Two ACF chefs receive International Culinary Academy Awards at 2011 Cordon d’ Or - Gold Ribbon presentation

By

Two American Culinary Federation (ACF) members received International Culinary Academy Awards at the 2011 Cordon d’ Or - Gold Ribbon awards presentation, held at The Don CeSar, St. Pete Beach, Fla., May 15.

In the Academy of Culinary Arts category, Thomas Macrina, CEC, CCA, HGT, AAC, of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., executive chef at Desmond Great Valley Hotel and Conference Center, Malvern, Pa., received the Chef Educator/Executive Chef award. Macrina is chair of the American Academy of Chefs, ACF’s honor society, and is a member of ACF Philadelphia Chapter. 

Also in the Academy of Culinary Arts category, Charles Carroll, CEC, AAC, executive chef at River Oaks Country Club, Houston, received the Culinary Life Achievement Award. Carroll is a seven-time “culinary Olympian,” an inspirational speaker and a member of ACF Professional Chefs Association of Houston. In addition, he received a Cookbook Award in the Culinary Literature category for Tasting Success: Your Guide to Becoming a Professional Chef (John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2010).

 Visit www.cordondorcuisine.com.
0 comments
Labels: , ,

Application process underway for Team USA for Bocuse d'Or 2013

By

The opportunity to represent the U.S. and compete against the world’s top culinary talent at the Bocuse d’Or 2013 is beckoning all young American professional chefs. The Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation is now accepting applications for this prestigious international culinary competition which will be held in Lyon, France on January 29-30, 2013. From the qualifying applicants, 12 chefs will be invited to an audition in September 2011, where they will be interviewed by the Foundation’s Board of Directors, comprised of renowned chefs Daniel Boulud, Thomas Keller and Jerome Bocuse. In addition, they will be asked to prepare one dish, which will be judged by an esteemed panel of chefs, selected from the Foundation’s Culinary Council Members. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three candidates during the September auditions.

The Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation will provide Team USA, comprised of the winning chef and his or her commis (assistant), with an extensive training program under the supervision of the Foundation’s Board and a Head Coach. In addition, all expenses associated with the international competition will be taken care of by the Foundation. 
 
Auditions for the 12 finalists will be held September 26-27, 2011. A fundraising cocktail party will be held on September 27th to announce the results. Further information on the cocktail event and how to purchase public tickets will be available on the Foundation’s website as of July 15, 2011. 

The application and guidelines can be downloaded from the Bocuse d’Or USA Foundation’s website, www.bocusedorusa.org. All applications must be received by May 30, 2011 at midnight EST. 
0 comments
Labels: , ,

Vulcan FEG named SEFA Outstanding Supplier in Cooking Equipment

By

Vulcan FEG, based in Baltimore, Md., was named the SEFA Outstanding Supplier in Cooking Equipment at the SEFA 25th Annual Awards Banquet on April 13, 2011 at The Ritz Carlton, Kapalua in Maui, Hawaii. 

Winners of SEFA’s Outstanding Supplier Awards are selected by secret ballot of the total membership. These awards are based on support of SEFA members and marketing & training programs, customer service in the field, innovation and market leadership within each category.

L to R: Jim Reid, owner & CFO, SEFA; Jim Cullinane, vice president, Vulcan Food Equipment Group; Larry Lyons, general manager, Vulcan Steam
This year to commemorate SEFA’s 25th Anniversary celebration in Hawaii, the award itself included a Ka Makau fish hook made of native Hawaiian koa wood, an ancient Hawaiian symbol of responsibility, honor, hard work and success.  

Visit www.sefa.com, www.vulcanequipment.com, www.wolfequipment.com or www.berkelequipment.com.
 
0 comments
Labels: , , ,

Barilla Foodservice launches www.barillafoodservicerecipes.com

By

Barilla Foodservice has launched a new online resource for foodservice professionals. The site features chef tips, detailed instructions for cooking pasta in commercial volumes, and over 100 recipes developed by and for foodservice chefs. It is updated quarterly with new recipes, a featured chef and trend analysis. All of the recipes include complete nutrition information.

  
The site also includes an innovative search function, allowing visitors to search the database with a number of different criteria to find recipes that are exactly what they’re looking for. Recipes are currently searchable by operation type (e.g. school foodservice, restaurant), nutrition criteria (low-sodium, whole grain), pasta cut, or by what’s in the pantry.

Visit www.barillafoodservicerecipes.com.
1 comments
Labels: , ,

United Fresh 2011 attendees honor best new products

By


Attendees to the United Fresh Produce Association’s annual convention and expo in New Orleans cast their votes Wednesday and recognized this year’s New Product Awards in six categories. A record 34 fresh fruit and vegetable innovations competed in the categories of Best New Packaging Product, Best New Food Safety Solution, Best New Processing Equipment, Best New Fruit Product, Best New Packing and Packaging Equipment, and Best Vegetable Product.
 
The 2011 New Product Award winners are:
  • Best New Packaging: MIXIM Classic 5x5 6oz. Bushberry Packaging System, Sambrailo Packaging 
  • Best New Food Safety Solution: SmartWashTM, New Leaf Food Safety Solutions 
  • Best New Processing Equipment: Primus Gemini – New and Improved Fresh Berry Sorter, Best Sorting 
  • Best New Fruit Product: Sun DropsTM Grape Tomatoes, Mucci Farms AND Naturipe® Berry Quick Blueberry Snacks, Naturipe Farms, LLC 
  • Best New Packing/Packaging Equipment: Volmpack Ultrek 320 Vertical-Form-Fill-Seal Bagger, Volm Companies, Inc. 
  • Best New Vegetable Product: Pure Flavor Grill Ready Vegetable Mix, Pure Hot House Foods Inc.
In the Best New Fruit Product category, two winners were selected. Sun Drops Grape Tomatoes from Mucci Farms and Naturipe Farms’ Berry Quick Blueberry Snacks were both honored as best products.

“Because there was some confusion among voters about tomatoes being judged in the fruit category, both of these outstanding products are recognized as category winners due to the widespread voting support they received in the balloting,” Toner said.

The finalists in each category were on display for the two days of the United Fresh 2011 trade show, and the winners were selected by votes cast from show attendees. 
 
Visit www.unitedfresh.org.


0 comments
Labels: , , , , ,

Valrhona takes its culinary classes on the road

By

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.
0 comments
Labels: ,

"Breakfast Beat" newsletter available to foodservice operators free-of-charge

By

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.
0 comments
Labels: , ,

United Fresh Foundation to provide salad bars to 33 New Orleans schools

By

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.
0 comments
Labels: , , ,

Maple Leaf Farms $5000 Chef Recipe Contest

By

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
0 comments
Labels: ,