Valrhona takes its culinary classes on the road

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Valrhona is making its renowned know-how available to culinary professionals in select markets across the USA with Valrhona En Route (on-the-road), a series of traveling Valrhona USA culinary school classes. As at the French school, L'Ecole du Grand Chocolat, chefs, instructors, and chocolatiers attending Valrhona En Route’s classes will find venue in which to exchange ideas and share their high level of expertise with one another, while learning to perfect their techniques and discover current and new trends under the guidance of L’Ecole trained chef-instructors.

Alex Espiritu leads a class in Boston in November 2010
Taking Valrhona En Route “on-the-road” will be Valrhona USA pastry chefs and instructors Derek Poirier and Alex Espiritu, both highly trained in Valrhona France, and at Valrhona’s L’Ecole du Grand Chocolat under the direction of Frederic Bau, director of the school.

Valrhona En Route 2011 Calendar:
RESTAURANT DESSERTS – New York - by Alex Espiritu
Monday & Tuesday August 15-16, 2011 8:30am – 6:00pm
Astor Center, 399 Lafayette St. (at East 4th St.) NY, NY 10003

PLATED DESSERT – San Francisco – by Derek Poirier
Monday & Tuesday, October 3-4, 2011 8:30am – 6:00pm
Paulding & Company Kitchen, 1410 62nd St, #D, Emeryville, CA 94608

CAKES, TARTS AND YULE LOGS – From the Classics to Contemporary – Washington, DC – by Derek Poirier
Monday & Tuesday, October 24-25, 2011 8:30am – 6:00pm
Place: TBD

Price for each class is $499 and includes: Breakfast and Lunch for the 2 days, 1 dinner, and cocktail reception for diploma ceremony, 1 Valrhona Hat, 1 Valrhona Apron, and 1 Valrhona recipe book

Contact Valrhona 718-522-7001 x 105 or at info-us@valrhona.com for class availability and instructions on how to register. For more information, visit: www.valrhona-chocolate.com.
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"Breakfast Beat" newsletter available to foodservice operators free-of-charge

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The Breakfast Beat newsletter is designed to be a brief, concise, easy-to-read newsletter with late-breaking information to keep you well-informed about the most important meal of the day. Topics such as the growth of breakfast, the importance of promotion, what key competitors are doing, and innovation at breakfast are just a few of the stories that have been recently covered.
 
 
Access Breakfast Beat here: http://www.aeb.org/foodservice-professionals/breakfast-beat-newsletters. To be added to the distribution list (which is free for foodservice operators), contact American Egg Board at aeb@aeb.org; sign up on the website (at the link listed above); or call 847-296-7043.
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United Fresh Foundation to provide salad bars to 33 New Orleans schools

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The fresh produce industry will be “giving back” to the local community when the United Fresh Produce Association hosts it 107th annual convention in New Orleans, May 2-4. Through the generosity of member companies and friends, the United Fresh Foundation will donate salad bars to 33 New Orleans schools, creating a lasting impact on thousands of school children in its convention host city.


“I’m pleased to say that we’ve topped our goal to raise funds for 25 salad bars and will be able to provide a salad bar to every New Orleans school that requested one,” said United Fresh President and CEO Tom Stenzel.

The Foundation will commemorate the donation with a May 3 “Let’s Move Salad Bars to New Orleans Schools” press event bringing together local dignitaries and officials to recognize the 33 recipient schools and each donor company. The salad bar donations are made possible through the generous sponsorship of many companies.

The May donation of salad bars is in addition to 10 salad bars that the United Fresh Foundation donated in the fall of 2010 from funds raised at its annual Washington Public Policy Conference. United Fresh also recognizes Whole Foods Markets, which has donated salad bars to six New Orleans schools this year as part of its nationwide campaign in support of Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools.

United Fresh is a founding partner of the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, which has a goal of donating salad bars to 6,000 schools nationwide within the next three years. Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools supports First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to end childhood obesity within a generation.

“We hope that schools throughout the region and nationwide will now look at New Orleans as a model to see how salad bars can transform the school food experience. Schools can work directly with the Let’s Move Salad Bars to Schools initiative, raising funds for salad bars within their own communities through government support, local businesses, PTAs and more. It’s easy for schools to post an application on www.SaladBars2Schools.org, and raise the necessary awareness and funds to make a difference for their kids,” said Stenzel.
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Maple Leaf Farms $5000 Chef Recipe Contest

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The Maple Leaf Farms 2011 Chef Recipe Contest kicks off May 2. Now professional and student chefs' recipes will be judged in two separate categories, each with their own grand prize (see below for details).
 
Innovative, easy recipes using Maple Leaf Farms duck will be judged using these criteria:
  • Simplicity 
  • Originality
  • Accuracy of recipe
  • Flavor
Chefs may enter up to 3 recipes in one category. Entries will be accepted online or by mail beginning May 2. Read official contest rules here. 

Prizes will be offered in these two categories:  
  • Professional Chefs: Grand prize - $5,000; Second place prize - $3,000; and Third place prize - $1,500
  • Student Chefs: Grand Prize - $3000; and Student Second Prize - $1500
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23rd Annual Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® Atlanta raises $756,000

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The 23rd anniversary celebration of Share Our Strength’s Taste of the Nation® Atlanta raised $756,000 to end childhood hunger in Atlanta and across America. More than 1,000 people gathered at the Georgia Aquarium on Thursday, April 14, for the gourmet food and wine event that featured specialty food samplings from over 40 of the city’s top chefs, as well as live, silent and beverage auctions, wine tastings and live entertainment.

All of the net proceeds from Taste of the Nation Atlanta will help fund Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® campaign to end childhood hunger in America by 2015 and, as part of that campaign, continue supporting local organizations including the Atlanta Community Food Bank and Genesis, A New Life and Share Our Strength’s Cooking Matters™ Georgia. 
 
Pano Karatassos, founder of the Buckhead Life Restaurant Group, started the Taste of the Nation Atlanta event in 1988 and has chaired the event each year since. He was joined this year by George McKerrow, President/CEO of Ted’s Montana Grill. Danny Meyer, CEO of New York City-based Union Square Hospitality Group, served as the events honorary chairperson. Meyer’s restaurants and their chefs have earned an unprecedented 21 James Beard Awards and perennially rank among New York City’s favorite restaurants in the Zagat survey.

This year, Share Our Strength honored Atlanta’s Five-Star Taste of the Nation Chefs, those who have supported and participated in the Atlanta event for more than 10 years. These chefs included Jamie Adams, Gary Donlick, Robert Holley, Pano I. Karatassos, Gerry Klaskala, Gary Mennie, Nan Niyomkul, Kevin Rathbun, Joey Riley, Scott Serpas, Jay Swift, Hilary White and Ian Winslade. 

Visit www.TasteOfTheNation.org.
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ITW Food Equipment Group accepts 2011 ENERGY STAR Sustained Excellence Award

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ITW Food Equipment Group–North America (ITW FEG) recently accepted the 2011 ENERGY STAR® Sustained Excellence award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. This is the second consecutive year for ITW FEG to receive ENERGY STAR’s highest honor, after earning back-to-back ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year awards in 2008 and 2009.

(L to R): Jenni Bair, LEED-AP, marketing manager, ITW Food Equipment Group; Bob Perciasepe, deputy administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; and Sarah Puls, vice president, brand marketing, ITW Food Equipment Group, accept award.
Hobart, Traulsen, Stero, Vulcan, Wittco and Wolf are among the ITW FEG companies that support the sustainable initiatives of customers and end-users. ITW FEG is the first and only commercial foodservice equipment manufacturer that has received the Sustained Excellence award.

Visit www.hobartcorp.com.
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Barry Callebaut's Chocolate Academy Director, Jérôme Landrieu, named Top Ten Pastry Chef in America

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Jérôme Landrieu, head of the Barry Callebaut’s Chocolate Academy in Chicago, has been named one of the “Top 10 Pastry Chefs in America” for 2011 by Dessert Professional magazine. Landrieu will formally be recognized at an awards ceremony at The Institute for Culinary Education in New York on June 6.

The prestigious award recognizes outstanding chefs who elevate the industry as a whole with their contributions in talent, innovation, and community service, and who also embody a spirit of excellence and hospitality.

 After receiving his certification in pastry and chocolate, Landrieu worked at multiple highly esteemed pastry shops and restaurants in France. In these positions, he managed large kitchen teams putting out decadent desserts and studied under three chefs who won the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France (M.O.F.) competition. Landrieu’s passion for excellence led him to begin teaching at the Superior National School of Confectionery and Pastry in Yssingeaux, France, and just before coming to the United States, he completed his fourth year at The Bellouet Conseils School, an acclaimed Parisian school for the art of desserts.

While teaching at The Bellouet Conseils School, Chef Landrieu began traveling around the world to conduct pastry and chocolate demonstrations.  It was during this time that his interest and passion for international food and culture was born.

In 2008, Chef Landrieu joined Barry Callebaut’s Chicago Chocolate Academy, where he is in charge of guiding the school towards meeting its goals of sharing knowledge about chocolate and desserts with both professionals and non-professionals alike. He manages the Academy’s staff, develops classes and recipes, and is constantly seeking out talented guest chefs for specialty classes.

Visit www.chocolate-academy.com.



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Brett Smith named executive chef, The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, St. Augustine, Fla.

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Chef Brett Smith has been appointed executive chef at The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida. In his new position, he is responsible for overseeing the culinary team at the 301-room Northeast Florida resort, which includes overseeing cuisine for banquets, receptions and meetings at the resort. Together with the adjoining St. Johns County Convention Center and the adjacent World Golf Hall of Fame, The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village is the largest combination hotel and conference center between Atlanta and Orlando, with 86,000 square feet of meeting and event space.

Prior to joining The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, Smith served as the executive chef de cuisine at Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida for the past seven years. Prior to that, he was the executive chef for the San Francisco Marriott Fisherman’s Wharf for three years. He also has served as banquet chef at the Sawgrass Marriott, and as chef de cuisine at the Boca Raton Marriott. He graduated with honors from the Culinary Institute of America. Among the many honors bestowed on him was the “American Culinary Federation Chef of the Year Award” by the Pacific Coast Chef’s Association in San Francisco, California. He also was one of an elite group of chefs selected to participate in the “Taste of the NFL,” an honor that he received for four consecutive years.
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Lehn named director of food and beverage at New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

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Rose Lehn has been named director of food and beverage for the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center – the sixth largest convention center in the nation. She previously served as the Center’s house manager for two years. 
In her new role, Lehn will oversee operations between the facility and Centerplate, the Center’s exclusive food service contractor, to ensure a team-driven approach that will ensure that clients’ and attendees’ experiences exceed expectations. Lehn will be responsible for enhancing F & B operations by developing an overall food and beverage strategy, evaluating day to day operations, crafting a new capital program and contract compliance. 
 This newly created director underscores the Convention Center’s commitment to creating compelling hospitality solutions for clients and reflective of New Orleans’s unique culture. In its 2010 search for a new food service contractor, the Center tried a unique approach to attract bidders who understood the essence of New Orleans food and would be able to successfully help the Center distinguish itself as a venue with the highest culinary standards, as befits a city that is known for exceptional food and dining experiences. 
A native of Cincinnati, Lehn graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Restaurant Management. Prior to joining the New Orleans Convention Center, she was the food & beverage manager over retail outlets at the Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex for ten years.  Her career in the food service field also includes twelve years for Sportservice Corporation in many different venues, such as convention centers, horse and dog tracks, baseball parks, zoos, parks and beaches.
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