mise en place issue 48 Food Safety

ALUMNI MAGAZINE OF THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA

No. 48, May 2009

FOOD SAFETY

Food Safety: From Pillory to Prevention

The complex world of food safety6

You Make Us Better

Time, dedication, and expertise at work18

6FOOD SAFETY

Inauguration Elation

Extraordinary circumstances, delicious food16

From Seed to Cup

A coffee sojourn to Nicaragua14

www.ciaalumninetwork.com

mise en place® No. 48, May 2009

Nancy W. Cocola, Editor

Leslie Jennings, Designer

Contributing WritersShelly Loveland

Jennifer O’Neill

Karl Thomas

Editorial Board

Dr. Tim Ryan ’77

President

Nancy Harvin

Vice President for Advancement

Mark Erickson ’77

Vice President–Dean of Culinary Education

Mission Mise en place is the college magazine for alumni and friends of The Culinary Institute of America, and reflects its principles and core values. Its mission is to foster a mutually beneficial and enduring relationship between the CIA, its alumni, and friends by:

Providing information of interest about the college, its alumni, faculty, and students.

Presenting substantive, balanced, and accurate coverage of major issues and events concerning the college as well as highlighting alumni leadership and contributions to the foodservice industry.

Creating a forum to help alumni network and build community.

©2009 The Culinary Institute of America All rights reserved. mise en place® is a registered trademark of The Culinary Institute of America, 1946 Campus Drive, Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499. The CIA at Greystone and the CIA, San Antonio are branch campuses of the CIA, Hyde Park, NY.

Photography: Keith Ferris, Denise Hall, Anne Rettig, and Bernie Tostanowski III.

4

It’s true. When last summer’s Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak heated

up, I called my son, who was away taking college courses, to tell him

to avoid jalapeños at his favorite Mexican fast food restaurant down the

street from campus. He snorted his disdain into the phone, reminding

me that I no longer had control over him. Oh well. I’d done my best.

I’d made the call, and now just hoped that the next time he got hungry

he would opt for pizza.

And while I consider myself a rational person, I stopped buying

tomatoes when at first we all believed the Salmonella outbreak was

caused by them. Even after the FDA told us that on-the-vine and

cherry tomatoes were untainted, I bypassed them in the grocery store.

I realize now that I helped contribute to the $100 million shortfall

experienced by the tomato industry…but I just couldn’t help myself.

With communication from government agencies so mixed and varied

during the crisis, it was hard to trust what I heard and read.

That’s the reason it’s so important that we “get it right” when it comes

to food safety. Every outbreak of Salmonella and E-coli initiates both

a practical and emotional chain of events that can have a devastating

effect on an entire industry and the economics of an entire region. And

while the government is trying to sort out its alphabet soup of agencies

overseeing our food supply, our industry can do its part by rigorously

educating managers and kitchen workers about safe food handling, and

keeping pressure on suppliers to provide us with food that is traceable

back to its point of origin.

I’m hoping that these increasingly frequent outbreaks will soon be a

distant memory and that, in the future, when I reach for a tomato I

won’t have to wonder if it’s safe to eat.

Nancy Cocola

Editor

mise en place no.48, May 2009 5

We look forward to your letters both tender and thorny, commenting on issues and articles in mise en place. We reserve the right to edit letters for length and clarity. Submission does not guarantee publication. Please include your name and contact information with your letter. Submit to: Nancy Cocola, Editor, mise en place, 1946 Campus Drive, Hyde Park, NY 12538 or e‑mail to [email protected].

I received two e-mails about “The

Ambassadors” article in the Chocolate

edition of mise en place before I even got

my own copy—one from Noble Masi and

one from a ’91 graduate who is a cafeteria

manager in our school system. Both were

excited about the article. I received my

copy today when I got home from school.

WOW! Thanks for telling the story of

the Ambassadors’ visit to my school. The

Cooking with the CIA program is very

special for our students, school, county, and

state. And our students look forward to our

annual field trip to the CIA’s Hyde Park

campus. We look forward to working with

the CIA on future Ambassador visits to the

Center for Applied Technology–North.

Bruce S. Davis ’72

Severn, MD

I look forward to receiving mise en place

and keeping up with the CIA’s continual

improvements and progress. The Chocolate

issue, however, holds particular interest for

me. For the past four years I worked on a

project with over 50 researchers, globally,

documenting the history of chocolate;

wrote my dissertation on the medicinal use

of chocolate; and authored two chapters

in the forthcoming book Chocolate: History,

Culture and Heritage. So, I read with interest

the chocolate articles.

The issue’s photo imagery is fantastic; the

topic areas interesting. However, in more

than one section “fakelore” is perpetuated

and facts misreported. For example, we

searched for evidence that would indicate

who introduced the first heart-shaped box

of chocolates (timeline) and were unable to

determine its origins.

I applaud the CIA for sharing the lore and

science of chocolate. As an academic I

must remind those conducting research to

seek primary sources instead of secondary

sources to insure accurate information is

presented.

Deanna Pucciarelli ’91, Ph.D.

Muncie, ID

Love the new format. It really is excellent.

The Contract Food edition is your best yet.

Stories are interesting. The sections are

good choices. I would only suggest a bit

more coverage of campus life—like sports

team news. Overall mise en place is in a

really good format.

Ken Cummings ’88

Washington, DC

I just would like to thank you for making

such a good mise en place. I found it really

interesting and of course I really enjoyed

when some of my former colleagues were

mentioned. I particularly liked the piece

about contract food; it was quite interesting.

I now live in St. Petersburg, FL and am still

baking in my small apartment kitchen.

Rudolf Lang, CIA Baking and Pastry

Instructor, Retired ’96

St. Petersburg, FL

www.ciaalumninetwork.com6

Food Safety: From Pillory to Prevention

The story began back in 1785 when the governing body of the State of Massachusetts issued this law.

“Whereas some evilly disposed persons, from motives of avarice and filthy lucre, have been induced to sell diseased, corrupted, contagious, or unwholesome provision, to the great nuisance of public health and peace: Be it therefore enacted that if any person shall sell any such diseased provisions, knowing the same without making it known to the buyer, such offence shall be punished by fine, imprisonment, and standing in the pillory, or one or more of these, to be inflicted according to the degree and aggravation of the offence.” And while it may have been satisfying for the public to see the

sellers of diseased food punished by being pilloried or imprisoned,

it took another 100 years before the U.S. government got involved

in the issue from the vantage point of prevention. Even then, when

it created the 1890 Meat Inspection Act it was only to prevent

meat safety from posing a barrier to trade. The Act required

inspection of salt pork, bacon, and pigs intended only for export.


Food Safety: From Pillory to PreventionBy Nancy Cocola

It took the gruesome descriptions in Upton Sinclair’s book The

Jungle, based upon his seven weeks working inside the meat

industry, to help motivate the government to seriously look into its

own citizens’ food supply. Sinclair wrote:

“The workers fell into the vats…sometimes they would be overlooked for days, till all but the bones of them had gone out to the world as Durham’s Pure Leaf Lard! The meat would be shoveled into carts, and the man who did the shoveling would not trouble to lift out a rat even when he saw one.” Lewis’s claims were confirmed in the Neill-Reynolds Report,

commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt. That, along with

an increased public outcry, prompted the U.S. Congress to pass

two important and unprecedented pieces of legislation in 1906.

The Pure Food and Drug Act forbade manufacturers from selling

or transporting adulterated food products or “poisonous” patent

medicines. The Meat Inspection Act authorized the inspection and

condemnation of any meat found unfit for human consumption.

Both these Acts fell under the auspices of the U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) that divided their implementation between

two of its bureaus. The Meat Inspection Act fell to the Bureau

of Animal Industry, in part because it had veterinarians on staff

8

who could recognize sick animals. They were required to provide

inspection in every slaughterhouse and packing plant that then

existed—all 163 of them. Today, there are more than 6,000 such

facilities. The Pure Food and Drug Act fell under the Bureau of

Chemistry, which was the precursor to the modern Food and Drug

Administration (FDA). This was a great day for Harvey Wiley, a chief

chemist at the Department of Agriculture, whose research connecting

the contents of food and beverages with the health of consumers had

previously fallen on deaf ears. Wiley was clear that “adulterated food

made consumers weak, sick, and ‘unattractive.’” A man well ahead of

his time!

Charged with enforcement, these two bureaus had a clear mandate

that was a vast improvement. However, very quickly they were beset

by additional legislation that seemed unconcerned with the need to

coordinate oversight of the food supply as a whole. Only one year

later, in 1907, a Board of Food and Drug Inspection was created

to establish agency policy in enforcing the laws. Additionally, the

Referee Board of Consulting Science Experts was formed to advise

the department on safety issues associated with food additives. The

confusion began. According to Marion Nestle in her book Safe

Food, there are currently 35 separate laws, administered by 12

agencies, housed in six cabinet-level departments. Clarity

is elusive when it comes to the agencies monitoring the

safety of our food. For example, while the FDA regulates

dehydrated beef soup and chicken broth, the USDA

regulates dehydrated chicken soup and

beef broth.

Food Safety’s Alphabet SoupA look at the major players reveals a patchwork of

regulators overseeing our food supply. The Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture

(USDA) are the two Federal agencies we all know. They

inspect food products, enforce safety regulations, test

suspect foods, and work with industry to improve

safety practices. In its broadest definition, the

FDA is responsible for non-meat products such as

seafood, fruits, vegetables, and shelled eggs, while

the USDA oversees meat, poultry, and processed

egg products. Both agencies work extensively with

state food regulatory partners and within each are

agencies charged with implementation.

99

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is the public health

agency at the USDA that is responsible for ensuring that the nation’s

commercial supply of meat, poultry, and egg products is safe,

wholesome, and correctly labeled and packaged.

The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) operates under

the FDA. It has authority starting from a product’s point of U.S. entry

or processing to its point of sale—overseeing approximately 50,000

food manufacturers, processors, and warehouses, as well as 3,500

cosmetic firms. These figures do not include the roughly 600,000

restaurants and institutional foodservice establishments and the

235,000 supermarkets, grocery stores, and other food outlets regulated

by state and local authorities that receive guidance, model codes, and

other technical assistance from the FDA.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) monitors human

health through disease surveillance. The CDC is a non-regulatory,

scientific agency. Its mission is to “promote health and quality of

life by preventing and controlling disease, injury, and disability.”

The CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Bacterial, and Mycotic Diseases

conducts surveillance for foodborne diseases; assists local and

state health departments during outbreaks; collects, organizes, and

publishes information on foodborne illnesses and outbreaks; maintains

the national reference laboratories for foodborne pathogens; and

develops new strategies for diagnosing and fingerprinting them.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) was established in

the 1960s when NASA asked Pillsbury to design and manufacture the

first foods for space flights. Since then, HACCP has been recognized

internationally as a science-based food safety system used by both

the USDA and FDA. HACCP’s seven principles are based on risk

assessment. By identifying critical control points in the manufacturing

process, HACCP identifies when safety controls should be applied, the

limits on those controls, and the corrective actions to be taken. It also

highlights record keeping and evaluation of the system itself.

When it comes to imported foods, the United Nation’s Codex

Alimentarius (food code) purportedly bases its recommendations on

scientific information. However, the makeup of its commission is

heavily weighted in favor of trade rather than consumer concerns

about food safety. And the issue of food imports is historically a highly

political one that bases its regulatory strictures, in part, on our ability

to maintain trade relations with different countries.

With the FDA grossly under-funded and incidents of foodborne illness

seemingly on the rise, a new industry of third-party companies calling

themselves food-safety consultants has emerged. Practically every major

food manufacturer today hires experts to check out the ingredients

that are entering its facilities. However, with no system of certification

established for these third-party inspectors, there is a fear that they are

just window-dressing for large corporations burnishing their public

image. But one can understand why large companies have taken the

steps to hire them when the cost of a recall can deal a catastrophic

blow to business.

Economic and Consumer FalloutThe ultimate goal for examiners is to identify the point at which

the contamination occurred in the distribution chain or in the

food handling. It’s an arduous task. Lots of inaccurate associations

are initially made because the implicated food is connected to the

unrecognized real source of the problem. Testing the food can be

difficult. The food causing the outbreak may have already been

consumed or overlooked when samples were collected. Contamination

may not be detected because it varies within the food, the pathogen

did not survive long in the food, or the test is insensitive to the

pathogen. And after all the well-intentioned attempts to isolate the

outbreak’s culprit, there are still casualties.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts’ postmortem of this event, the

tomato industry, which represents a significant piece of this country’s

10

agriculture economy, lost more than $100 million in Florida and

close to $14 million in Georgia. After the event, jalapeño growers in

Mexico, who were not involved in the scare, were reluctant to plant

the crop again for export, fearing that they would have no market

in the U.S. These outcomes are not unusual. As a result of the

spinach outbreak in 2006, spinach farmers reported losses totaling

$350 million.

The emotional impact on consumers is reflected in their buying

patterns. In December 2007, the Thompson West Research poll

found 61% of Americans worry about the safety of their food. The

Food Marketing Institute’s U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2007 report

documented a 16% decline in consumer confidence in the safety of

the food they purchase in grocery stores. How many of us,

once an alert is issued, can overcome our fear and take

a “risk” to buy an item even after it has been cleared

by the FDA as having no part in the outbreak? This

emotional response can wreak havoc with a grower’s or

producer’s bottom line. But consumers have every right to remain

skeptical. So many mixed messages and signals emerge during one

of these events that it’s not surprising we willingly give

up spinach, peppers, and tomatoes while we wait for

our alphabet soup of agencies to give the “all clear.”

There has to be a better way.

Detection and PreventionIndeed, looking for a better way is front and center these

days. In her August 14, 2008 press release, Caroline Smith DeWaal,

director of food safety for the Center for Science in the Public

Interest (CSPI), praised the proposed bipartisan FDA Food Safety

Modernization Act, which would help refocus the FDA on preventing,

rather than just reacting to, foodborne disease outbreaks. The

bill would require domestic and foreign food companies to assess

potential hazards, develop food safety plans, and take steps to prevent

contaminated foods from being marketed. It also would require the

FDA to issue regulations for ensuring safer fresh produce.

DeWaal called upon the then-incoming Obama administration

to “bring our entire food regulatory system into the 21st century

by creating a unified food agency with a single leader and a firm

budgetary foundation.” President Obama is currently doing just that.

The outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium in peanut butter

that began in September 2008 has affected 575 people

in 43 states and resulted in the voluntary recall of 1,790

products. Traced to a Blakely, GA plant owned by Peanut Corporation

of America, the outbreak has prompted President Obama to call for an

investigation of the FDA’s practices.

And while it is easy to look at the FDA and find its failings, it is

historically under-funded and has limited power. For example, if a

company does internal testing for Salmonella that isn’t on the FDA’s

official clock and finds some, it doesn’t have to report it. The agency

also does not have the power to require a company to recall its

products; they can only request it be done.

Revamping the entire patchwork of federal agencies involved in

food safety is imperative. Among the key issues to look at along the

way: the traceability of our food and the new technology coming

out of universities across the country that will help us protect our

food sources.

We already have the technology to trace our food. Stickers on fruits

and vegetables are used as standardized price look-up codes. For

example, a “4087” on a sticker means red Roma tomatoes no matter

where you are shopping. Similar standardized codes could let retailers,

food safety investigators, and curious consumers know exactly what

farm a bunch of asparagus comes from. According to Caroline

Smith DeWaal, “unfortunately, the produce industry is reaping

what it sowed when it sought and received special exemptions that

allowed it to avoid the country-of-origin labeling requirements

that Congress passed in 2002.” We need to—and can—go beyond

country-of-origin labeling. We have the ability to trace back directly

to a specific farm. And when distributors mix produce from different

sources in repacking facilities, they should be required to maintain the

identifying marks or labels.

Our universities are cauldrons of new ideas and technologies. After

the 1998 Listeria contamination of hot dogs and deli meat, the Sara

Lee Corporation, as a condition of its probation, funded $3 million for

the Center for Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University.

Researchers at Iowa State University have revealed a new technique

for testing for Salmonella in produce by applying simple adhesive tape

to food surfaces and utilizing ultraviolet light to identify pathogens. An

agricultural research scientist and his colleagues from the University

of Georgia have developed a microscopic biological sensor that

detects Salmonella bacteria, which has great potential for food safety.

Flourescent organic dye particles attach to Salmonella antibodies

hooked onto the bacteria. The dye lights up like a torch, leading the

way to the Salmonella! When fully developed, this technology would

allow for frequent testing at a much lower cost than is incurred

by sending samples to a lab for analysis. This point-of-packaging

11

testing, if conducted properly, has the potential to

dramatically reduce the chance of contaminated

food reaching grocery store shelves. There is also

irradiation. Despite the fact that it is proven to help

eliminate most pathogens in the food, the public has never

been able to get over the idea, despite spirited media releases

to the contrary, that the process makes food radioactive in some way.

What this shows us is that any technology applied to treat foods for

the purpose of reducing pathogens will have to meet the litmus test of

acceptance by the public.

A Responsible Foodservice IndustryAccording to CIA Trustee Emeritus Alan Plassche, consultant for

UniPro Foodservice, Inc., there are two fundamental ways that

the foodservice industry can help ensure a safe experience for

customers. First, we must concentrate on safe food practices in our

facilities—whether it’s a restaurant, processing plant, or distribution

center. Second, we must take responsibility for knowing the food that

“comes in the back door.” He highlights sick employees and food

handlers, cross contamination, insufficient pathogen kill-steps in

cooking, and improper temperature controls as vital concerns in

the workplace. Another CIA trustee emeritus, John Farquharson,

president of the International Food Safety Council, couldn’t agree

more. He believes that constant, ongoing education of front-line

managers is key. When his organization first started to raise

awareness about ServSafe® food hygiene training, the National

Restaurant Association was certifying only 20,000 managers a year.

Now they certify upwards of 200,000 a year. At the CIA, the ServSafe

course is mandatory. Taught by Professor in Liberal Arts Rich Vergili

and Manager of Student Employment Barbara Campbell, this course

looks at not only the specifics of safe preparation of food, but attempts

to connect young culinarians to food in a way that will enable them to

take on the responsibility of being champions of a safe food supply.

And that responsibility, according to Plassche, means knowing

without a doubt the food safety practices of your food sources. He

suggests putting suppliers through rigorous screening and drilling

down to make sure that standards and audits are in place to reduce

risk. He sites SYSCO, which goes as far as to conduct historical

studies of the land they are growing their produce on and the sources

of certain products that are prone to food safety risks. And while

small operations surely don’t have the resources for that kind of due

diligence, it is always possible to shop around for producers and

distributors who are willing to be transparent about their practices.

If not, he suggests choosing someone else. He likes to remind

restaurateurs about “strict liability,” which means that if a supplier

sells you contaminated food and you serve it to your patrons, you

are still liable. It’s an even greater incentive, he says, for everyone to

control the food supply they work with. This is a sentiment echoed

by Sam Melamedas ’79, director of purchasing at American Food

and Vending Corp. “We are responsible to our customers and are

always asking vendors where they got the food and if they can

produce the certifications from the growers saying their water supply

was protected.” The bottom line is that it is up to all of us in the

foodservice industry to keep pressure on the suppliers and growers, as

well as our own staff, to think “food safety” first.

Books have been written about the history of, and present-day

concerns regarding, the safety of our food supply. Hundreds of

regulations have been written to try and ensure that Americans

can trust the food they buy, resulting in a fragmented system that

consumers are now reluctant to trust. But as frightening as these

recent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses have been, there is an upside.

They have certainly caught the attention of our lawmakers. Calls

for investigations into procedures at our watchdog agencies

offer renewed hope for the future. And with the pressure

from consumers, advances in technology, and a foodservice

industry that is increasingly educating its workers, a sea

change is coming in the way we structure our agencies and

ensure a safe food supply. Until then, we must, as an industry,

remain vigilant and do everything we can to ensure the

health of our customers and the safety of our food.

Food Safety Resources:www.FoodSafety.com

www.Recalls.gov

www.CDC.gov

www.cfsan.fda.gov

www.fsis.usda.gov

www.cit.msu.edu Michigan State University’s Center for

Integrative Toxicology

Internet Guide to Food Safety and Security by Elizabeth Connor

The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

Safe Food by Marion Nestle


With all the watchdog agencies out there, how is it that we are still getting sick from the innocuous tomato, jalapeño, spinach leaf, or peanut butter sandwich? And why does it take so long for agencies to issue recalls and secure public safety? A look at one of the two most recent outbreaks may shed light on the process and answer these questions.

Salmonella SaintpaulThe recent National Restaurant Association’s “Food Safety in the 21st

Century Marketplace” conference served as a forum for speakers from

all segments of the foodservice industry to discuss growing concerns

about our global food supply. In his presentation, David Warnock,

Ph.D., director of the Division of Foodborne, Bacterial, and Mycotic

Diseases at the CDC, spoke about the typical course of an outbreak.

He reported that they usually begin slowly with scattered consumer

complaints of illness. From there, healthcare providers begin reporting

clusters of similar symptoms. Information from the national network

of federal, state, and local public health laboratories that develop DNA

“fingerprints” of bacteria are then accessed. If links are found between

cases, then the clusters are classified as an “outbreak.” And finally,

reports in the media alert the public and may heighten their awareness

of the origin of their own symptoms. There is a natural, built-in delay

between when an illness starts and the date a case is reported to public

health authorities.

Here is a very broad timeline of the Salmonella Saintpaul outbreak

as presented by Dr. Warnock. It doesn’t reflect the many hours of

interviews, gathering of samples, scientific lab testing, control testing,

or conference calls and meetings between agencies. It does, however,

reflect the fact that tracing back an outbreak and isolating a single

source can be remarkably difficult.

anatomy of an outbreak 2008

JUNE

JUly

1:Trace back of

products begins.

1:Joint FDA-CDC advisory

update—869 cases with 107

hospitalizations. Tomatoes

still lead suspect. Other food

items consumed with tomatoes

are being investigated. A new

case control study established.

Increased number of labs

involved in testing food items.

7:North Carolina investigates

cluster of 13 illnesses and results

implicate guacamole made with

raw, red Roma tomatoes and

serrano peppers. CDC considers

strong probability that illnesses

are caused by more than one

food item.

5:FDA publishes

a list of states,

territories, and

countries where

these tomatoes

are grown and

harvested.

9:CDC issues advisory

update—167 cases in 17

states. Major restaurant

chains and grocery

chains announce they

are pulling tomatoes

from their outlets.

12:FDA updates

list of tomato-

growing areas

not associated

with the

outbreak.

17:FDA and CDC

clear tomatoes

as illness source.

Farms are no

longer producing

positive cultures.

7:FDA expands

consumer

advisory to be

nationwide. New

Mexico issues

press release on

55 cases.

3:FDA issues consumer alert for New

Mexico and Texas, warning consumers

not to eat raw, red plum, red Roma, or

round red tomatoes. On-the-vine and

cherry tomatoes were exempt from

this alert. Thirty potentially linked

illnesses appear in other states.


APRIL MAY

august

16:The first incidents

of possible

foodborne illnesses

get reported to

physicians.

8–20:New Mexico

Department of

Health begins

collecting specimens;

serotyping them as

Salmonella

Saintpaul.

23:Match to

outbreak strain

identified in

Colorado and

Texas and a

multi-state

investigation

begins.

21:FDA announces finding

contaminated jalapeño

peppers at McAllen,

TX distribution center.

These peppers were

grown in Mexico.

Consumers told to avoid

fresh jalapeño peppers.

31:New Mexico

issues press

release

associating New

Mexico illnesses

with fresh

tomatoes and

identifies three

retail sources.

30:FDA announces

contaminated serrano

peppers and irrigation

water at farm in

Mexico. Advises

consumers not to eat

serrano peppers grown

in Mexico.

23:CDC issues

advisory

update—613

cases in 33

states.

18:Joint FDA-CDC press release

states outbreak is not over with

new cases being reported; 383

cases from 30 states. Assumes

contaminated tomatoes came

from Mexico or Florida.

28:CDC issues advisory—1,442 cases in 43 states with

286 people hospitalized. Serrano and jalapeño

peppers grown, harvested, or packed in Mexico

are cause of some of the clusters and major vehicle

in outbreak. Outbreak has ended. No new cases

of illness are reported. Final assessment of specific

food of origin—still unclear.

20:Texas reports an additional 134 cases.

CDC issues advisory update—552

cases in 32 states. Checking for

contamination between Mexico and

Florida. CDC and Texas investigate

a cluster of 47 illnesses whose results

implicate jalapeño peppers.

24–26:New Mexico officials

hypothesize fresh

tomatoes are the

source. The CDC

notifies the FDA of

this hypothesis and

New Mexico begins a

case control study.

25:FDA advises

consumers not to

eat jalapeño peppers

grown in Mexico.

Domestic peppers

are not implicated in

outbreak.

22:New Mexico Department of

Health notifies the CDC that a

cluster of 19 Salmonella cases

are under investigation and

epidemiologists begin patient

interviews. Data collected

includes travel; daycare

contact; contact with reptiles,

pets, and farm animals; types

and sources of drinking water;

history of swimming; and an

extensive history regarding

the location of, and the actual

foods eaten, for a full five days

prior to the illness onset.


Boa constrictors; giant moths; big-eyed, gerbil-like rodents; howler monkeys;

pacas; and worms that slithered around in packs were just some of the

creatures that greeted recent graduate and coffee enthusiast Bernie

Tostanowski III ’09 and Lecturing Instructor in Café Operations Denise

Hall ’96 on their coffee sojourn to Nicaragua.

Counter Culture, an organic coffee-roasting company in Durham, NC,

is dedicated to educating the world about fine, direct-trade coffee. Its

commitment to spreading the word extends to organizing educational

trips of origin for its customers that take them to Counter Culture’s

partnering organic coffee farms in San Ramón, Nicaragua. As the first

Counter Culture Coffee Scholarship recipient, Bernie, along with his

instructor Denise Hall, gladly took them up on the offer to learn more about

coffee by following the beans from harvest to export and then brewing.

Landing in Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, they encountered a fairly

modern city with palm tree-lined roads and, you guessed it, a Best Western

Hotel where our CIA adventurers stayed. But after only one night, they

waved goodbye to luxury and embarked on a three-hour van ride to

San Ramón, where they were installed at Finca Esperanza Verde, a

coffee farm that was their base of operations for the next week.

Guided by staff from Counter Culture, Bernie, Denise,

and the other group members got the lay of the land

by hiking the hilly trails all around the farm. They

discovered the variety of vegetation necessary to

provide the shade coffee plants require for maximum

growth. They learned about a unique worm-

composting system that marries coffee bean husks

with worms and water to create a concentrated run-off

used as a liquid fertilizer. And they visited the butterfly

pavilion that supports the growth of the butterflies

needed for the local ecology.

The day they spent picking coffee beans high up on the

hot, humid, but verdant hills of San Ramon held many

surprises. “Unlike a winery where you can clearly see the

rows and find your grapes to pick, coffee plants are grown under

the banana plants and amidst many other varieties of vegetation,”

explained Denise. “Once in the forest, it was possible to see a semblance

of order. And then, all you needed to do was pick the ripe, bright-red

cherries that contained the beans.”

From Seed to CupA Nicaraguan Coffee Harvest

15

But it was not that simple, according to Bernie. “The

eight of us from the U.S. spent 2½ hours picking ripe

beans [cherries] and tossing them into baskets tied

around our waists,” he said. “When we tallied up

our harvest, we had picked less than half the amount

an experienced picker would have harvested. And,

we had collectively earned only $4.50.”

During visits to other coffee cooperative farms,

Bernie and Denise were struck by the primitive

conditions in which the growers and their families

live. Scrap wood walls and dirt floors were not

uncommon. But, while their family homes may

be little more than shanties, their milling houses

are often constructed of brick. At one farm, the

owner has two de-husking machines in his wet mill

building. A cot in the corner is reserved for his

uncle, who sleeps there to ensure that no one steals

the machines in the dead of night.

Nicaragua is the second-poorest country in the

Western Hemisphere, but all the farmers in this

cooperative have ownership of their land because,

after the revolution, the government allowed people

to homestead. Counter Culture works to ensure

that there is no middleman, and that all profits from

the harvest go directly back to the farmer. Counter

Culture has helped all of its growers to develop

organic practices. Trust and commitment on both

sides is essential, as that type of conversion can take

as long as seven years to accomplish.

As a bonus, the group was able to squeeze in a

trip to a local chocolate factory to observe the

facility where they roast and process cacao. And

finally, they all returned to the U.S. to spend a

full day back in Counter Culture’s main roasting

facility in Durham, NC. Bernie got to roast his own

small batch of the very beans harvested at Finca

Esperanza Verde.

Bernie’s enthusiasm for learning and interest in

every facet of the coffee-making process has led

Counter Culture to consider making this an ongoing

scholarship for a student interested in pursuing

coffee as a career. Bernie most definitely will. He

explains his vision this way. “I love music, and I’m

passionate about coffee. I’m hoping to one day have

a coffee house that serves up truly excellent coffee

and great live music.”


By Jennifer O’Neill

We received an e-mail “S.O.S.” from Occasions Caterers, a

prominent Washington, DC firm owned by my twin cousins Mark

and Eric Michael that

read, “We need extra

waiters and kitchen staff

to work inauguration

events! Can the CIA

help?” Our response

was a resounding,

“Yes, we can!” Three

current CIA students,

two staff from the

Advancement Office, and

many CIA alumni from the DC area answered the call.

Our intrepid group was scheduled to work three of Occasions’

50 scheduled events over inaugural weekend. Our experience

was simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating. But at the

end of each day we realized how essential the foodservice

industry is. Without it, there is no party!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Event #1: Breakfast for 2,200 guests. Sponsored by the Inaugural Finance Com-mittee at the National Building Museum 4 a.m. Arriving in the dark, we immediately started prepping

country egg pie, apple pain perdu, applewood smoked bacon, and

platters of tropical fruit. And as you would expect at an event of

this magnitude, small but annoying problems invariably cropped

up. We were short 58 bowls of butter, were low on jam, and didn’t

have enough electricity in our kitchen to power the coffee urns.

But ingenuity, from Occasions’ staff, overcame each obstacle.

6 a.m. Suddenly, drifting in over the clatter and hubbub,

came the strains of Carole King’s “Natural

Woman.” We all remarked that the sound

system must be great because her voice

sounded so real. And it was real! Carole

King was in the Great Hall warming up

for her performance later. The goodwill at

this event was plentiful so it didn’t seem to matter when we ran

out of tea bags. Our servers’ friendly smiles and the music of the

Dartmouth Gospel Choir, BeBe Winans, and Carole King seemed

to help the tea drinkers forgive and forget.

1:30 P.m. Plates and tables cleared, our weary group stepped

outside and was immediately rejuvenated by a city filled with joy

and enthusiasm. We follow our hearts (and thousands of other

people) to the National Mall to enjoy the “We Are One” concert.

Everyone was transported as the music of Bruce Springsteen, John

Mellencamp, James Taylor, Sheryl Crow, and others filled the air.

monday, January 19, 2009

Event #2: Bipartisan Dinner Honoring

Colin Powell for 1,200 guests at the National Building Museum 10 a.m. Our tent kitchen was freezing! Heaters were turned off

to keep 1,200 grilled Gulf shrimp and passion fruit salads chilled.

We wore our down coats while our frozen fingers attempted to

plate vegetables in the shape of an artist’s palette. While the Secret

Service “swept” the Great Hall—a three-hour operation—servers

were stopped in the middle of setup. They removed us from the

kitchen to be “magged” with a metal detector. Then, the Secret

Service insisted we move our CIA van or it would be towed

immediately. Assistant Director of Donor Relations Rebecca Kent

raced out the doors screaming to Secret Service agents, “Please

don’t tow that van!” But, finding a tow-free zone

was nearly impossible. Stopping a DC police

officer to ask for help, she discovered he was a

proud CIA grad. The CIA to the rescue, again.

3 P.m. Already behind schedule, we raced to

catch up in the kitchen when we met Marilyn,

Inauguration Elation

our intrePid cia volunteerS

Jennifer o’neill & Peter ziehl


a determined Department of

Health officer. She hovered over

the chef as he cooked, slowed

production with the wave of her

meat thermometer, and frightened

workers as she yelled about proper

gloves and sanitation procedures.

5 P.m. Anticipation ran high as guests arrived, many of them

celebrities and dignitaries. We asked Ben Affleck to please move

aside so we could pour wine, chatted with actor Bradley Whitford,

passed individual cheesecakes to Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks,

shared greetings with Steven Spielberg and Smokey Robinson, and

even got to talk to Jamie Lee Curtis while on a bathroom break! It

was a surreal experience. Senator John Warner introduced Colin

Powell and Vice-President-Elect Joe Biden, who both spoke. Then,

to a spellbound crowd, President-Elect Obama took the stage

to speak about Colin Powell’s many accomplishments. We were

breathless both because we were only 150 feet away from the next

Commander in Chief and because we’d just served 1,200 people in

10 minutes flat.

midniGht: Exhausted, we hit the sheets…our wake-up call

was for 3 a.m.!

tueSday, January 20, 2009—inauGuration day!

Event #3: Swearing In and Parade Viewing Party for 900+ guests high atop Pennsylvania Avenue 4 a.m. After only three hours of sleep, we were running on

fumes. Nonetheless, we wrestled dozens of Cres-Cors up service

elevators to the building’s 12th floor. Our client had requested

a six-hour buffet. Almost immediately, we hit a snafu. Due to

security and transportation problems, 20 of our staff were “no

shows.” Now each of us had to do the work of three people.

10 a.m. The food flew out of the kitchen and into guests’

mouths so fast we were constantly rushing to prep and restock.

During the swearing-in ceremony the party came to a halt as

all eyes turned to the television. But the moment it was over our

guests rediscovered their voracious appetites! We replenished our

waning energy with quick trips to the rooftop to scan the parade

route below. Though unsettling, it was also comforting to see

snipers posted on every rooftop.

4 P.m. Twelve hours after we’d arrived, the last guest departed.

We were bone-tired and did our best to clean up as quickly as

possible—the end was in sight!

5:30 P.m. Completely spent, we desired nothing more

than sleep, but it eluded us as visions of our once-in-a-lifetime

experience replayed in our minds. Now, when anyone asks if,

despite extraordinary circumstances, CIA students and staff will

provide first-class foodservice that’s worthy of a president, our

answer will be…Yes, We Can!

Jennifer O’Neill is an alumni relations officer.

inauGural Query

“if you could be any-one in WaShinGton d.c. thiS Week…Who Would it be?”

rebecca morriS: “i’m so happy that for the first time since the kennedy administration there will be small children running around the White house. i can only imagine Sasha and malia’s excitement. i’d love to be one of those kids—having sleepovers…playing pranks on the Secret Service…and visiting my dad at the office.”

Peter Weltman: “i wish i were abraham lincoln. his face was never far from inaugural events. his “house divided” plea was referenced during the first of many speeches at our breakfast events and it set the tone of ‘unity.’ not only did his monument have the best seat in the house during the ‘We are one’ concert, but i know he would be proud to witness the excitement in Washington.”

cia StudentS Peter & rebecca


Every day of the year, alumni like you reach out to current and

prospective students and do something extraordinary. Your

invaluable insights offer students a glimpse into the real world

of foodservice. Your astute advice guides them as they make

important career choices. And the modeling of your expertise and

professionalism sets the standard for their own performance. Your

commitment to them and to all things culinary helps pass on a

legacy that starts at the doors of the CIA.

Whether you choose to be a mentor, provide an externship site,

expand students’ education by offering a demo on campus, talk

the ears off a prospective student and his or her parents at a

College Fair, or donate a Gift-in-Kind to the college, every one of

your generous acts helps to Make Us Better.

Friends in ChicagoFor the past 12 years,

Michael Garbin ’76

has been hosting

the CIA’s Alumni

Reception during the

National Restaurant

Association’s annual

meeting in Chicago,

IL. Michael is the

executive chef at the

Union League Club

of Chicago where the

Club’s membership

recognizes the

importance of

Michael’s relationship with the CIA. With three restaurants and

180 guest rooms, this private club has all the amenities of a small

hotel, and a CIA-trained executive chef certainly adds to their

cachet. Michael gives back to the CIA by coordinating the Alumni

Reception. Every year, he asks for and receives the unstinting

support of local alumni. Together they donate all the food and

beverages for the event, leaving the CIA with only the expense for

the wait staff. “I feel that hosting this reception is the best way for

me to continue to give back to the college,” Michael says. “I want

the CIA to know they have friends here in Chicago!”

A Man With a MissionWhen Paul Sofka ’97

talks about spreading

the word, he means it in

the culinary sense. Paul

is in the unique position

of director of culinary

services at the Houston

First Baptist Church in

Houston, TX. There are

many challenges when you

provide sustenance to a

congregation that numbers

as many as 14,000 members. Paul might find himself preparing

meals for a three-day Southern Baptist Convention of 8,000

people, providing lunches for the K-8 church school and childcare

center, or creating daily meals for the more than 200 church staff.

But Paul’s other job is to spread the word about the CIA. That’s

why he attends Career and College Fairs, representing the CIA

whenever he can. He describes three types of people he meets

there—parents who wish they could go to culinary school, kids

who definitely know they want to come to the CIA, and the ones

he calls the “wanderers.” He’s there to convince them that the CIA

is the best culinary education around. There’s nothing like a man

with a mission!

GOAAAAAALLLL!Not many chefs can say

they recruit potential

externs for their hotels

by playing ice hockey,

but Mark Quitney ’85,

executive chef at the New

Orleans Marriott, can. In

the past when he would

come north to the CIA’s

Career Fairs, he would take

the time to engage some

of the students in a lively

scrimmage during which he

You Make Us BetterOne Student at a Time

michael Garbin ‘76

Paul Sofka ‘97

mark Quitney ‘87


could formulate opinions about whether they would be a good match

for an externship slot. If you think Mark has fun when he’s visiting

the CIA, you’d be right. “I love my school,” he says. “The best part of

being a student here was that everyone wanted to be a chef.” Today,

Mark, who has been with Marriott for over 19 years, has revitalized

the New Orleans Marriott, taking it to 12th place among the 330

Marriott properties! He’s also started a Culinary Council with the

other four Marriotts in New Orleans to lower costs and consolidate

ideas. He loves the fact that after an externship with Marriott,

many of his CIA students come back and work for the company.

GOAAAALLL!

Duck, Duck, Goose When Robert Ambrose

’88 gives a demonstration

about foie gras to students

in Professor Patrick

Bottiglieri’s class, he’s come

to expect certain things: CIA

students are well-informed,

they ask lots of pertinent

questions that others might

not think of, and they are

concerned about every step

of the production process,

from raising the ducks to

preparation for cooking.

His pleasure in educating

current CIA students and his commitment to the college is evident

in the many things he does. Through his work as chef and sales

representative at Bella Bella Gourmet Foods—a prime source for

foie gras, specialty meat, and heirloom poultry—Robert has donated

product for the annual Dinner with the Masters®, participated in

the Hudson Valley Harvest Dinner showcasing local products, and

provided lively demonstrations for our students.

Cultivating Chefs“I enjoy working with students to help them learn and grow, and to

build future leaders for the industry,” says Sean Woods ’92, executive

chef at Ritz-Carlton, Orlando Grande-Lakes. Almost 17 years ago,

when Sean was a mid-level manager, he established the Ritz-Carlton

as an externship site for CIA students. Externs have six weeks in

each of three areas—fine dining, casual, and banquet. This ensures

they have time to become part of the team and develop a routine and

rhythm. Even though he is now extremely busy as executive chef, Sean

still finds time to be part of the students’ training. “I love working

side-by-side with them, plating up on the banquet line or when I’m

expediting in the kitchen. But the most rewarding thing is getting

letters from former externs telling me how they have progressed in

their careers and knowing I’ve made an impact.”

Thanks to all who already give so much of their time and

expertise to our students. But there are so many more talented

and experienced alumni out there we hope will consider ways

they can have an impact and make the CIA better…one student

at a time.

For more information, contact Alumni Relations at 845-451-1401

or e-mail us at [email protected].

Sean WoodS ‘92 With extern laura hooten ‘09

robert ambroSe ‘88


Following the Presidential TrailChange is a constant at the CIA; whether it’s a new CIA board

chairman, a new cutting-edge residence lodge at our Greystone

campus, or just the prospect of a new president in Washington, DC.

President Tim Ryan is involved in these changes—both weighty and

light—revealing the variety of hats a college president wears.

Presidents and Board Chairs Convene In January, Tim and Chairman of the Board Cameron Mitchell

’86 attended the Association of Governing Boards of Colleges and

Universities (AGB) Conference for presidents and board chairs.

The 42 participants—21 presidents and 21 chairs—were there to

get up to speed regarding their roles and responsibilities, to hear

the latest best practices, and to exchange information and insights

with other leaders in higher education. Even more important

was the time provided for presidents and chairs to bond, think,

and discuss plans for how they are going to move forward with

their specific boards. Tim and Cameron came away with similar

observations:

• The CIA Board is in very good shape, and its processes and

procedures meet or exceed the best practices presented.

• The CIA is well-known and highly regarded, garnering more

interest from conference participants than any other college

present.

Greystone’s New Green Residence During a recent visit to the Greystone campus, Tim officially broke

ground for a new student housing facility that will probably be

one of the greenest buildings in the Napa Valley. Its 31 units will

house 60 students and a resident assistant. Water conservation and

energy efficiency are key components of this project. To that end,

low-flow sinks, toilets, and showers as well as wastewater treated for

landscape irrigation, are planned. Solar panels will heat water used

in the facility and collect energy for electric power.

The lodge is expected to be finished in July 2009 with a Leadership

in Energy Efficiency in Design (LEED) gold certification.

From President Ryan to President Obama The Rachael Ray daytime talk show invited presidents from various

sectors of the business and entertainment world to share their

management tips with Mr. Obama in advance of his becoming

President of The United States of America. Tim’s particular advice

for the future president carried the ring of familiar themes.

“As we all know, America already has all the right ingredients. Given

that, I encourage President Obama to approach his job much as a master

chef would. Focus on bringing out the very best in the ingredients you

have—without over-complicating the dish. Adjust the seasoning as you

go, and keep your kitchen spotlessly clean. And remember that while few

dishes will appeal to all, you should have something on your menu for

everyone—even if their tastes and preferences are different. If you follow

that formula, the result will surely be a winning recipe for our nation’s

future. Congratulations, and we here at the other CIA wish you the best

in your Presidency.”

PreSident ryan and chairman of the board cameron mitchell

left to riGht: GreyStone director of adminiStration & finance bob Graham, tim, and manaGinG director charleS henninG at GroundbreakinG.


The B.P.S. Restaurant Operations course, taught by Professor

Patrick Bottiglieri and Associate Professor Bill Guilfoyle, has

added a new requirement. Students in this capstone course must

organize and manage an entire fine-dining event—soup to nuts.

With a fixed budget in hand, students in each of the course’s five

sections had to come up with a concept, determine a marketing

plan, and organize the front- and back-of-the-house operations.

Students were responsible for recipes, costing, budget, and

formulating an accurate profit and loss statement. And finally, the

group had to decide which charitable organization would be the

recipient of the event’s profits.

A look at the January 2009 Fabulous Las Vegas! dinner event

provides a window into the challenges and learnings of this

hands-on experience. The cocktail hour in Farquharson Hall

had an open bar, passed hors d’oeuvre, and casino games like

blackjack, baccarat, craps, and roulette. Then, the guests moved

to Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici where six serving stations, each

bearing the names of famous Las Vegas hotels, were set up.

As in real life, the unexpected often happens. Fabulous Las Vegas!

was no exception. Putting water into the base of a soup warmer

resulted in a leak of mammoth proportions. With the doors about

to open, students worked frantically to find out the cause of the

problem and clean up the mess. But the guests never knew—they

experienced a flawless event.

Raising money for their chosen charity required that students

approach local store owners and individuals as well as the CIA

for raffle items. Gifts included books, wine, food, health club

memberships, and jewelry. Raffle tickets were a modest $2 each.

The students were exhausted but delighted with the results of their

efforts. “It was great way to use all the skills we’ve leaned so far,”

said Chelsey Poole ’09. And Carolyn Coppolo ’09 was happy to

see that “even in a recession, the community was willing to help a

good cause.” The evening’s raffle raised $1,140. All monies were

donated directly to the American Heart Association.

Some other student-run events that benefited the community were:

Fire and Ice Progressive Dinner Guests started the evening at St.

Andrew’s Café, where they enjoyed a reception and silent auction.

Then it was off to Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici for a wonderful

dinner. All told, the auction and dinner raised enough money to

donate $4,000 to Dutchess Outreach (the class’s chosen charity)

with an additional $2,400 going to the CIA Scholarship Fund.

Fantastic!

Valentine’s Day Dinner-Dance

Farquharson Hall was

transformed into a romantic

getaway for 170 guests. They

all enjoyed a reception, open

bar, five-course dinner, and

dancing to the popular band,

The Big Smoothies—who

brought down the house! In

all, $2,600 was raised for

the Leukemia/Lymphoma

Society.

As an educational exper-

ience, these five events

couldn’t have been more

perfect. As a community

service project, they couldn’t

have been more timely. Kudos

to all our creative students!

Student Creativity Serves Community

22

By Shelly Loveland

At the CIA we are keenly aware of the importance of

sourcing food locally, promoting sustainable agriculture,

reducing waste and pollution, and conserving energy.

That’s why understanding green principles is a

fundamental part of our students’ educational experience

as well as an institution-wide commitment. At the CIA,

“being green” means protecting the environment through

initiatives such as these…

Promoting SustainabilitySourcing From Local Farms

By “going local,” the CIA is able to reduce its carbon

footprint, help nearby farms thrive, and allow students

to better understand the benefits of the chef-farmer

connection.

The CIA is the first college known to have a farm liaison.

Paul Wigsten, produce buyer at the Hyde Park, NY

campus and a 10th-generation farmer, holds this unique

position. Each February, he meets with area growers

to review the ingredients CIA chef-instructors plan to

use in the coming year. The farmers then plant crops

accordingly. In 2007 alone, the CIA purchased $500,000

worth of product from more than 24 Hudson Valley

farms.

Out in California, the CIA at Greystone is perfectly

situated to take full advantage of the state’s renowned

agricultural riches. Purchasing Manager Jim DeJoy works

closely with his distributor to, as much as possible, source

just the right ingredients for Greystone’s restaurants

and education programs from growers located within a

50-mile radius of the St. Helena, CA campus.

Sustainability in Education

From Introduction to Gastronomy to the Wine and

Food Seminar, the CIA curriculum helps students gain a

profound understanding of where food comes from and

how its production affects the world we live in. Student

clubs like the CIA Garden Society and Chefs Sustaining

Agriculture in Hyde Park, and the Greystone Student

Organic Garden Project on the St. Helena campus, make real

the lessons of the classroom. Students in Hyde Park sell their

gardens’ bounty to the CIA storeroom and to local alumni-owned

restaurants. California students sell product from their “Greystone

Green Thumbs” booth at the St. Helena Farmers’ Market.

Providing a Green EnvironmentRecycling

Here are just a few statistics that reveal the CIA’s commitment to

recycling, composting, and even pre-cycling.

Food scraps—1.7 tons per day—are sent weekly to McEnroe •

Organic Farm in Millerton, NY for composting.

Used cooking oil is sent to Mopac for recycling and •

conversion to biodiesel. Greystone’s used cooking oil is sent

to St. Helena High School, where students transform it into

biodiesel fuel that’s sold to wineries to power their equipment.

Glass, metal, corrugated cardboard, and plastics are sent to •

Waste Management, Inc.

Eliminated the use of 15,000–18,000 paper cups a week on •

the Hyde Park campus.

Housing

The six residence lodges on the Hyde Park campus were designed

for optimal energy efficiency. That investment was recognized

with a rebate incentive from the New York State Energy Research

and Development Authority. As one of their many energy-saving

features, the lodges employ geothermal heat pumps, which use the

Earth’s constant temperatures for heating and cooling. According

to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, these heat pumps

are the most energy-efficient, environmentally clean, and cost-

effective systems for temperature control. Preliminary reports

show that the CIA lodges use 52 percent less energy as compared

with annual averages for student lodging in the Northeast.

New student housing at Greystone has been designed to earn

a minimum gold-level LEED (Leadership in Energy and

Environmental Design) certification from the U.S. Green Building

Council. (See p. 20 for more.)

These and other initiatives that are in the works ensure that the

CIA is always going, going, green.

Shelly Loveland is a writer/editor at the CIA.

Going, Going, Green

23

KUDOSPresident Ryan Receives AwardThe Silver Plate Award for Specialty Foodservices will be presented to

President Tim Ryan on Monday, May 18, 2009, at a banquet hosted by

IFMA at the National Restaurant Association’s Hotel-Motel Show in

Chicago. The Silver Plate is awarded in nine categories representing

the industry’s segments. At the banquet, one of the Silver Plate

recipients will be named winner of the coveted Gold Plate.

The Staff of LifeLecturing Instructor in Baking and

Pastry Arts Hans Welker and former

Teaching Assistant Christopher

Teixeira ’07 were awarded the gold

medal for Best Bakery Display at

the 140th Annual Salon of Culinary

Arts sponsored by The Société Culinaire Philanthropique at the 93rd

International Hotel/Motel Restaurant Show. Hans and Chris created

an amazing showpiece table that groaned under the weight of 47

different types of yeasted and non-yeasted decorated breads.

Fab Faculty!Kudos to Associate Dean for Curriculum and Instruction for Culinary

Arts Thomas Griffiths ’80, who was named the 2009 ACF Northeast

Region Chef Educator of the Year. He will compete for the national

title against other winning regional counterparts at the 2009 ACF

National Convention in Orlando, FL in July.

Congratulations to Associate Professor in Hospitality and Service

Management Mauro Sessarego, who recently earned his Master of

Science degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Service

Leadership and Innovation. His course of study included such courses

as service metrics, human resources, and global management.

To Hell and Back As Hell’s Kitchen Season 5 premieres, three CIA grads stand poised

and ready to take on the often-painful route that leads to the grand

prize—a head chef position at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in

Atlantic City, NJ. Demanding absolute perfection, Michelin three-star

Chef Gordon Ramsay puts the chefs through hellish, rigorous culinary

challenges, testing to see who will crack under the intense pressure.

Best of luck to our three alumni: Ji-Hyun Cha ’04, a private caterer

in Palisades Park, NJ; Andrea Heinly ’06, a line cook from Reading,

PA; and Giovanni Filippone ’97, an executive chef in Destin, FL. All

should take comfort in the fact that two CIA graduates have prevailed

in the past. Heather West ’03 was the Season 2 winner and Christina

Machamer ’08 was the Season 4 winner.

Alumni Across America SuccessGuests poured into the Westerly Yacht Club for the Fifth Annual

Alumni Across America Scholarship Dinner anticipating another

memorable meal created by Alumni Council member David Miguel

’78 and his CIA alumni friends. This event, which is in its fifth year,

was created by David and his team: Barbaraellen Olson ’82, Paul

Fidrych ’82, Joseph Collins ’81, Andrew Nathan ’85, Matt Chacho

’05, William Gifford ’01, Eric Perrin ’86, Brian Levitsky ’99, David

Gryzch ’86, and new CIA student Frank Drury. Westerly resident

Ken Sorensen ’73, kindly provided housing for the Alumni Relations

team. This terrific group of alumni raised $8,000 for CIA student

scholarships—and we thank them!

chef miGuel (center) With hiS cia buddieS


At the annual CIA Leadership Gala on March 26, excitement

filled the air as captains of the culinary industry, renowned

chefs, and devotees of the CIA converged to honor this year’s

Augie recipients. And, while enjoying an evening of food and

conviviality, they were also helping to raise funds for CIA

scholarship endowment.

With the colorful actress Ruta Lee as emcee, the evening was

filled with both comic and serious moments as Alumnus of the

Year Grant Achatz ’94, Chef of the Year Ferran Adrià, and Hall

of Fame inductee John Profaci, Sr. took the stage to accept their

Augie awards.

Ruth Reichl, renowned food critic and editor-in-chief of Gourmet

magazine, spoke about the first time she ate at Grant Achatz’s

restaurant Alinea. “I was skeptical at first, but midway through

the meal I found myself laughing with delight,” she recounted.

“Not only is Grant’s food sensual and intellectual, it pushes the

boundaries of the culinary experience—redefining our notion of

what a restaurant can be.” In his gracious acceptance speech,

Grant acknowledged the CIA for teaching him the fundamentals

and skills critical to every chef, Ruth Reichl for using her

powerful culinary voice in support of purity and passion in

food, and Ferran Adrià for opening people’s minds to modern

gastronomy and making this an exciting time to be a chef.

José Andrés, celebrated chef and owner of award-winning

restaurants in Washington, DC, had the honor of introducing

his good friend and mentor Ferran Adrià. “What makes

Ferran great is that he is never afraid to fail and has

more enthusiasm than anyone I know,” he explained.

“The true heart of this man is that day in and day

out he is sharing his knowledge with everyone and

helping them ask the most important question—

Why?” With Associate Professor in Culinary Arts

Joseba Encabo providing translation, Ferran Adrià

accepted his award with acknowledgements to his

brother Albert, who oversees the sweets at elBulli,

Glorious Galacharlie Palmer (Second from riGht) and Wife liSa (center) With friendS

JoSé andréS, JoSeba encabo, ferran adrià, and tim ryan

thomaS zachariaS, JoSé andréS, amanda eSSner, Grant achatz, and laura hooten

ruth reichl, Grant achatz, and tim ryan


and Oriol Castro, chef de cuisine at elBulli. When remembering the

time he’d spent, the day before, speaking and giving a demo to CIA

students, he emotionally revealed, “One of the most wonderful days

of my life was yesterday at the CIA. I have never before experienced

2,400 students all of whose eyes were filled with a passion for what

they do.”

President Tim Ryan had the final honor of the evening as he introduced

the Hall of Fame inductee, John Profaci, Sr. Offering a brief

history on the olive oil industry in the U.S., President

Ryan described how all the groundwork John Profaci

and his company, Colavita USA, had laid down

in the ’70s bore fruit when opportunity finally

knocked in the mid-’80s. Referring to Mr. Profaci

as a “legendary gentleman,” he explained how

the CIA has been the beneficiary of the Profacis’

largesse in the form of the Colavita Center

for Italian Food and Wine on the Hyde

Park campus.

When Mr. Profaci took the stage, everyone rose as one to applaud

a man who helped change the way Americans eat and whose word

is his bond. Indeed, his initial agreement with Enrico Colavita

to bring extra virgin olive oil to the U.S. market was sealed with

just a simple handshake. Mr. Profaci recounted how, in the early

days, supermarkets refused to put his olive oil on the shelves,

believing it too hard to sell to the American consumer. Mr. Profaci

explained, “It was restaurant chefs who were responsible for my

initial success. They saw the beauty in the product and bought it.”

So it was fitting that his award came from the CIA, a school that

educates some of the world’s best chefs.

Everyone in attendance felt the honorees’ gratitude and emotion

as they accepted their Augies. And the opportunity to meet and

recognize three of the culinary world’s transformational figures

was a memory not soon to be forgotten.

Glorious GalaciPriani 42nd Street

cameron and molly mitchell (left) With connie and John Profaci

ferran adrià, Grant achatz , and John Profaci

John Profaci


Culinary education at every level is at the center of the CIA’s

mission. To that end, the college has formed an exciting

partnership with SkillsUSA. Together they’ve established the

SkillsUSA WorldTeam National Culinary Training Center at

the CIA in Hyde Park, NY. The college is providing technical

expertise and educational resources to prepare the national

culinary champion to represent the United States at the September

2009 WorldSkills Competition in Calgary, Canada. CIA faculty

member Bruce Mattel ’80 has designed a training curriculum

for the finalist, who began training in January 2009 for the

competition in Calgary.

“SkillsUSA is proud to partner with The Culinary Institute

of America,” said Peter Carey, coordinator of SkillsUSA’s

WorldTeam. “By joining forces with one of America’s premier

culinary educational institutions, SkillsUSA students will have a

leg up in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete on the

world stage at the WorldSkills competitions.”

Craig Growney, a current CIA B.P.S. student, and two other past

SkillsUSA national gold medalists competed against each other

for the chance to go to WorldSkills. Judging took place at the

Hyde Park campus in front of CIA chef judges. Under a tight time

constraint, they each had to debone a chicken, ice a complete

cake, and small-dice three pounds of carrots. In addition, Chef

Mattel interviewed each competitor. When all was said and done,

Craig earned the privilege of representing the U.S. in the 2009

WorldSkills Competition for Culinary Arts.

As it turns out, Craig is no stranger to competition. As a member

of SkillsUSA during all four years of high school, he competed

and twice earned first place in his home state of New Jersey.

Those wins propelled him to a larger competition stage at the

nationals.

And now, for three hours every Wednesday morning, you can

find Chef Mattel and Craig working together as Craig practices

the skills needed to meet the culinary challenges he will face in

Calgary next September. At that four-day competition, there will

be 22 hours of actual prep and cooking time. Craig will have to

flawlessly prepare canapés, duck and lamb entrées, a fish course,

a hot dessert, a plate of mini desserts, and a mystery basket from

which he will have to produce a

three-course meal.

Despite the fact that he has to fit

the rigorous training schedule that

Chef Mattel has created into his

daily course schedule, Craig still

has time to be a group leader for his

class. When asked how he manages

to do everything, he says, “Chef

Mattel is a fabulous teacher; I love

a challenge and, I guess, I thrive on

the competition.” Right now, with

Chef Mattel’s help, Craig is focused

on learning to create superior mini-

desserts—medal-winning desserts—

this time in front of the world!

SkillsUSA & CIACreate National Culinary Training Center


Lectures and Classes For You…Why not consider combining a visit to check out all the exciting

changes happening at your alma mater with a bit of education and

fun? All alumni are welcome to attend the Dooley Lecture Series

at the Hyde Park campus. Check out these exciting and relevant

speakers!

Paul Roberts

Monday, June 15, 2009

Ecolab Theatre, 2:30–4 p.m.

A long-time observer of energy issues and politics, Paul Roberts

writes primarily about “the complex interplay of economics,

technology, and the natural world.” His most recent book, The

End of Food (2008), was described by Michael Pollan, author of

The Omnivore’s Dilemma, as “the best analysis of the global food

economy you are likely to find.” Roberts appears regularly on

BBC, PBS, CNN, NPR, and other media. You won’t want to miss

this timely and fascinating discussion.

Charles Simic

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Ecolab Theatre, 2:30–4 p.m.

Come hear Charles Simic, the nation’s 15th Poet Laureate, read

from his exceptional body of work. In addition to being the

poetry co-editor of the

Paris Review, Simic is an

essayist and translator

as well as a professor

emeritus of creative

writing at the University

of New Hampshire. He

has been honored with

the Wallace Stevens

Award, a Pulitzer Prize,

two PEN Awards, and a

MacArthur Fellowship.

He is the author of

19 books of poetry,

including his most recent,

That Little Something

(2008).

…and the Food Enthusiasts in Your LifeThe CIA has changed your life. Now it’s time to let your favorite food

enthusiasts know how it can change theirs. As the world’s premier

culinary college, the CIA offers unparalleled experiences for food

lovers. From cookbook-inspired Saturday classes and multi-day Boot

Camps in Hyde Park to food and wine adventures at Greystone to

Latin cooking classes in San Antonio, the CIA has something for

everyone. Share the news about what your alma mater has cooking!

Hyde Park, NY:• Saturdays at the CIA (May–June)

• Gourmet Meals in Minutes

Boot Camp (May 18–22)

• Techniques of Healthy Cooking

Boot Camp (May 26–29)

• Asian Cuisine Boot Camp ( June 8–12)

• Mediterranean Boot Camp ( June 15–19)

• Culinary Boot Camp—Advanced Training ( June 22–26)

• Italian Cuisine Boot Camp

( June 29–July 2)

• BBQ Boot Camp ( July 1–2)

St. Helena, CA:• Saturdays at the CIA—Napa Valley

(May–July)

• Foods and Flavors from the California

Harvest (May 28)

• Live-Fire Cooking ( June 25–26)

• A Taste of Northern California ( July 21–22)

• Cooking for the Next Half of Your Life ( July 23–24)

San Antonio, TX:• A Taste of Mexico:

Puebla and Oaxaca (May 27–29)

For more details about all of our food enthusiast offerings,

visit www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts or call 1-800-888-7850.


Book Shelf

Career Diary of a Pastry ChefBy Yuko Kitazawa ’02

Follow the professional life of

pastry chef Yuko Kitazawa as

she whips up eclectic desserts

at a 100-seat, fine-dining

restaurant in Los Angeles,

CA. This 30-day diary offers

a window into the daily

tasks facing today’s high-end

pastry chefs. Going beyond the challenges of

production, Yuko talks about striving to find a balance in her

life when her demanding work schedule consumes so much time.

Each entry in her diary starts with predictions of her anticipated

culinary tasks for the day and ends with her analysis of what she

could have done differently. Yuko, who also has a B.A. in Philosophy

from the University of California, Berkeley, offers insight into

relevant issues facing members of the foodservice industry. This

book is an eye-opener for anyone who might be considering pursuing

a career in baking and pastry arts.

The Flavors of AsiaBy Mai Pham in collaboration

with the CIA

Beautifully photographed

and meticulously assembled,

The Flavors of Asia draws

its inspiration from the

CIA’s Worlds of Flavor®

International Conference

and Festival. In this book, award-winning

restaurateur, chef, and author Mai Pham culls 125 recipes from

40 leading chefs, making it the go-to reference for those who

want to create menus using the exciting and complex flavors of

China, India, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

By transforming the Worlds of Flavor Conference and Festival

into a cookbook, The Culinary Institute of America brings the

conference’s superb culinary talent right into your kitchen.

Gastropolis: Food & New York CityEdited by Jonathan Deutsch

’97 and Annie S. Hauck-

Lawson

This book is an irresistible

look at New York City’s

rich food heritage. In a

compilation of engaging

essays, Gastropolis

explores the personal and

historical relationship between New Yorkers

and food. Beginning with a look at the foodways of the Lenape

Indians, the book goes on to explore the function of place and

memory in Asian cuisine, the rise of Jewish food icons, the

evolution of food enterprises in Harlem, the relationship between

restaurant dining and identity, and the role of peddlers and

markets in guiding the ingredients of our meals. The authors

share spice-scented recollections of Brooklyn, Queens, and the

Bronx, and present colorful vignettes of the avant-garde chefs,

entrepreneurs, and patrons who continue to influence the way

New Yorkers eat.

Baking and Pastry: Mastering the Art and Craft, 2nd EditionBy The Culinary Institute of

America

First published in 2004, Baking

and Pastry quickly became

an essential resource for

anyone who wanted to create

professional-caliber baked

goods and desserts. This

second edition offers detailed, step-by-step

instructions for 625 outstanding recipes, and includes 461 color

photographs and illustrations—more than 60 percent of which are

brand-new!

Topics that are explored include yeast breads, pastry doughs, quick

breads, cookies, custards, soufflés, icings, and glazes, as well as frozen

desserts, pies, cakes, breakfast pastries, savory items, and chocolates

and confections. In addition, you’ll find expanded coverage of vegan

and kosher baking and important tips on creating such specialty items

as petit fours, mini desserts, plated desserts, and wedding cakes.

29

ProChef® Success: In His Own WordsBy Karl Thomas, P.C. III/C.E.C.

Many people embark on their lifelong career with a very special

feeling, one that is not always easy to explain. I am one of those

people. From the beginning I have felt a profound love and passion for

the craft of cooking.

It was always a dream of mine, when I started cooking many years

ago, to attend The Culinary Institute of America. However, growing

up and living in Jamaica made that dream a challenge to realize—

though it never died. After working for some time in the hospitality

industry, I found I needed more, not only from a fundamentals

standpoint but also on a professional level.

I checked both the international and local culinary education

landscapes, but was having trouble finding a programme to fit into my

active career objectives and financial parameters. I discovered that the

HEART Trust, Jamaica’s Human Employment and Resource Training

agency, had forged a partnership with the CIA and the professional

chef certification programme, ProChef.

This was a dream come true. The ProChef

programme gave me the opportunity to test my

skills at an international level and taught me the

real meaning of being a professional chef.

When I enrolled in my first ProChef course

(Level I), I had little professional training, but a

lot of industry experience. I soon found out that

to be trained by the Master Chefs at the CIA is

the ultimate experience that any chef can wish

for. To follow the road that so many great chefs had traveled before

me was just mind-boggling. Each additional level of the ProChef

As a painter uses the colors of the rainbow, a chef uses different flavour profiles to create awesome masterpieces.

Certification programme showed me new and creative ways in which

to test and improve my skills. Each teacher, culinarian, and judge who

worked with me offered something important to

my learning experience. They all had different

views and approaches, but still had the common

knowledge of traditional techniques and cuisines.

It is through this process that I discovered that

cooking is not just about preparing food, but is an

art. As a painter uses the colors of the rainbow,

a chef uses different flavour profiles to create

awesome masterpieces.

In my job at the University of Technology,

Jamaica, I function in the capacity of chef technologist. I am entrusted

with the responsibility of lecturing in the School of Hospitality &

Tourism Management as well as guiding

the culinary operation at Lillian’s, the

school’s training restaurant. I have

always enjoyed inspiring young people

to do the best they can at all times, and

I am a firm believer in lifelong learning.

I hope to continue to inspire people by

demonstrating that through hard work

they can achieve anything.

My experience participating in the

ProChef Certification programme

offered me a wealth of opportunities.

The knowledge that I gained will assist

in opening many doors both now and

in the future. I love what I do, and love

making other people happy by doing it.

karl thomaS Prochef level iii


Clyde Young Established the Thomsen J. Young Endowed Scholarship Fund for Greystone A.O.S. candidates

What Motivates You to Give?“Last summer, after a long and difficult illness, my husband of

22 years, Thomsen, passed away. I wanted to do something to

highlight and remember his life.

My husband was a practicing bankruptcy attorney for 30 years,

but he was also known as a foodie and oenophile. We were

perfectly matched, as I am a Francophile coming from a tradition

of European fine dining. In 1986, with my French family in

attendance, we married in Paris. We returned in 1996 so Thomsen

could attend Le Cordon Bleu® cooking school. When we traveled,

he meticulously pre-planned our restaurant stops. I wanted him

to be remembered for his love of food, travel, and living well.

The CIA was the perfect partner to help achieve my goal. They

understand that food is more than sustenance; it feeds the soul as

well—allowing people to connect and build life experiences. My

husband’s mantra was, ‘Everybody’s gotta eat!’”

What Makes Giving Meaningful?“It was important to me that Thomsen’s name go on in a

meaningful way. This scholarship will help students pursue life

goals that will enable them to find their place in the world. I want

to encourage them to be successful in a recognized profession.

Our students will be prepared to make positive contributions to

the foodservice industry, thanks to their CIA training.

By endowing this scholarship in my husband’s name, and another

I’ve created to educate American-born women over the age of 35

who wish to attend nursing school, I hope Thomsen and I will

give others a chance to pursue professions otherwise inaccessible

to them.”

How Do You Give?“First, I met with Greystone’s Managing Director Charles

Henning and the CIA’s Executive Director of Development Jim

Heisey. They both understood what I wanted—to give students the

opportunity to do what they enjoy and enhance their self-esteem

thomSen younG in hiS home kitchen

and dignity. I set up an endowment that allows the fund to exist in

perpetuity. Our friends contributed toward the $50,000 required

for an endowed scholarship and I made up the difference. Jim

Heisey worked diligently with me and my financial advisors to

ensure that the endowment was created with my best interests

in mind. And now, I will be able to visit ‘my’ students at the

Greystone campus in California.”

Why Give?


Laura Curtis ’09A.O.S. Culinary Arts

Recipient of the Alumni Endowed Scholarship

College Highlights:While I’m thrilled to discuss, work with, and learn about food

every day, the highlight of my time at the CIA has been the people

I’ve met here.

Savannah Jordan from Denver, CO and I met on our very first

day and we became best friends. We are both staying on after

graduation for the Meat and Fish “Manager in Training” program.

We plan to open a restaurant-farm together, have a double

wedding, and play godmother to each other’s children!

Chefs Johann Sebald and Corky Clark ’71, my meat and fish

instructors, shaped my decision to stay an extra year at the CIA.

I have accompanied Chef Sebald to witness hog and chicken

slaughters to learn where food begins—on the farm. I regularly

stop in to Chef Clark’s kitchen for conversation, a quick fish cut,

and life lessons. Chef Dan Turgeon ’85, my Skills I instructor,

encouraged passion, a sense of urgency, and a thoughtfulness

in cooking. Chefs Eve Felder ’88, Anita Eisenhauer, and Theo

Roe ’91 have encouraged excellence, respect, and integrity in my

cooking and my attitude and approach to food.

The core group of people I’ve met at the CIA will continue to

shape and inspire my career as a chef and remind me why I love

food in the first place.

Outside Interests/HobbiesThe CIA encompasses almost everything I love to do. I cook,

write, visit farms and food producers, and organize or attend

demos and food events. Other than that, I love running, traveling,

working The New York Times crossword puzzle, and eating good

food with great friends.

Hopes for the Future:I want to be a chef-scholar. I thought going to culinary school

meant setting academic ambitions aside, and I was willing to make

the sacrifice. However, the more I study food, the more links I find

to culture, environment, and politics. I hope to be part of those

laura curtiS ‘09

connections while working as a chef, whether through service,

lobbying, writing, or a combination.

The ImpactI didn’t have a financial plan for coming to culinary school. I made

a pretty hasty decision—a leap of faith—believing that finances

and future concerns would work themselves out. My decision

was borderline stupid, but amazingly, everything has worked out!

Thanks to the Alumni Scholarship, I am graduating the CIA with

minimal debt, and I can focus on my career rather than on loan

repayments. The scholarship is also confirmation that I am on the

right path, finally doing what I love. I wake up every day eager to

get into the kitchen.

Giving’s Impact


The Time to Connect is NOWAll of us are facing the pressures of a struggling economy. All

of us have concerns about jobs, family, and our future. So this is

the perfect time to take advantage of the resources available to

you through the CIA. Not only do we offer you lifetime career

services, but our professional development courses can help

you acquire new proficiencies that will add to your culinary

repertoire and keep your skills sought after by employers.

The CIA’s online alumni network and the pages of mise en place

are great ways for you to stay in touch with colleagues and

friends. We encourage you to use the insert in this magazine

to send in news of any changes in your work and family

life as well as any professional accomplishments. Or, visit

www.ciaalumninetwork.com and click on Class Notes. We are

an outstanding network of professionals who can help each other

face today’s challenges as we look toward a brighter future.

Patty Hamilton

Steve Swofford ’97

Jennifer O’Neill

Alumni Relations Staff

’81 Gary Maurer is director of

food and nutrition at Wood

Services in Langhorne, PA. Ruth Stroup

is an insurance agent with Farmers

Insurance Group in Oakland, CA serving

the foodservice industry from wholesale

distribution to restaurants to retail outlets.

’83 Keith DeMars (B.P.S. ’98)

is director of nutrition and

dining for Bon Secours St. Mary Hospital

in Richmond, VA. Brian Matt is general

manager and COO of the Edgewood

Country Club in Charleston, WV.

’86 Daniel Joyce is a general

manager for Utah Food Ser-

vices in Salt Lake City, UT.

’87 Thomas James is chef/owner

of Elite Catering in Ruidoso,

NM. He will be teaching a fundamentals

course when the Culinary Division/Hos-

pitality Department at ENMU Ruidoso

opens in Spring 2009. Joe Stern is a

facilities maintenance manager for Apple

’78 James Kucharik is a pro-

grammer/analyst for Victaulic

Company in Easton, PA. He has a new

grandson, Aeson Scott Bowers, born May

2008.

’79 Jeffrey Howard is food and

beverage director at Randall

Oaks Golf Club and Banquets in West

Dundee, IL. He is looking to contact

classmates from his year. Robert

Rizzuto is director of dining services at

the New York Institute of Technology’s

de Seversky Center in Old Westbury,

NY, where he is celebrating 25 years of

service. The Center is one of the few

existing Gold Coast-era mansions and is

one of the New York metropolitan area’s

premier conference and dining facilities.

Rizzuto and his staff are honorees of the

James Beard Society.

’80 Garry Fishman is a chef/

owner in Stafford, VA. John

Piccolino is executive chef at Smith &

Wollensky in Las Vegas, NV.

Come Back... We’d Love to See You

ALL alumni are invited to

join friends, classmates, and

colleagues at

REUNION 2009 Friday and Saturday,

October 2-3We’ll also be honoring the

anniversary classes of:

1949, 1954, 1959, 1964, 1969,

1974, 1979, 1984, 1989, 1994,

1999, 2004

For more details or to register,

call the Alumni Relations Office

at 845-451-1401

or visit ciaalumninetwork.com

and click on “Events.”cia 1972


Hail to the ChefWhen Design Cuisine of Arlington, VA found out

it would be preparing the President’s inaugural

luncheon at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, it fell to

Head Chef Shannon Shaffer ’92 to execute

the meal to perfection. And while it certainly is a

high point in any culinary career to create the first

meal eaten by the leader of the free world right

after taking the oath of office, Shannon had been

prepping for that moment for a long time.

He wasn’t exactly sure that the kitchen was for him.

But when he got to the CIA, he was so taken with

all the available resources, so engaged in his classes,

and so hungry for the attention and encouragement

of the chefs, he knew he’d found his life’s work.

And, for a boy from small-town Maryland, his

externship, split between the Biltmore Hotel in Los

Angeles, CA, and 701 Restaurant in Washington,

DC, broadened not only his culinary experience

but his life experience as well.

An opportunity to work at Michel Richard’s Citronelle after graduation led him to Washington, DC, where

he and his wife have since decided to stay and raise their two children. He spent a number of years moving

between restaurants and catering companies, trying to find the fit that worked for him. In the end, catering

won his heart. “The schedule in catering is more flexible and more varied. I get bored doing the same thing

night after night. Catering is different every day.”

And what could be more different than preparing a menu of dishes popular during Abraham Lincoln’s era

for a luncheon honoring the inauguration of Barack Obama? To enhance the event, the general manager of

Design Cuisine’s rental division, Joe Valente ’86, provided custom linens and replicas of the plates used

at Lincoln’s first inauguration. The Presidential Inaugural Committee, led by Senator Dianne Feinstein of

California, was impressed with the menu’s concept and proposed decorative touches. The 230 guests in

the Capitol Rotunda had the pleasure of dining on seafood stew, a brace of American birds that included

duck breast with cherry chutney and herb-roasted pheasant with wild rice stuffing, molasses whipped sweet

potatoes, winter vegetables, and cinnamon apple sponge cake.

As one might imagine, safety is paramount when preparing a meal for the President. Everyone involved

with the inaugural luncheon was fingerprinted and subject to a background check. And, because in a

democracy there is no such thing as a “royal food taster,” the FDA sent the next best thing! For the five days

prior to the inaugural, the FDA carefully scrutinized all food handling at Design Cuisine. On the big day,

the food was afforded its own police escort all the way to the Capitol.

With the excitement of the inauguration fading and life getting back to the every day, Shannon has returned

to creating wonderful food for the various catered events he and his 72 staff members enjoy so much. And,

he can take the time to guide the externs he hires from the CIA. He enjoys helping our students figure out

whether being a chef is their life’s work, too.

Shops in Cupertino, CA. He is also on

the Board of Directors of The Sports

Car Racing Association of the Monterey

Peninsula.

’88 Thomas Hartigan is direc-

tor of hedge fund sales for

Deutsche Bank in New York, NY.

’90 John Newman is chef/owner

at Newmans at 988 in Can-

non Beach, OR, which was named Res-

taurant of the Year for Clatsop County.

He recently earned his C.E.C. certifica-

tion. Jeff Rettig is executive chef at Left

Bank Investments in Teton Village, WY.

’93 Jeffrey Mitchell is executive

chef for food services at Mur-

ray State University. He is president of

the new ACF chapter–Western Kentucky

Chefs and Cooks. Jamie Purviance

announced the publication of his fifth

cookbook, Weber’s Way to Grill.

’94 Paul LaRocca is executive

chef for Sodexo at Jackson-

ville State University in Jacksonville, AL.

Gilbert Leder is married with two kids

and works in foodservice sales for Gen-

eral Mills/Pillsbury in Minneapolis, MN.

’96 Anthony DeVanzo opened

Velo Bistro/Wine Bar in 2008

in Nyack, NY. To add to the joy, he was

recently married. John-Michael Hamlet

just celebrated his first year anniversary as

owner of John-Michael at Purdy’s Home-

stead in North Salem, NY.

’97 Brian Dougherty is the new

executive chef at the Nassau

Club of Princeton in Princeton, NJ.

’98 Sylvia Kerry is executive

chef at Caffeine Bistro &

Wine Bar in Ormond Beach, FL.

’99 Allison Benyo Alliegro is

owner/pastry chef of Icing

on the Cake, Inc. in East Northport, NY.

She got married in August 2007. Mark

Shoup is executive chef at Sundance

Resort in Sundance, UT.

343434

Garth Caldwell ’63

Jon F. Woundy ’65

Anthony Joseph Colella ’73

Arthur B. Labarre ’75

Arthur C. Rex ’79

Ronald H. Jones ’85

Jeffrey William Lewis ’96

Rechildo “Rick” Cruz ’97

Marla Scissors ’97

Sherman D. Washington ’97

Jay Sinowitz ’01

Julia Morgan Hodgkins ’03

Anthony Greco III ’04

Wayne Edward Bucek ’06

In Memoriam’00 Francesco Palmieri has

opened his own restaurant,

The Orange Squirrel in Bloomfield, NJ,

after working for eight years at places like

Windows on the World, Coco Pazzo, and

Town. His sous chef Andrew Watter-

son ’00, joined forces with Francesco

after working at Alize and Rosemary’s in

Las Vegas, NV. Robert Wierbowski is

executive chef for Wegmans Food Mar-

kets, Inc. in Mechanicsburg, PA.

’01 Lee Chizmar is executive

chef/owner of Bolete Restau-

rant in Bethlehem, PA. The restaurant is

such a hit that even during its “soft” open-

ing it was named to the 2008 Hot List

by Condé Nast Traveler. The restaurant’s

smoked trout was praised in a recent

issue of Gourmet. Sue Zemanick became

executive chef at Gautreau’s in New Or-

leans, LA, shortly before Hurricane Ka-

trina hit. She returned to take part in the

rebuilding of that great city and continues

to whip up some of the best seafood and

Creole food in the Big Easy.

’02 Cesare Avallone moved to

Ohio in December of 2004.

He married his wife Andrea in October

2006. Together they opened Zinc Bras-

serie in May 2007. In December of that

same year, they had twins Morgan and

Connor. Life has been busy. Ore Dagan

is project manager at Ironman, Inc., a

structural steel fabrication company in

Los Angeles. He hopes to get in touch

with any CIA alumni living in Los An-

geles. Ron Hayes is career development

manager at the CIA. He and wife Mad-

elaine welcomed their first child, William

Joseph, in January 2009. Jeffrey Merrin

is sous chef at the Banff Centre in Banff,

Canada. In February 2009 he won the

Canadian Copper Skillet Award.

’03 Ginger Elizabeth Hahn is

the owner of Ginger Elizabeth

Chocolates in Sacramento, CA. Ramon

Moss is sous chef at Naples Grande Golf

Club in Naples, FL.

’04 Molly Buckie is catering

director for Restaurant As-

sociates at McKinsey & Co. She reports

that in February she won the grand prize

in the Avocado Commission Recipe

Contest. Her prize included a fantastic

four-day trip for two to San Francisco,

CA. Lucas Carter is working as sous

chef on secondi statione at Dell’ Ameilia’s,

a former Michelin-star seafood restaurant

in Venice. Kristin Hart is a food writer.

She graduated summa cum laude from

the University of Texas at Arlington

with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Bradley Jenkins is sous chef at Dog-

wood in Atlanta, GA.

’05 Amanda Liples is chef/

owner of Atlantic Fish and

Fabulous Foods in Clarks Summit, PA.

She recently received the 40 Under Forty

award by The Times Leader honoring 40

Pennsylvania professionals under the age

of 40 who are outstanding in the business

field and in their community.

’06 Jonathan Kerr is sauté chef

at Mise En Place in Tampa,

FL. Neel Sahni is culinary manager at

Bellisio Foods in Lakeville, MN. Abigail

Ward is assistant director of The Cheese

School of San Francisco and co-owner

of SF Delicious, a catering company in

San Francisco, CA. Visit her at

www.sfdelicious.com.

’07 Amanda Johnson is pastry

chef at Five and Ten in Athens,

GA. Kathryn Koster is restaurant chef

at the Adams Mark Hotel in Buffalo, NY.

’08 Timothy Pearson is sous

chef at O’Brien’s Grille in

Gretna, LA.

Problems Paying Your Perkins Loan? If you have a Federal Perkins

Loan and are having trouble

making payments, we may be

able to help. Call our Perkins

Loan specialist to find out what

options are available to you

that might include deferment,

forbearance, special payments,

cancellation, or rehabilitation

of the loan before it goes to

collection. Collection agencies

can charge up to 30% on top

of your outstanding balance

in collection fees. Continued

delinquency will have a serious

impact on your credit rating

and your ability to obtain future

loans. Already in collections?

See what we can do to help.

Contact Janet McKenney,

accounts receivable specialist,

at 845-451-1695 or at

[email protected] 2009

Your creativity and dedication to excellence MAKE US PROUD and MAKE US bEttER

to providing superior externship opportunities that offer real-world experiences for our students.

YOUR COMMITMENT...

There are so many ways you can help ensure that the next generation of foodservice leaders

share your passion, your knowledge, and your ingenuity. To learn more about volunteer

opportunities, visit www.ciaalumninetwork.com and click on “volunteer programs.”

For information about giving to the CIA, visit www.ciagiving.org.

to helping each individual student and his or her family understand the true benefits of a CIA education.

YOUR DEVOTION...to share your expertise and deepen the educational experience for our students.

YOUR WILLINGNESS...

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to creating opportunities that bring alumni together to support the CIA and its mission.

YOUR DEDICATION...

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’89

The Culinary Institute of America Alumni Relations 1946 Campus Drive Hyde Park, NY 12538-1499

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about www.ciaalumninetwork.com

How do I find my 10-digit Constituent ID Number so I can log in?

How do I submit and update Class Notes?

How do I get a copy of my CIA transcript?

Take a look at the number on your Alumni ID Card. If it’s a four-digit number, put six zeros in front of it when you go to log in. If it’s a five-digit number, put five zeros in front of it when you log in. In both cases the number should add up to 10 digits.

Can’t find your Alumni ID number? Send an e-mail with your name and graduation year to [email protected] and we’ll make sure we send it out to you immediately.

There are two ways to let us know how you are doing. You can mail in the class notes update form found in the center of every mise en place magazine OR you can visit www.ciaalumninetwork.com and click on the “Class Notes” tab.

Visit www.ciaalumninetwork.com and click on “Alumni Services.” You’ll see easy-to-follow instructions for downloading a CIA transcript request form. Requests must be made by regular mail as your actual signature is required for an official transcript to

be released.

mise en place issue 48 Food Safety

Documents

Transcript of mise en place issue 48 Food Safety