet, president and CEO of PhaseNext Hospitality, was elected treasurer. Each will serve until January 2011.
The chairman, vice chair and treasurer are volunteer positions held by members of the association's board of directors, who are exceptional leaders in the restaurant industry. When electing officers, directors consider the individual's level of participation in board activities, his or her leadership skills, stature and involvement in industry activities. For more information, visit www.restaurant.org.
The Women's Foodservice Forum (WFF) has launched a series of three online seminars providing skills and training to help women and men advance in the foodservice industry during a time of tight schedules and budgets. Open to both members and nonmembers, the 2009 WFF Fall Leadership Webinar Series will begin Sept. 29 with an interactive webinar presentation titled "Emotional Talent--The Final Frontier," from author, speaker and technology trends guru Tim Sanders. Sanders will share personal technologies designed to help industry leaders maximize their own level of emotional talent.
The other two WFF webinar presenters are Marilyn Sherman, author and motivational speaker, who will host the October seminar; and Mary Shapiro, consultant, executive trainer and Simmons MBA faculty member, who will present the November seminar.
Each of the webinars begins at 3 p.m. CST. For more information or to register, click here.
Students and staff returning to school this fall at St. Anne School in Laguna Niguel, Calif., won't see any mystery meat on the menu as local chef/restaurateur Azmin Ghahreman has taken over the school's dining program with the launch of a healthy dining program called Every Child is My Child. Ghahreman, chef of Sapphire Laguna, conceived of the idea to prepare healthy breakfast, lunch and snack choices for students in response to the Obama administration's increased focus on better nutrition for schoolchildren. Ghahreman is a father of three young children, which also contributed to his commitment to healthy eating in kids.
Chef Azmin Ghahreman, founder of Every Child is My Child
Each day, he will prepare and deliver healthy hot lunches, á la carte breakfast and lunch choices and healthy snacks to the 800 students in kindergarten through middle school and staff with help from the staff at Sapphire. His menus are based on the Mediterranean Food Pyramid, which emphasizes a balance of protein, grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy and healthy oils. Ghahreman and the Sapphire staff worked closely with pediatric specialists and a registered dietitian to develop the menus, which include items like turkey bolognese with whole wheat pasta, albacore tuna salad pinwheels, breakfast burritos, salads, wraps, pita pizza and all-natural snacks.
"We believe more and more schools will jump on the healthy food bandwagon," Ghahreman said in a press statement. "And we are positioning our program to be at the forefront of school lunch reform."
Ghahreman also provides health-conscious items for the hot lunch program at St. Margaret's Episcopal School in San Juan Capistrano. He has plans to implement Every Child is My Child in other nearby Southern California communities and schools. For more information about the meal program at St. Anne School or Chef Ghahreman, visit www.st-anne.org or www.sapphirelaguna.com.
Tea educator and event organizer World Tea Expo for the first time will conjoin a new East Coast educational program, World Tea East, with the Natural Products Expo East later this month at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.
The event will unite top tea educators and vendors with educational sessions and focused tastings on Sept. 23 and 24, and the exhibit hall will be open on Sept. 24 through 26. Session topics will include health benefits of tea, tea's carbon footprint and specialty tea. Interactive tastings include a tea and cheese pairing and a tea and chocolate pairing. And World Tea East Pavillion will showcase leading tea industry companies, which include winners of the 2009 World Tea Championship held this past June in Las Vegas.
For more information, visit www.worldteaexpo.com/east.
The month of September marks the end of the hop harvest and the introduction of seasonal releases, including harvest ales and lagers. These unique beers are created by adding fresh hops or other recently harvested ingredients, like pumpkin, to a brewer's beer recipe. These field ingredient additions impart rewarding flavors and aromas including citrus, earth, pine and spice from the practice of adding freshly picked whole hops, known as "fresh" hopping.
"The harvest ale is the brewery's celebration of the amazing variety of ingredients available," Julia Herz, spokesperson for the Brewers Association, said in a press release. "When beer lovers think fall, they think harvest ales. Fortunately, many restaurants and better beer stores have prioritized stocking these limited releases from small and independent craft brewers."
The popularity of harvest ales is so strong that 'Fresh Hop' beer, 'Field Beer' and 'Pumpkin Beer' are all sub-categories in the Great American Beer Festival, North America's most prestigious commercial beer competition, which takes place in Denver Sept. 24 to 26.
Through the Web site www.SeasonalBeerandFood.org, the Brewers Association provides information on seasonal releases straight from the brewers who brew them. This site highlights current and future lists of special release beers in their state complete with detailed descriptions and food pairing suggestions.
- Fresh hop craft beer: smoked meats and foods with strong and spicy ingredients; blue cheese or a sharp and rich American cheese; and sweet, decadent desserts like carrot cake, caramel cheesecake or crème brûlée
- Oktoberfest lagers: meat dishes like roasted pork tenderloin and pot roast
- Pumpkin ales: pork chops, roasted corn and chicken chowder and pumpkin pie
Students of the International Culinary Tourism Association's Certified Culinary Tourism Professional program are now able to listen to recorded interviews from industry professionals who are able to give them first hand information about the ins and outs of the culinary tourism industry. Included in these interviews are such culinary tourism professionals as:
- Tommy Klauber, chef/owner, Polo Bar and Grill and Fête Catering, Lakewood Ranch, Fla. - Dine Category
- Pamela Sheldon Johns, owner, Food Artisans, Italy - Culinary Education Category
- Sean Doucet, executive chef, Delta Halifax and Delta Barrington, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada - Culinary Lodging Category
- Renee Areng, executive vice president of sales & marketing, Baton Rouge Convention and Visitors Bureau, Baton Rouge, La. - Destinations Category
- Robert O'Keefe, executive producer and partnership marketing executive, Vegas Uncork'd, Las Vegas - Culinary Events Category
For more information on the CCTP program, visit www.culinarytourism.org.
Piccadilly Restaurants is the corporate sponsor of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's (JDRF) Walk to Cure Diabetes for the third straight year. Piccadilly will donate food to each of the four Walks to Cure throughout Louisiana and will sell colorful paper sneakers for $1 at Piccadilly locations throughout the state from Sept. 16 to Oct. 13. Money raised will help benefit JDRF, the leading charitable funder and advocate of type 1 diabetes research worldwide.
The first 2.5-mile Walk to Cure will take place in Bossier City, La., on Saturday, Sept. 12. For more information, visit www.jdrf.org.
Green Seal Inc.'s Environmental Standard for Restaurants and Food Services, GS-46, was approved on Sept. 9 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It is the first Green Seal specification to be approved as an American national standard.
GS-46 is based on real data on the environmental impacts of restaurants and foodservice operators that include the effects of food, energy and water use and supplies. The standard offers a framework to guide operations on how to reduce their environmental impact to achieve Green Seal certification. GS-46, first published in May, was developed with input from stakeholders that include industry trade groups, operators, suppliers, academics and environmental and health organizations.
Green Seal Inc. is a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., that identifies consumer and institutional products and services that protect the environment and human health. ANSI is a private nonprofit organization that aims to enhance U.S. global competitiveness by promoting voluntary standardization.
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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.
