Nature’s Pride will be breaking bread with 40 of America’s top chefs in support of the 25th annual Chef’s Tribute in Rockefeller Center benefiting the legendary New York charity, Citymeals-on-Wheels.  The Chef’s Tribute, which kicks off at 6:30pm on Monday, June 14, 2010, is a moveable feast prepared by a ‘who’s who’ cast of culinary celebrities.

“Nature’s Pride bread is proud to support such an extraordinary organization as Citymeals-on-Wheels, which has touched the lives of so many people by ensuring no homebound elderly New Yorker ever goes a day without food or human company,” said Laura Pitlik, Director of Marketing for Nature’s Pride.  

As part of the sponsorship, husband and wife chef duo Claudia Fleming and Gerry Hayden of Long Island’s celebrated North Fork Table & Inn will prepare two dishes at the event using Nature’s Pride bread, the only brand of 100% natural breads available across the country.  Chef Fleming will put her award winning dessert skills to work creating a rose poached rhubarb and strawberry compote with creme fraiche, topped with Nature’s Pride Whole Wheat with Honey crumble, while Chef Hayden, whose cooking has been celebrated as “refined but never fussy…glorifying local treasures,” prepares delectable Nature’s Pride 12 Grain tea sandwiches with house-made dill marinated salmon, English cucumber and horseradish mousse.

Additional headliners of this year’s tribute include: Daniel Boulud, DANIEL; Nobu Matsuhisa, Nobu Restaurants; Charlie Palmer, Aureole; Alfred Portale, Gotham Bar & Grill; Wolfgang Puck, Wolfgang Puck Fine Dining Group; and Jonathan Waxman, Barbuto.  

Ms. Pitlik added, “As a brand that prides itself on its great taste, Nature’s Pride is thrilled to be part of the 25th annual Chef’s Tribute as an opportunity to engage with people who share a passion for delicious food.”

Nature’s Pride is committed to baking the best-tasting all natural breads using the purest, most delicious ingredients nature has to offer. The brand has drawn rave reviews from consumers and earned high praise from a number of consumer and baking industry publications, including being named by Fitness Magazine as the best sliced bread.  Nature’s Pride offers a menu of options including both hearty and traditional bread varieties.

Aspiring chefs are a step closer to world class culinary education since Triumph Higher Education Group (Triumph HEG), through a wholly-owned subsidiary, acquired the Culinary Academy of Austin (CAA) on June 10. Triumph HEG plans to turn the facility into the first Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, a professional school for culinary and baking offering a demanding, accelerated program focused exclusively on classical culinary training and mastery of the skills and techniques sought by employers. Affiliated with the Foundation and Museum dedicated to world-renowned chef Auguste Escoffier, the school will combine interactive delivery, world-class instructors, emphasis on sustainable cuisine, and affordable tuition.

“The Culinary Academy of Austin is exactly the type of school we were looking for to develop the finest program in the industry for training the next generation of culinary professionals,” said Paul Ryan, president of Triumph HEG. “We are excited to be here, and absolutely committed to continuing to serve students and employers through CAA’s strong culinary programs. And we are particularly pleased to start in Austin, which continues to be one of the great food cities in the U.S.”

In April, 2010 Triumph HEG entered into affiliation agreements with the Escoffier Foundation and Museum, and with Michel Escoffier, its president and great grandson of Auguste Escoffier, through which Triumph HEG is launching the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts in the United States and internationally. Auguste Escoffier is perhaps the most distinguished and respected name in the culinary world – no other figure in history has done more for the development and modernization of culinary arts.

“This is history in the making,” said Michel Escoffier, who will consult with the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts and serve on its advisory board. “My great grandfather was committed to advancing innovation and consistently raising the standard of excellence in the profession. He would be very proud today.”

During the transition to the Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts, Triumph HEG, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, will manage the CAA and its existing culinary programs under the current name as it builds out the facility and seeks the necessary regulatory approvals to launch the proprietary Escoffier Learning System^©. The Learning System will utilize a hybrid platform to provide flexibility for students and access to renowned chef-instructors all over the world. The affordable 30-week certificate programs will offer small classes, and will focus on teaching the techniques and principles developed by Auguste Escoffier, in the preparation of sustainable, seasonal cuisine.

In its 11^th year, CAA offers a 15-month Professional Culinary Arts diploma program and a six-month Pastry Arts diploma program. Each program combines small classes and personal attention from experienced chef instructors. Required externships offer students real-world experience at restaurants and other food service locations throughout Austin.

“We look forward to combining our management expertise and capital together with Michel Escoffier’s counsel and the historical resources of the Escoffier museum,” said Jack Larson, Executive Chairman of Triumph HEG, “to launch a truly innovative international culinary program that offers a unique value to students, faculty and employers.”

This month marks a year since Sweeney’s Too became Sweeney’s American Bistro under new ownership. Chef and co-owner Todd Wallace has been busy since then trying to find that right mix of menu, pricing, atmosphere and hours to achieve broad appeal with a degree of sophistication.

I think he’s close to nailing it down.

“I’ve changed the menu more than four times, just looking for that right mix,” the 1990 Lexington High School graduate said.

As for the decor, “I modernized so it’s not the ’70s steakhouse look anymore. It’s a more metropolitan look we’re trying to go for.

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Within every chef beats the heart of a restaurant owner, and Rick Saviori is no different. A well-traveled and experienced cook with a business background and most recently kitchen manager at Ciao Bella, Saviori is now the executive chef and owner of Thyme Bistro, which just opened in the old Jarrett’s space in Yorkshire Square on Quince Road.

“It’s just something I wanted to do,” said Saviori, 36. “I wanted to be able to cook the food that I wanted to do and really be my own boss.”

That food is what he describes as “local ingredients with European fare, fairly simple with lots of flavor.”

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Le Cordon Bleu Schools in North America announced a major development for the institution by hiring Master Chef Edward Leonard, CMC, WGMC, AAC, as vice president and corporate chef for Le Cordon Bleu Schools in North America.

Chef Leonard is responsible for faculty training and development with a focus on technique, while providing hands-on leadership for all 17 Le Cordon Bleu campuses throughout North America. Chef Leonard is an internationally-recognized Master Chef —only one of 72 in the U.S. His hiring is part of the continued commitment of Le Cordon Bleu to further its mission to be a modern classic in culinary education and provide its students with the foundation for a fulfilling career opportunity.

“In bringing on a chef of the caliber of Master Chef Edward Leonard, we are continuing to deepen our commitment to provide an extraordinary culinary education to our students,” said Brian Williams, senior vice president responsible for the Le Cordon Bleu Schools in North America. “The addition of a master chef with the passion and excellence of Chef Leonard will further enhance all that Le Cordon Bleu has to offer in culinary education.”

Chef Leonard comes to Le Cordon Bleu from the premier Westchester Country Club in Rye, New York, the twelfth ranked platinum club in the U.S., where he was the assistant general manager and director of culinary operations. He is the immediate past president of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and spent the last 25 years working in the culinary arts.  He received his Certified Master Chef (CMC), the highest and most demanding level of achievement of all ACF chef certifications, distinction in 1996. He has received more than 30 industry honors for achieving the highest standards of professionalism and for the many accomplishments in the industry.

Chef Leonard received an honorary Doctorate of Culinary Arts from the Johnson & Wales University in May 2005, authored a variety of award-winning cook books and delivered numerous presentations and lectures to audiences of culinary professionals around the world.  He was the captain for ACF Culinary Team USA from 1998 to 2008 winning more than 40 gold medals in competitions himself.

“I am thrilled to be part of Le Cordon Bleu and admire its passion and standard of excellence,” said Chef Leonard. “It will be an honor to join its heritage of culinary excellence and to share my passion and knowledge with the future leaders of the culinary arts.”

The Le Cordon Bleu schools continue to offer a quality culinary education and real world hands-on training through academic programs nationwide. Le Cordon Bleu Schools in North America include campuses in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Orlando, Pittsburgh, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, Scottsdale, Seattle and St. Louis.

Le Cordon Bleu and Delmar, part of Cengage Learning and a leading provider of learning solutions for ongoing career development and education, today announced two landmark culinary publications: Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations, the definitive guide to classic French culinary technique (Hardcover ISBN-13: 1435481372, $59.95) and Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations Classic Recipes, available in softcover and also spiral for easy kitchen use (Softcover ISBN: 1111306877; Spiral ISBN: 1435481380, $24.95).

From the chefs of Le Cordon Bleu, the preeminent international culinary arts educational experience, these publications celebrate the history of French culinary technique and infuse it with modern interpretation.

“We took our cue from the many students and graduates around the world who were looking for a single reference that would explain and show the techniques that have existed and been respected for more than three centuries,” said Andre J. Cointreau, President, Le Cordon Bleu International.

Extensively researched, Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations and Le Cordon Bleu Classic Recipes pay homage to generations of chefs who have upheld and passed on their passion for cooking using contemporary technology to redefine gastronomy. These chefs represent the art of cooking.

“We are always looking for ways to bring unparalleled content and service to our customers. Our partnership with Le Cordon Bleu leverages the strengths and world-wide reach of both our organizations… renowned culinary expertise from Le Cordon Bleu and cutting edge technology and educational publishing from Cengage Learning,” said Manuel Guzman, Executive Vice President, Finance, Operations and International.

Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations is beautifully illustrated with nearly 2000 photographs, and designed to teach the secrets of this renowned culinary arts school. Focusing on techniques and recipes, it provides a foundation for perfecting the fundamentals – ranging from vegetable cuts to roux, stocks and sauces, to mise en place and preparation.

Le Cordon Bleu Cuisine Foundations Classic Recipes celebrates the techniques involved and the value of ingredients used in the featured 169 recipes, while also conveying the history and evolution of French culinary technique. Step-by-step photographs detail the essential techniques and basic preparations. Easy-to-use conversion charts provide a handy U.S./metric reference. Sidebars and notes throughout the book provide additional information from defining commonly used culinary terminology, to fun and interesting facts on a variety of culinary topics.

Together these books allow mastery of the basics as well as the most intimidating techniques and recipes. Those who practice and eventually master these techniques will not only become better cooks – they will learn to create with confidence.

Last week, Craig Growney, a 21-year-old student from The Culinary Institute of America got creative with fresh mozzarella, earning a $5,000 cash prize and bragging rights from Galbani Cheese. Growney competed against two other aspiring chefs and wowed an esteemed panel of judges with his recipe: Galbani Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Carpaccio with Sauteed Snapper and Basil-Arugula Pesto. As Italy’s favorite cheese brand with 125 years of expertise, Galbani, now freshly crafted in the U.S.A., created the Galbani Caprese Challenge for aspiring chefs to inspire creative cooking with Fresh Mozzarella.

“Winning in the Galbani Caprese Challenge is something I’m going to remember for a long time,” Growney said. “It was a real challenge to cook outdoors, under time constraints, and present a creative recipe to the amazing judging panel… it was incredible. As for what I’m going to do with my $5,000 prize? I might take a trip to Italy to inspire my culinary dreams even further!”

The Galbani Caprese Challenge invited aspiring chefs to create an original spin-off of the traditional caprese salad by using core ingredients including Galbani Fresh Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes and basil. Three contestants competed on the Galbani outdoor stage during the International Cultures Festival in Manhattan. Each contestant had 45 minutes to prepare their recipe in an outdoor kitchen, plate their dish and serve it to a panel of three judges. Contestants were rated based on the following criteria:

• Organization: Utilization of core ingredients (10 points)
• Cooking Skills and Culinary Technique: Creativity, skills, originality (10 points)
• Taste: Flavor and texture; Ingredient compatibility and balance of flavor; Presentation (20 points)

In the end, Growney edged out competitors, Caitlin Carlton and Joseph Hawkes with a score of 102 points out of a possible 120 points. The prestigious panel of judges included: Galbani Italian expert Chef Francesco Berardinelli, Salvatore Rizzo of De Gustibus Cooking School and Vince LoRusso of Tony’s DiNapoli Restaurant in New York. Lauded New York City media personality, Valerie Smaldone, served as emcee.

Check out Growney’s winning recipe, Galbani Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Carpaccio with Sauteed Snapper and Basil-Arugula Pesto online at www.GalbaniCheese.com.

A chef has become one of a select handful chosen to create new dishes for a national chain.

Raul Goncalves, 30, of Tamar Square in Woodford Green, works at Prezzo in South Woodford High Road, and has seen three main dishes and one dessert he created go on sale at branches across the country.

The chef’s menu – including his signature Bolognaise dish, which contains wild mushrooms and pesto – is presented separately from the main menu is available in 140 restaurants across the UK.

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It all began when Michelin star chef Oliver Dunne of Bon Appétit in Malahide withdrew himself this week from the annual Irish Restaurant Awards ceremony. In an e-mail to all members of the Restaurants Association of Ireland, which was behind the event, Dunne said he believed the awards “have lost all integrity”.

The process, published on the RAI website and detailed to all its members, involves preliminary public and industry nominations, then a second phase (worth 30 per cent of the overall marks) scored by a mystery guest diner, paid for by the restaurants themselves, through a voucher submitted only at the end of the meal after the diners have finished.

Though Dunne says his restaurant’s “mystery diner” was easily identifiable, he had a bigger issue with the 30 per cent decided by public vote. He is strongly critical of the way the votes were accumulated, and says the RAI sent out several e-mails urging their members to campaign for votes. “They were making it out like they were working for you, but they were promoting themselves.”

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Jakub Mejstrik has had his share of adventure in his 32 years. The latest one has taken him to the White House.

Mejstrik is among about 500 chefs from throughout the country who are joining the Chefs Move to Schools, a U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition program led by Michelle Obama. The young Lakewood personal chef is a member of the U.S. Personal Chefs Association, whose membership made up much of the audience in Washington, D.C., recently when the first lady launched the latest round in her battle against childhood obesity.

According to the program’s website, letsmove.gov, “Mrs. Obama is calling on chefs to get involved by adopting a school and working with teachers, parents and school nutrition professionals and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition. By creating healthy dishes that taste good, chefs have a unique ability to deliver these messages in a fun and appealing way to the larger audience, particularly children.”

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In perfect step with the arrival of spring, Allium, a neighborhood bistro, opened in the Willamette neighborhood of West Linn. Chef Pascal Chureau, former owner and chef of Fenouil in Portland and Tucci in Lake Oswego has partnered with Fenouil’s former chef du cuisine, Chef Ian Ragsdale, to offer local, sustainably conscious epicurean plates featuring New American and European cuisines.

Chef Chureau is very familiar with West Linn as he and wife Melissa previously lived near Mary S. Young Park. They moved to southwest Portland to cut commute time when Chureau was at Fenouil in the north part of Portland’s Pearl District.

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The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is delighted with last night’s announcement naming Marcus Samuelsson the winner of the second season of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters.  In addition to being a master chef, Samuelsson is also a committed UNICEF Ambassador and was competing this season for the UNICEF Tap Project, a clean water campaign run by the U.S. Fund for UNICEF.  

Top Chef Masters airs on the cable network, BRAVO, and last night’s finale pitted Samuelsson in a three-way culinary face-off with chefs Rick Moonen and Susur Lee for the title of “Top Chef Master.”  A cash prize of $100,000 and an additional $15,000 won by Samuelsson throughout the course of the show will also be awarded to his charity, UNICEF, where Samuelsson serves as a goodwill ambassador.  

“I feel so happy that I had the opportunity to meet and cook with these extraordinary chefs that are now my friends,” said Marcus Samuelsson, who has been a UNICEF Ambassador for the past 10 years.  ”I learned so much during this process – it was an incredible journey and I am grateful for this experience.  It is an honor to present this $115,000 check to help the UNICEF Tap Project with the mission to provide clean water to children all over the globe.”

Now in its fourth year, the UNICEF Tap Project is a grassroots initiative from the U.S. Fund for UNICEF that invites individuals to donate $1 or more for tap water at participating restaurants or online at tapproject.org to provide clean water to children around the world.  

Samuelsson has been involved with the UNICEF Tap Project since its inception in 2007.  He has served as a UNICEF Tap Project Chef spokesperson and has consistently registered his restaurants for involvement in the campaign, which launches annually during World Water Week (March 21-27).  

“The U.S. Fund family extends heartfelt congratulations to Marcus on this superb accomplishment, which truly distinguishes him as a master chef,” said Caryl Stern, president and CEO, U.S. Fund for UNICEF.  ”We are also honored that Marcus has continued to serve the children of the world as a UNICEF Ambassador with a passion for addressing clean water issues through his involvement with the UNICEF Tap Project.  Lack of access to clean drinking water continues to be a leading killer of children under the age of five worldwide.  The funds received from Marcus’ win will help our efforts as we continue in our mission to reduce the number of preventable deaths from 24,000 daily to zero.”

To date, the UNICEF Tap Project has raised over $2 million in the U.S. to help provide clean water to millions of children around the world.  Funds from this year’s campaign will primarily support Haiti, Central African Republic, Guatemala, Togo and Vietnam.

June 10 will be a day of activities on Capitol Hill organized by the Food Action Research Center and other partner organizations such as Share Our Strength. The goal is to highlight the importance of fighting childhood hunger in America. Chef Ash Sengson of Please Enjoy Personal Chef and Catering Services from Plano, TX (www.PleaseEnjoy.net) will lobby members of Congress to discuss the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill.

Some vital points that Sengson will share with senators and representatives are as follows:

* The Child Nutrition Reauthorization bill will help connect millions of children with the meals they need to thrive. A robust CNR bill will strengthen programs like school breakfast and school lunch, summer meals, after school snacks, and WIC – programs that play a vital role in reducing child hunger across the country.

* With new government statistics showing that 16.7 million children-that’s nearly one in four-struggle with hunger, and with so many American families facing hunger for the first time, ensuring a strong child nutrition bill has never been more important.

* In FY2009, 19.5 million low income children received free and reduced price school lunches. This compared to only 9.1 million receiving free and reduced price breakfasts, and only 2.2 million children in summer food programs. Moreover, only 3.1 million children are in child care centers and homes with federally supported child nutrition programs. Clearly these are large gaps in service that must be filled quickly.

* Chef Ash Sengson will urge representatives to pass a strong and fully funded child nutrition reauthorization bill before the end of this year.

Sengson just returned from Washington D.C. after being a guest at the White House for the First Lady Michelle Obama’s launch of “Chefs Move To Schools.”

“Chefs Move To Schools” will afford an opportunity for chefs around the country to adopt a local school to help solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. “Chefs Move to Schools” will pair chefs with schools in their communities to bring fun to fruits and vegetables, and teach kids about food, nutrition and cooking in an engaging way.

Chef Ash Sengson of Please Enjoy Personal Chef and Catering services has joined the nationwide volunteer team spearheaded by Michelle Obama and will be working with students at a local school. By working with school food service employees, administrators and teachers, Chef Ash Sengson will help deliver these messages from the cafeteria to the classroom.

Sengson has also been working with the North Texas Food Bank through programs such as Operation Frontline. Chef Ash was recently given the Chef Instructor of the Year Award.

“Chef Ash deserves this award because she went beyond the call of duty when volunteer teaching her classes. She didn’t do it for the award. She did it because she wanted to because she is passionate about this cause,” stated Katherine Lindholm, R.D. of North Texas Food Bank. Chef Ash hopes that her work with the North Texas Food Bank will help show representatives that not only can she talk the talk, but she has already walked the walk.

Chef Ash Sengson is a member of the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) and is dedicated to excellence in the industry.

Rene Redzepi, the Nordic chef whose Copenhagen restaurant was recently voted the best in the world, has landed in New York with some rather exotic recipes.

Redzepi, whose restaurant, Noma, topped San Pellegrino and ­Restaurant magazine’s prestigious 2010 list of the world’s 50 best restaurants – beating such local culinary destinations as Daniel, Per Se and Le Bernardin – made his maiden trip to Gotham this week and kicked off a busy itinerary of food events by collaborating with celebrated chef Paul Liebrandt of Corton on West Broadway.

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First Lady Michelle Obama invited top chefs from around the nation to The White House Friday to help launch a campaign to promote healthier eating habits among school children.

Rachael Ray, Cat Cora, Tom Colocchio and the executive chef for Riverside Unified School District, Ryan Douglas, to name a few, were on hand as area school kids helped Ms. Obama harvest rhubarb, spinach and other vegetables from the south lawn garden.

The idea is to encourage local chefs across the nation to become involved in their community’s school lunch programs and, in turn, help educate both kids and parents on nutrition and childhood obesity.

While his official title is executive chef, Douglas is better known as the man who along with RUSD Nutrition Services Director Rodney Taylor is helping to revolutionize school lunches in a district that serves 43,000 students, well over half of which are from at-risk families.

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Robert Hedetniemi has gone from the Lowcountry to the White House.

The former Bluffton chef and caterer recently attended the kick-off ceremony for the new White House healthy eating initiative, Chefs Move to Schools.

The program is part of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign to fight childhood obesity. About 1,000 professional chefs nationwide have signed on to volunteer at local schools to teach healthy eating in classrooms and cafeterias.

Hedetniemi, now a chef with National Institutes of Health, was invited to attend Friday’s ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House by the American Culinary Federation. Hedetniemi is a board member of the local chapter, Chefs of the Lowcountry.

He’s now awaiting word on what school he’ll get involved with near his new home in Bethesda, Md. Chefs will participate in a number of activities ranging from in-school cooking classes to creating healthier lunch menus.

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Blazer Dining’s Executive Chef Karl Elliott leads a flavorful life. Trained at The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park, N.Y., Elliott has infused more than 15 years of professional cooking experience into the 20,000 meals Sodexo serves at VSU each week.

Inspired by Artisanal cooking — which emphasizes fresh, seasonal ingredients and simple presentation — Elliott was instrumental in building a relationship with local produce company, Destiny Organics. The state’s only certified organic distributor ensures that 50 percent of the produce served in Hopper Hall is pesticide-free and directly from the region. Elliott, who began working at VSU in April 2009, said he is passionate about providing the campus with menu items that support Sodexo’s focus on balance of mind, body and soul. The father of two strives to share his love for diverse flavors that bring people together.

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