The Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI) is pleased to present the 12th Annual FENI Summit (www.fenisummit.com), bringing together the culinary industry's most innovative chefs, award-winning culinary educators and dynamic personalities. With cutting-edge and on-trend lectures, demos and hands-on Master Classes, the event is tailored to fit the needs of culinary educators, executive chefs, caterers, personal/private chefs, pastry chefs, confectioners, corporate trainers, restaurant operators, F&B directors and general managers. The FENI Summit will take place Feb. 12 to 15 at the Hotel Allegro and top culinary schools in Chicago.
"The FENI Summit has been the premiere event for professional culinary development for the past 12 years," said Daniel von Rabenau, executive director of FENI. "This year, we are excited to host the summit in Chicago, a city on the culinary map not only for its exceptional restaurant scene but also for its talented community of culinary schools that are preparing the chefs of tomorrow."
Two pillars of the foodservice industry will address FENI attendees on today's hot culinary topics. Notable Chicago chef Charlie Trotter of Charlie Trotter's restaurant will present "A Lesson in Leadership" Sunday, Feb. 14, at 8 a.m. at the Hotel Allegro. Chef Christopher Koetke, culinary arts authority and dean of top-ranked Kendall College, will speak on the future of culinary education Monday, Feb. 15, at 7:45 a.m. at the Hotel Allegro.
The FENI Summit is thrilled to welcome back world-renowned master chef Fritz Sonnenschmidt--past culinary dean of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y.--to teach two cutting-edge Master Classes. Critically acclaimed instructors from Kendall College, The French Pastry School, Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Chicago, Washburne Culinary Institute, Lexington College and Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago will teach on trendy topics from classic international cuisines to molecular gastronomy. New to the summit this year is expanded programming for baking and pastry professionals.
By attending this year's FENI Summit, culinary instructors and foodservice professionals will have the opportunity to: gain tips for training culinary students, kitchen brigade and/or front-of-house staff; expand culinary repertoire with new food and ingredient trends, as well as earn continuing education credits (CEUs); develop new communication skills to motivate students and/or staff; train with leading culinary instructors, experts and foodservice industry notables; and network with peers and share strategies for success.
For complete summit information, visit www.fenisummit.com.
Five of the chefs featured on Food Network's cooking competition show "Iron Chef America" will appear during the 2010 International Home + Housewares Show taking place March 14 to 16 at Chicago's McCormick Place. Iron Chefs Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Symon and José Garces will head up the lineup of celebrity chefs providing cooking demonstrations and cookbook signings during the event.
The show also will feature the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade (NASFT) Specialty Food Marketplace of specialty and gourmet foods and the tools used to prepare them, as well as Restaurant Row, with representatives from 30 well-known Chicago culinary establishments.
For a list of event details and participating chefs, visit http://www.housewares.org/show/exhibit/goho_calendar.aspx.
SPONSORED POST
Joshua Miller, owner of Local 121 restaurant in Providence, R.I., received the first annual 2010 Mayors' Culinary Cup Award for partnering with Providence mayor David Cicilline in Greenprint: Providence. Greenprint: Providence is the city's first-ever strategic plan on commercial recycling and sustainable practices in restaurants. The award was created by the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the National Restaurant Association (NRA) and The Culinary Institute of America to recognize restaurants' role in improving the quality of life.
Miller has been one of Cicilline's strongest partners in encouraging the local restaurant community's support of mayoral initiatives listed in Greenprint: Providence and is an advocate for use of locally produced food and beverages.
The award was presented to Miller by the NRA's immediate past chairman Michael Kaufman during the USCM winter meeting. More information on Greenprint: Providence can be found at www.providenceri.com/greenprint.
Luckyrice, a media marketing company for Asian culinary culture, will launch the first-ever Luckyrice Restaurant and Bar Week in New York City May 3 to 9. Luckyrice Restaurant Week will offer prix-fixe lunches and dinners at restaurants selected by the Luckyrice Culinary Council.
Kicking off Restaurant Week will be the Luckyrice Festival, taking place April 29 to May 2. The festival will include tastings, chef dinners, kitchen and walking tours, workshops, cocktail parties and a night market of Asian street food. Restaurant Week will follow May 3 to 9. The event--presented in partnership with the Luckyrice Culinary Council, Condé Nast Traveler, Time Out New York and Edible Manhattan magazine--will benefit City Harvest and the Asian American Federation of New York.
Tickets will be available starting Feb. 16. For more information, visit www.luckyrice.com.
Evan Zimmerman, mixologist at Laurelhurst Market in Portland, Ore., won first place in the second annual Children's Relief Nursery Iron Bartender competition. The event took place Jan. 21 at The Jupiter Hotel.
Children's Relief Nursery Iron Bartender 2010 Winner Evan Zimmerman of Laurelhurst Market*
Zimmerman competed against local mixologists Neil Kopplin of Clyde Common, Elizabeth Markham of Beaker and Flask and Jacob Grier of Carlyle Restaurant in a mix-off challenge to benefit the Children's Relief Nursery. Each of the creations was sampled and judged by guests and three celebrity judges. Zimmerman's winning signature cocktail will be featured this spring at the Children's Relief Nursery's fundraising event to help prevent child abuse and neglect. For more information, visit www.crn4kids.org.
*Photo credit: Nicole Ishida, Lyrebird Images*
On Jan. 31, Carla Agrippino Gomes, chef/owner of Terramia Ristorante and Antico Forno in Boston will host the fifth annual CityFeast: Dining Out to Conquer Diabetes. Gomes' restaurants--along with four other restaurants in Boston's North End--will host a five-course dinner with wine pairings to benefit the High Hopes Fund at the Joslin Diabetes Center.
The participating restaurants are Lucca Restaurant, Prezza, Taranta restaurant and Tresca. The event, which begins at 6 p.m., will include a special guest appearance by Billy Costa, of KISS 108 FM and NECN's TV Diner. For more information, visit www.anticofornoboston.com or www.terramiaristorante.com.
The grand prize winner of the USA Rice Federation's annual "Healthy Rice Bowls Contest" was Sylvia Kravitz, product developer for San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD). Her rice bowls entry included sweet and sour shrimp, teriyaki chicken with Asian vegetables, beef with broccoli and fajita chicken. For the grand prize, she will receive $250 toward her school's education fund, two Aroma rice cookers and will be featured on www.menurice.com.
San Diego Unified School District students grab a healthy rice bowl for lunch
USA Rice also awarded two runners up: Mark Baida, executive chef for the Los Angeles Unified School District, with his orange chicken brown rice bowl with steamed broccoli and carrots; and Rachel Kovich, foodservice director for University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, with her Asian rice bowl bar that included Mongolian beef and sweet and sour chicken with a choice of brown or white rice, pot stickers and vegetables.
The USA Rice Federation sponsors the "Healthy Rice Bowls Contest" so school foodservice directors from across the country can share their ideas and success stories for serving healthy meals for school lunch. For more on the winner and other entries as well as recipe ideas, visit www.menurice.com/Industry_Segments/Schools-K-12/Rice_Bowls/ .
About
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.
