In celebration of the recent expansion of its South Florida division, foodservice distributor U.S. Foodservice donated 2,000 meals to Feeding South Florida and hosted a cooking event featuring some top U.S. chefs.
Troy McLellan, Greater Boca Raton Chamber of Commerce president and CEO was among attendees at the event, which included tours of the new U.S. Foodservice facility, cooking demonstrations by celebrity chefs and samplings of the latest food trends. The chefs included:
- Walter Scheib, executive chef at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs, W.V., the Boca Raton Club and Resort and the Capitol Hilton in Washington, D.C.
- Johnny Rivers, culinary consultant
- Allen Susser, owner of Chef Allen's Seafood Grill, Aventura, Fla., and Taste Gastropub, Delray Beach, Fla.
- Rudy Speckamp, CMC, senior culinary consultant to the Culinary Institute of America
Members of the West Boca Raton Community High School culinary team assisted the chefs during the event. In recognition of their efforts, U.S. Foodservice--South Florida provided $2,400 in scholarships to fund culinary curriculum at West Boca Raton Community High School.
For more information about U.S. Foodservice, visit www.usfoodservice.com.
The International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE)'s inaugural Becoming Environmentally Sustainable Together (BEST) in Baking initiative identified 16 industry suppliers that are making a positive impact on the environment. The program was launched as part of a commitment to positive transformation within the grain-based food industry. Suppliers that participated in the program did so by submitting entries demonstrating how their product or service fostered energy conservation, a reduction in water usage, a decrease in landfill waste, healthy living and/or a reduction of the overall impact on the environment.
The following companies have committed to sustainability through innovative
products, services, technologies and/or programs:
IBIE 2010 is taking place Sept. 26 to 29 in Las Vegas. For more information, visit www.bakingexpo.org.
The federal government needs to clear up misconceptions about the oil spill and encourage travel to the Gulf of Mexico, said Ralph Brennan, New Orleans restaurateur and former National Restaurant Association (NRA) chairman, at a July 27 hearing before Congress about helping the Gulf of Mexico recover from the BP oil spill.
"The long-term consequences and impact on tourism of a damaged brand are severe," Brennan (pictured, left) told members of the House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee. "Decreased visits lead to job loss, decreased tax revenue and more."
The hearing examined the impact of the April 20 oil spill on travel and tourism. Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Rush (D-Ill.) said he wanted to ensure the travel and tourism industry wasn't left out of the $20 billion claims pool BP created to compensate oil spill victims.
Brennan, who owns 12 restaurants, including nine in New Orleans, spoke on behalf of the NRA and the Alabama, Florida and Mississippi restaurant industries. He said marketing money was needed to counter misperceptions that New Orleans and other Gulf Coast destinations were damaged and that Gulf seafood wasn’t safe to eat. Restaurant sales even in inland restaurants, such as those in New Orleans, have decreased as visitors stay away in the wake of the oil spill, he said.
For more information, visit www.news.restaurant.org.
As part of its Institute for Professional Development series, the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) will host a "Media Training and Crisis Management" seminar on Aug. 3. Led by foodservice public relations expert Ellen Hartman, APR, Fellow PRSA and president of Fitzgerald + Co. PR, the session aims to train restaurateurs in communicating with the media, specifically within crisis situations.
The seminar will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. at Pricci restaurant in Atlanta. For more information about the seminar or registration, visit www.garestaurants.org.
Dr. Janey Thornton, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) deputy under secretary for food, nutrition and consumer services, will be a guest speaker at the 2010 American Culinary Federation National Convention taking place Aug. 2 to 5 in Anaheim, Calif.
Thornton (pictured) was appointed to her current position by President Barack Obama on April 1, 2009, and is responsible for developing and promoting science-based dietary guidance and administering the USDA's 15 nutrition-assistance programs.
At the ACF National Convention, Thornton will discuss the partnership between ACF and the USDA as it relates to educating the public on childhood nutrition and healthy eating as well as the Chefs Move to Schools program. The program, launched on the South Lawn of the White House June 4 by First Lady Michelle Obama and White House assistant chef and food initiative coordinator Sam Kass, will be run through the USDA.
The ACF National Convention, hosted by ACF Orange Empire Chefs & Professional Cooks Association, is expected to bring together more than 2,000 chefs, cooks, culinary students and foodservice professionals from across the country. For more information, visit www.acfchefs.org.
Photo courtesy of the USDA
The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) will host its 13th annual Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival on Japanese cuisine from Nov. 4 to 6 at the CIA's Greystone campus in St. Helena, Calif.
The conference, aimed primarily at foodservice professionals, will feature more than 50 accomplished chefs and food professionals from Japan to lead sessions covering such topics as Japanese ingredients, beverages, techniques for flavor development and aesthetics of presentation. For more information, visit www.worldsofflavor.com.
In response to President Obama signing the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July, the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) voiced its support of the law, which will reform debit card swipe fees set by banks and credit card companies.
"Retailers and their customers are winners today," said Leslie G. Sarasin, FMI president and CEO, in the statement. "Consumers have been paying more than $50 billion a year in hidden swipe fees to credit card companies and banks every time they swipe their credit or debit card. We applaud the President for signing this law to bring fairness and transparency to these fees."
FIA is a founding member of the Merchants Payments Coalition, a group of nearly 100 associations representing retailers, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, fuel stations, online merchants and other businesses that accept debit and credit cards. For more information about FMI, visit www.fmi.org.
The World Association of Chefs Societies (WACS) will assume administration and implementation of the WACS Certified Chef (WCC) certification program, currently managed by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), starting Sept 1.
The WCC certification, administered by ACF since its institution in September 2006, is based on international standards of education and training, with qualifications determined by individual member countries. As the current administration agreement with ACF ends, WACS has sufficient resources to preside over the certification program from now on. John Clancy, WACS certification chair, will assume responsibility for administration.
For more information, visit www.worldchefs.org.
For business owners adversely affected by the Gulf oil spill, Dallas-based law firm Baron & Budd P.C., a specialist in environmental and water contamination cases, has posted a "Gulf Oil Spill Business Resource Guide" on its website.
The guide is designed to support restaurant, hotel, casino and tourist attraction owners as well as shrimpers and fishermen in the Gulf region. It answers questions in a Q&A format about future losses and insurance claims and lists the documents helpful in calculating losses.
This online resource for business is the second in a series of guides issued by Baron & Budd to help those affected by the Gulf oil spill. The first guide outlined helpful tips for residents in Louisiana. Click here to see the guide.
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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.
In celebration of the recent expansion of its South Florida division, foodservice distributor U.S. Foodservice donated 2,000 meals to Feeding South Florida and hosted a cooking event featuring some top U.S. chefs.
