Chef Peter Dewar wins Mussel Match Up Chef Competition at International Restaurant & Food Service Show of NY

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The winner of the first annual Mussel Match Up Chef Competition, sponsored by the Mussel Industry Council (MIC) and held at the International Restaurant and Food Service Show of New York, is Chef Peter Dewar from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The competition represents the mussel producers in PEI, NS and Newfoundland, Canada. Dewar has won many competitions in his career, including Competing Chef of the Year in Canada and is a member of the Canadian culinary team competing at the Culinary Olympics in 2012. 

Chef Peter Dewar
Eleven contestants amazed the judges and the crowds with creative mussel dishes and Dewar's winning dish, which was called "Mussel Sheet," consisted of four components: a tarragon flavored mussel sheet, covered with a tempura mussel with two side dishes of saffron mayo and pickled red onion. 

The contestants were judged on five categories: menu presentation and adherence, taste, flavors and combinations, presentation, and appropriate use of mussel product and creativity. Two judges from Canada, chefs Gordon Bailey and Roger Andrews, were joined by Hell's Kitchen's runner-up, Chef Kevin Cottle and senior food editor of the Nation's Restaurant News, Bret Thorn. 

The winner will receive a trip for two to Atlantic Canada valued at $10,000 in September 2011. The MIC also presented a winning trophy to Chef Greg McCarthy of Beach Street Hospitality in New York for the most creative use of mussels with his dish of PEI mussels with morels and miso.  

For more information, visit www.discovermussels.com.
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BelGioioso Sharp Provolone and Romano win Best of Class Gold Medals at U.S. championship cheese contest

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Wisconsin cheese company BelGioioso Cheese earned six distinguished awards at the United States Championship Cheese Contest held in Green Bay, Wisconsin March 8 - 10, 2011. 
 
Both the BelGioioso Sharp Provolone Mandarino and the BelGioioso Romano each took home first place, Best of Class gold medals. BelGioso also took home second place, silver medals for the BelGioioso Fresh Mozzarella and the BelGioioso Ricotta Salata and third place, bronze medals for the BelGioioso Crema di Mascarpone™and the BelGioioso Mild Provolone.
 
 
The United States Championship Cheese Contest is the largest cheese and butter competition in the country and is rooted in more than 120 years of history, beginning in 1891 with the very first contest. This year, more than 30,000 pounds of cheese were entered into the contest. 
 
Visit www.belgioioso.com for more information.
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Sandra Lee & Tyson Foods donating 300,000 pounds of chicken to feed the hungry in New York

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Partnering with Sandra Lee, editor-in-chief, Semi-Homemade Magazine, New York Times bestselling author and Food Network celebrity, Tyson Foods, Inc., is giving 300,000 pounds of raw, frozen chicken to programs feeding the hungry in New York State. City Harvest, the world’s first food rescue organization dedicated to feeding hungry men, women, and children in New York City, received its first share on March 11th at West Side Campaign Against Hunger, a supermarket-style food pantry in Manhattan that receives food from City Harvest. 

Ken Orr, Sandra Lee, Doreen Wohl, Jilly Stephens and Julio Santiago 
Sandra Lee was on hand with representatives of Tyson Foods to make an initial donation of 32,000 pounds of chicken to Jilly Stephens, executive director of City Harvest, and Doreen Wohl, executive director of West Side Campaign Against Hunger. City Harvest will distribute the donation to its network of soup kitchens and food pantries in the five boroughs of New York City. The remainder of the 300,000-pound protein donation will be provided to nine additional food banks throughout New York State over the next six months. 

Sandra Lee unloading the truck
The gift comes not long after Sandra Lee visited nine Feeding America member food banks across New York State to hear directly from these programs about challenges they face in this economy. Sandra Lee contacted Tyson Foods when she learned that donations of protein-rich foods like chicken are in demand, but especially difficult for food banks to obtain. Tyson Foods has made a commitment to donate one million pounds of protein to 37 food banks during the month of March as part of their “KNOW Hunger” campaign focused on helping more people understand and join the effort to eliminate hunger in America. 
Visit the City Harvest Web site for more information.



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LaClare Farms' Evalon wins U.S championship cheese title

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A farm-based artisan goat’s milk cheese crafted by a 25-year-old cheesemaker was named the 2011 U.S. Championship Cheese by a national panel of expert judges last week.

Katie Hedrich, of LaClare Farms in Chilton, Wis., took top honors out of 1,604 entries from 30 states for Evalon, a hard goat’s milk cheese, made from the milk of her family farm's goat herd. Out of a possible 100 points, Evalon scored 99.06 in the final round of judging, during which judges re-evaluated all gold-winning cheeses to determine the champion at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest in Green Bay. Hedrich is the youngest cheesemaker to ever earn the honor, and is only the second woman in the history of the contest to be named U.S. champion. 

 LaClare Farms says production of Evalon will ramp up in the coming months, in part due to the recent addition of 183 dairy goats to the family herd. Evalon will continue to be available at retail shops in Wisconsin, including Nala’s Fromagarie in Green Bay, Larry’s Market in Brown Deer, and Fromagination in Madison, because of those shop owners’ commitment to testing early batches and carrying Evalon from the beginning, Hedrich said.

For more information about LaClare Farms Evalon, visit www.laclarefarm.com.
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Top chefs competed against each other at the 3rd annual Idaho Potato Side Dish Challenge

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On February 24, the nation’s most talented chefs competed for a ‘good cause’ at the fifth annual Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival’s Burger Bash® hosted by Rachael Ray. In addition to the battle to create the best burger, their love for spuds was tested during the Idaho Potato Commission’s (IPC) Side Dish Challenge. The IPC enlisted the participants to show off their culinary excellence by preparing an exceptional Idaho® potato side dish. The Grand Prize was a $5,000 donation to Florida International University made by the IPC on behalf of Chef Carlos Barillas, Corporate Chef of Burger & Beer Joint in Miami Beach. Chef Jose Garces, Chef/Proprietor of Village Whiskey in Philadelphia snagged the Over the Top! side dish prize and a second donation of $1,500 was also awarded to the university.
Lee Schrager and Rachael Ray congratulate Chef Carlos Barillas (center),
along with Frank Muir and Mr. Food for his Grand Prize winning Truffle Baked Idaho® Potato Salad.
The judging team included Frank Muir, IPC President & CEO; Don Odiorne, IPC Vice President, Foodservice and the syndicated TV personality Art Ginsburg, aka “Mr. Food." Chef Barillas earned the title of Grand Prize Winner for his Truffle Baked Idaho® Potato Salad. Chef Garces’ Over the Top! Yellow Finn Poutine was also a prize-winning hit. 

For recipes, tips and additional information about Idaho® potatoes, visit http://foodservice.idahopotato.com/ 

 

 
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USA Rice partners with Chartwells school dining services to promote healthy eating and classroom education

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To celebrate National Nutrition Month and nationwide efforts to boost nutrition in school meals, USA Rice Federation is partnering with Chartwells School Dining Services, the nation’s leader in contract management services to 6,000 schools nationwide, to emphasize the importance of healthy eating. Chartwells’ EAT LEARN LIVE With Color Nutrition Month® campaign teaches students to choose healthy foods including whole grains like brown rice along with lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. 

The program encourages schools to conduct activities to promote whole grain brown rice by serving healthy rice bowls for lunch, and utilizes a fun, interactive workbook, U.S. Rice In The Classroom, to teach students about U.S.-grown rice. Classroom activities also include preparing a seasoned brown rice mix recipe that students can cook at home with their parents.

To support these efforts, USA Rice staff will visit several Chartwells-managed schools this month to present rice information during nutrition education sessions. The promotion leverages the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s initiative to improve the nutritional quality of school meals by increasing servings of whole grains as recommended by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 

For more information and recipes, visit www.MenuRice.com.
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Women Chefs & Restaurateurs announces 2011 scholarship and internship opportunities

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Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) is offering a slate of learning opportunities for students and professionals in its 2011 Scholarship and Internship Program. Deadline for applications is April 4, 2011.

“Our scholarships and internships allow WCR to fulfill its mission by offering women in the culinary industry invaluable educational opportunities,” says Jamie Leeds, president of WCR and chef/owner of Hank’s Oyster Bar and CommonWealth Gastropub in greater Washington, D.C.

Last year, WCR awarded more than 40 scholarships and internships in six nations. Recipients gained professional skills and inspiration from industry leaders who donated their time and resources to advance the professional development of women in foodservice. 

Opportunities for WCR’s 2011 program include:
• Internship with Bon Appétit Management Company, Silicon Valley
• Barbara Tropp Memorial Internship, Beijing
• Internship in New Orleans with Susan Spicer
• Organic internship with Nora Pouillon, Washington, D.C.

Returning opportunities include scholarships at leading professional culinary-arts programs nationwide and cooking, baking, cheese- and winemaking, management and marketing internships in the United States, China, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland.

Applicants must be active members of WCR in any category. Online application deadline is 5:00 p.m. CDT on April 4, 2011; mailed applications must be postmarked no later than April 4, 2011. Details of this year’s WCR Scholarship and Internship Program are described fully at www.womenchefs.org.
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James Beard winners of "Best Chefs in the Northeast" for 2010 to release new book, Maine Classics

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MAINE CLASSICS: More Than 150 Delicious Recipes from Down East by Chefs Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier, winners of the prestigious James Beard Foundation’s “Best Chefs in the Northeast” for 2010, will be released in late April 2011. 

Mark and Clark have been supporting their local Maine farmers, food artisans and food suppliers for decades. In fact, more than twenty years ago they pioneered sustainable dining with the opening of Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine, where their farm-to-table philosophy still governs the restaurant today. Their new book shares their passion for fresh, seasonal food and introduces readers to the artisan bakers, organic farmers, and sustainable fisherman that make it all possible. 

MAINE CLASSICS covers all of the areas that make Maine cuisine what it is known for today – the shore, the sea, the forest, the farm, the garden, the dairy, the bakery and the root cellar – and bring readers as close to the true Maine experience as possible with such classic Maine dishes as Oyster Fritters with Remoulade, Lobster Shortcake with Rum-Vanilla Sauce and Slow Braised Pork Roast with Roasted Root Vegetables, just to name a few. 

The hardcover book will retail for approximately $30.00 everywhere books are sold beginning in late April 2011.

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Sara Lee Foodservice introduces Dessert Menuvision online platform to help operators increase dessert profits

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Sara Lee Foodservice has released its proprietary Dessert Menuvision toolbox, an interactive online platform that provides operators with custom solutions to help enhance their dessert offerings for increased sales and patron satisfaction.


The development of Menuvision was a cross-functional effort across the areas of sales, marketing and consumer and operator insights. Through extensive research, focus groups and data analysis – including proprietary research studies developed with foodservice operators, full-service restaurant waitstaff and consumers – the team identified several areas of opportunity for operators to enhance dessert performance, including product assortment, dessert presentation and limited time offerings (LTOs).   

One key component of the Menuvision toolbox is the Dessert Menu Optimizer, an online guide to help operators determine the right dessert assortment for their restaurants. Developed in collaboration with trusted industry partner Datassential, the Dessert Menu Optimizer uses information provided by operators, such as their restaurant’s dessert sales and menu composition, to calculate a menu’s “Appeal Level” – a ranking determined by the percentage of patrons likely to find a dessert they will love on the menu. The metrics for Appeal Level ratings are based on a survey of more than 2,000 consumers nationwide. After calculating a dessert menu’s Appeal Level, the Dessert Menu Optimizer will then suggest options to raise the menu’s score by shifting the mix of dessert offerings.

Menuvision offers several other tools such as the Dessert Menu Layout/Design Guide which outlines the principles of page layout, descriptive language and lighting for dessert photos as well as the LTO Profit Guide, which helps operators update their menus with a rotation of seasonal favorites throughout the year to drive additional sales.

Other Menuvision features include:
  • Smaller Portions Guide 
  • Waitstaff Training Guide 
  • Dessert Merchandising Guide
  • Dessert Promotion Calendar Guide
  • Dessert Customizing Guide
 Visit www.saralee.com for more information.
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