This June, I had the opportunity to take a  Foreign Foods class taught by 2008 Chef of the Year, Chef Tom Siegel, CEC.  It was a 5 day intensive, beginning at 8 a.m. and ending between 3 and 4 in the afternoon.  Each day focused on a different country or region.  Monday was Greece, Tuesday was Italy, Wednesday was “The Magreb”: Morocco and Tunisia, Thursday was Southeast Asia: Thailand and Vietnam, and Friday was BBQ through the American South.

The class consisted of approximately 15 students, most of which were FCS teachers. Class began with a lecture from Chef Siegel about the culture and customs of the country; this normally lasted till 10 a.m.  He would then give the class an overview about the meal we would be creating.  On the first day, we were split up into 4 cooking groups.  Each group was given a name having to do with each country we would be exploring.  We were the Greek team “Oompas!”  Each group was assigned a sous chef, who assisted with the recipes we were given and assembled our “mise en place” meaning needed ingredients. Monday, after the lecture, we made our way into the industrial kitchen, where Chef Siegel gave us a tour, pointing out the different areas of the kitchen: baking, soups and sauces, meats, salads, and short order meals, which was the main grill. After our quick overview of the kitchen, each person was given a recipe, and immediately started.  There was a chaotic, but exciting period of rushing around, looking for ingredients and equipment needed for our different dishes. Intermittently, Chef Siegel, along with the other chefs in the kitchen would give demonstrations.  Different demonstrations we observed were pasta making, crustacean cleaning, fish filleting, poultry cutting and butcher tying.  At 12:30, each person placed their dish on the serving table, complete with garnishes, beautiful serving dishes and utensils.

After we all enjoyed the amazing and unique meal, we would take turns discussing the dish each of us created and the class would give feedback.  We would then go back in the kitchen, and finish cleaning.  We were encouraged to clean not only our area, but take part in any cleanup in the kitchen that needed to be done.  After the cleanup, we headed back into the dining/lecture room and learned about different cooking methods and food presentation techniques practiced in commercial kitchens and restaurants.

Throughout the week, I prepared Greek fried chicken, poached fillets with white sauce, Tunisian briks, a meat, vegetable and egg mixture deep fried in a wonton wrapper, grilled shrimp puffs on sugar cane sticks and barbecued baked beans.  I really enjoyed cooking with new, unique ingredients using cooking methods I was familiar with.  Some of the recipes called for interesting cookware that are not used in the US.  One of the pieces of cookware was a tagine, a Moroccan slow cooker used to make stews and other dishes.  My favorite day was Friday, BBQ day.  Sauces were made with ingredients that are favored by each state in the south.

This class was so valuable for me in many ways.  I not only got to learn about the cultures and foods from other countries, but I also got to cook in an industrial kitchen while interacting with many teachers from around the state. I acquired teaching ideas from them on other topics other than international cuisine.  This class is by far the best, and most beneficial class I have taken since I started teaching.  This is why students learn the most when they are having fun!

For more information on this course and other courses offered by the University of Montana Missoula click here.

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What better time than summer to attend conferences and take classes and workshops to develop your skills? This is a partial list of conferences, workshops, and classes available by subject area to help you grow professionally in the areas of family and consumer sciences. Please feel free to post a comment recommending other professional development opportunities!

Family and Consumer Sciences

• American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences Conference June 23-25, 2011 Phoenix, AZ
• Home Economics Careers and Technology – “Teaching Generation Next” conference Burlingame, CA
• International Federation for Home Economics “Global Wellbeing” July, 2012  Melbourne, Australia

Culinary

• Johnson and Wales Summer Educator’s program Summer, 2011  RI, NC, FL, CO
• King Arthur Flour Baking Classes Year Round Norwich, VT
• French Culinary Institute Classes Year Round NY, NY
• Sur La Table Cooking Classes Year Round, Various Store Locations
• New School of Cooking Classes Year Round Culver City, CA
• CIA Professional Development Summer Hyde Park, NY

Sewing & Textiles

• Fashion Institute of Technology NY
• American Sewing Guild Conference August 17-22, 2011 Los Angles, CA
• American Sewing Expo September 23-25, 2011 Novi, MI
• Costume College July 29-August 1 , 2011 Woodland Hills, CA
• Sewing & Stitchery Expo March 1-4, 2012  Puyallup, WA
• Association of Sewing & Design Professionals Conference October 12-18, 2011 Portland, OR

Consumerism

• International Consumer Sciences Research Conference July 18-20,  2011 Bonn, Germany

Child Development

• National Institute for Child Development Professionals Conference June 12-15, 2011 Providence, RI
• Bank Street Online Courses
• Society for Research in Child Development February 9-11, 2012 Tampa, FL

Nutrition

• Nutrition and Health Conference April 15-18, 2012 Boston, MA
• ADA Eat Right Conference September 24-27, 2011 San Diego, CA

Teaching

• Summer Institute on Assessment June 9-10, 2011 Keen State College, NH
• Creativity Workshop June 10-13, 2011 NY, NY
• National Middle  School Association Conference November 10-12, 2011 Louisville, KY

Have more to add to the list please post a comment below and I will add them to the ever growing PD list!

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Help your students get a jump start in the restaurant industry by having them become ServSafe certified! To do this you can either have a ServSafe instructor come and teach your class or you can become a certified instructor.

1. To become an instructor you need to be a ServSafe certified manager first. To do this you simply need to take a class and pass the test.
2. After you have been working as a ServSafe certified manager you can start the process of becoming an instructor/proctor.
3. To become an instructor there is an online test that you complete at your own pace. The difference between the manager’s course and the instructor’s course is that the instructor has to know the how’s and why’s behind the regulations. The test is online and you can stop the test and go back later. The answers are not easy to find and require asking professionals or reading food law/codes.
4. Once you have passed the online Advanced test you have to go through a presentation on what it means to become a dual role instructor/proctor. There are periodic quizzes throughout the presentation that you have to pass.
5. The final step is to submit an application. The application asks why you want to become certified and requires professional experience.

Helpful resources for the Instructor’s Advanced Online Test

• All about Sanitizing
• Backflow
• Calibrating a Thermometer
• How Bimetallic Thermometers Work
• Proper Broom Storage
• Resuming Business After a Flood
• Thermometer Information
• Water Activity in Bread
• Water Activity in Food and Why they Spoil

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This past weekend I attended NYC’s premier Chocolate Show put on by Sylvie Douce and Franois Jeantet held at the Metropolitan Pavilion
(125 West 18th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues). This was the 13th annual show and from the looks of the line wrapped around half a city block it was a huge success.

“The Chocolate show is the largest international show exclusively dedicated to the chocolate industry. Celebrating all that is special about chocolate, it provides chocolate professionals with a unique communication platform. All those working in the industry and chocolate lovers of every kind can get together to express their views, share experiences and enjoy their passion for chocolate.”

To kick off the show every year, there is a famous chocolate fashion show. Outfits are made from chocolate and delicately walked down the runway. Although, I wasn’t there to catch the models trying to maneuver these heavy looking costumes, I did enjoy looking at their intricacies up close.

There were lots of vendors to visit, chocolates from around the world to sample, and two different culinary demonstration kitchens where famous chocolatiers and pastry chefs show off their best chocolate secrets. I watched Nick Malgieri from the Institute of Culinary Education make a chocolate hazelnut tart (pictured below).

“The Chocolate show was founded in 1997 by Sylvie Douce and François Jeantet, two French entrepreneurs with a great passion for chocolate, The Chocolate Show was quickly adopted by New York City as one of its favorite shows, and has become the largest and one of the most popular events devoted to chocolate in the United States. The New York Chocolate Show is one of many international Salon du Chocolat events produced annually by Sylvie Douce and François Jeantet. In 2010, shows will be presented in Paris, Tokyo and six cities in Japan, Shanghai, Madrid, Cairo and Moscow.”

I think my biggest fascination was not the chocolates themselves but how they were packaged and presented. It was interesting to find myself being drawn towards some booths more than other because their packaging was cooler and more appealing. Second to packaging, was the ability to try chocolates I wouldn’t normally choose to purchase. Usually when we don’t know whether we are going to like something or not we don’t take the risk to buy it. The nice part about going to the show was there was no risk in trying what I would normally pass over on the shelf. Some of the interesting flavors I tried were green tea from Japan, violet, lavender, cumin, chipolte, lemon grass, carmel apple, and spicy orange chocolate. Besides how crowded the event was, it was worth a trip to the city to taste and see a whole new world of chocolates.

If you are interested in attending next year’s show, bookmark the chocolate show’s website and get tickets in advance to beat the lines.

Chocolate Lesson Plans

• 35 Ways to Teach with Chocolate
• Melting Chocolate

Chocolate Information

• Chocolate Exploration (interactive)

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I learned so much at the Johnson & Wales Baking & Pastry Summer Educator’s Program. I described briefly what we did each day of the class. I also have included some products that were discussed and used during the class in case you cannot find them in your home state.

Day 1: The first class we introduced ourselves and went over what we were going to do each day. We started off by learning about the different ingredients and their functions in the recipes. The chef also demonstrated how to scale ingredients. Scaling ingredients means to weigh your ingredients on a baker’s scale. This is for accuracy in making large batches compared to say using volume measurements like measuring cups. Next we did a pound cake experiment to practice scaling ingredients and to see what difference certain ingredients make in the recipe. Each group was given a basic pound cake recipe with one ingredient they were to substitute. More details on the entire experiment are located in the Pound Cake Post.

Next we made cakes and butter cream icing in advance so they would be ready for cake decorating day. We made fondant icing, basic butter cream, Italian butter cream, and Swiss butter cream. The difference between Italian and Swiss butter cream is the method of preparation. To make Swiss butter cream you heat the egg whites and sugar over a double boiler and you heat the mixture til the sugar dissolves and the eggs are 165F to pasteurize the eggs. To make Italian butter cream you cook the sugar with an acid (keeps sugar from crystallizing) to 250F and when the sugar is 235F you whip the egg whites and pour the sugar syrup into the egg whites really slowly.

Day 2: On the second day we listened to a lecture on the fundamentals of bread baking. Then we made lean dough items like baguettes, epi, kaiser rolls, and focaccia bread. We also made at least one soft dough item like dinner rolls and sandwich loaves. We also made sweet dough items like challah, besting, cinnamon rolls, and brioche.

Day 3: On the third day we learned basic cake decorating skills like making a smooth flat topped cake and lettering, and roses.

Day 4: On the fourth day we made all the components of our platted dessert that we were going to serve during our “graduation” ceremony the following day. We learned that there are five components of platted desserts, the main item, sauce, crunch, frozen component, and garnish. We started by planning what we wanted to create by drawing our plates and getting feedback from the chef. For the main items, we made molded gingerbread, molten lava cakes, Bavarian cream, and chocolate mousse. For the frozen component we made French ice cream, fruit sorbet, American ice cream, and lemon sorbet. We also made fruit coulis, caramel, chocolate, and anglaise sauces. Lastly, our crunch components were almond lace and chocolate and vanilla tuile cookies. The chef demonstrated how to make some fruit garnishes like strawberry salsa, strawberry mountains, half raspberries, and sugared mint leaves.

Day 5: On the last morning of the program we started by scooping our ice cream and sorbets into portions and putting them in the blast chiller. The chef had us wipe each plate with white vinegar before we assembled our desserts to be sure the plates were really clean and fingerprint free. We then assembled our plates by scribbling our sauce designs and un-molding our “main items.” The last thing to go on the plate are tuile cookies, which get soggy otherwise and of course the ice cream. After we ate lunch and received our certificates we went back into the kitchen and put the finishing touches on our desserts and served them to the culinary essentials class.

We also used some special equipment that you may or may not have in your kitchen that is specifically helpful if you are teaching a baking & pastry class. Some rare things include a kaiser roll stamp, a bread scoring lathe, and a docker.

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If you teach culinary and have never been to Johnson & Wales’ Summer Educator’s Program you are missing out. I highly recommend attending if you get the opportunity. The J & W Summer Educator’s Program is professional development for vocational and FACS teachers who want to learn how to improve their skills especially working in a commercial kitchen. There are several programs. I happened to have taken the baking and pastry program but they also offer Culinary Essentials which follows their high school text book that goes by the same name.

The educator courses are offered at all four of the Johnson & Wale’s campuses (Providence, Denver, Charlotte, Miami). Their course offerings change slightly every year so if you don’t see anything you would like for this year check it out again next year. They courses they offered this summer were Culinary Essentials, Baking & Pastry Arts I & II, Sustainable Food, and Culinary Nutrition. The pricing is $595 for the course and room & board, however travel expenses are not included.

Links:

• Summer Educators Registration Form
• Johnson & Wales University

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I just got back from this year’s Fancy Food Show in the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City. The Fancy Food Show is put on by the NASFT (National Association for the Specialty Food Trade).

“Since 1955, the Fancy Food Shows have been North America’s largest specialty food and beverage marketplace. Between the Winter Show in San Francisco and the Summer Show in New York City, the National Association for the Specialty Food Trade events bring in more than 40,000 attendees from more than 80 countries to see 260,000 innovative specialty food products, such as confections, cheese, coffee, snacks, spices, ethnic, natural, organic and more. Only NASFT Members can exhibit at the Shows, where retailers, restaurateurs, distributors and others discover innovative, new food and beverage products. The Shows are attended by every major food buying channel, influential members of the trade and consumer press and other related businesses.”

This is my third year attending the show and as always I try to spot trends in the specialty food industry. There were a lot of popcorn and nut vendors offering a variety of flavors. There were also many products that were advertising “gluten free” which is to be expected. I think that the most interesting trend though was all the different flavored mayonnaises like bacon and chipotle flavors that were displayed by different vendors. It seemed like it was only a few years ago that mayonnaise had a bad reputation but it seems from this year’s show that it is making a come back.

My other favorite, “new” products that were at the show were breakfast pitas, falafel chips, wine ice cream, bagel holes, rice whip cream, and sprayable herbs. Along with all the new finds I got to meet Miss Belgium and Miss Italy, I also saw Barefoote Contessa at her booth. So if you ever get the chance to visit the Fancy Food Show I would highly suggest it. It makes for a fun day; just come hungry because there are several miles of samples awaiting you.

See what others said about the show on Twitter!

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