The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio Launches Contest to Select a Name for New Bakery Café

Winner Earns a Free One-Day Class at the CIA, San Antonio

San Antonio, TX, August 30, 2010 – When The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) opens its newly expanded campus on Saturday, October 9, it will also be preparing to open its new on-campus bakery café soon after. The café does not yet have a name, and the chefs of the CIA are looking to the San Antonio community to help.

The CIA is holding a contest and wants to hear the best ideas. The individual who suggests the winning name for the new bakery café will win a free one-day class at the CIA, San Antonio.

The café will be located on the northwest side of the campus building – directly across from the Full Goods building at Pearl. It will offer a variety of light café fare and specialize in pastries from around the world, including traditional European-style desserts plus a broad selection of specialty items from Latin America and Mexico. Going beyond traditional pain dulces and conchas, the café will feature baked goods from all regions of Latin America.

"We anticipate our new bakery café becoming a fixture of the neighborhood," says David Kellaway, managing director of the CIA, San Antonio. "The windows looking into our teaching kitchen will invite guests to linger over a great beverage and pastry as they watch our students learn. As everyone will be welcome here, we thought it would be a great idea to get the community involved in helping us name it."

To submit your suggestion, please visit www.CIAElSueno.com, and click on the contact tab. Send in your suggestion before October 1, 2010. The CIA will select the winning name by October 15.

For more information about The Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, please visit www.CIAElSueno.com.

Contact:

Stephan Hengst
Marketing Director, Communications & PR
845-905-4288
s_hengst@culinary.edu

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Food Truck Trendsetter Roy Choi '98 Returns to His Alma Mater for Cooking Demonstration and Graduation Address

Hyde Park, NY, August 25, 2010 – Rising celebrity chef Roy Choi, a 1998 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA), returned to his alma mater on August 19 and 20. Chef Choi is the founder of the Los Angeles-based Kogi Korean BBQ-To-Go food trucks. While at the college's Hyde Park campus, he held a cooking demonstration for students and delivered the commencement address to associate degree recipients.

With his menu of Korean tacos, Choi is widely credited as the man behind the growing food truck trend in America. He was honored as one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs of 2010. In July, The New York Times called Chef Choi "the pioneering force" behind the food truck phenomenon. He has also recently been featured in Time and Newsweek.

During his demonstration on August 19, he showed 150 CIA students how he makes Kogi Spicy Pork "al pastor" for the thousands of customers who follow his serving locations daily on Twitter. He also answered questions from future culinary leaders about how his path to success came through a mobile kitchen and by successfully melding Korean and Mexican cuisine. Earlier this year, he opened his first sit-down restaurant, Chego, in West Los Angeles.

On August 20, Choi spoke to graduates and helped present graduation cordons to the 71 recipients of associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts during commencement ceremonies at the college.

Photo Caption:

Roy Choi '98 speaks with students during his cooking demonstration at The Culinary Institute of America on August 19, 2010. During his visit, Chef Choi also delivered the commencement address to 71 associate degree graduates. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Contact:

Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu

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Graduate of CIA Bachelor's Degree Program Returns to Address Baccalaureate Commencement

Anthony Rudolf '01 is General Manager at Per Se

Hyde Park, NY, August 25, 2010 – For the first time, a graduate of the bachelor's program at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) delivered the commencement speech at a CIA baccalaureate graduation. Anthony W. Rudolf III, who earned his bachelor's degree in culinary arts management nine years ago, returned to his alma mater on Thursday, August 19, 2010 to speak to 122 new baccalaureate candidates. Rudolf is general manager of Per Se, Thomas Keller's acclaimed New York City restaurant that always ranks highly on the U.K.-based Restaurant magazine's World's 50 Best Restaurants list.

Rudolf shared that he learned accounting from Stephanie Murphy, the same professor most of these graduates had. He recalled that Professor Murphy taught him that assets involve more than just finances. "I was taught in that class to surround myself with people who have the asset of character." Rudolf learned and tried to copy from those who had that trait. "If you are a person of great character, everything else will follow," he advised.

Rudolf was service director at Jean Georges under Jean-Georges Vongerichten before joining Chef Keller's team as a maître d' in 2006. He was promoted to general manager last year at age 29. Per Se consistently earns the top rating for service in the Zagat Guide and the maximum three stars from Michelin Guide New York.

When he enrolled at the CIA, Rudolf wanted to be a chef. But during his studies in Hyde Park, he fell in love with the dining room and hospitality side of the food world, choosing to make that his career.

The CIA launched its bachelor's degree program in 1993.

Photo Caption:

Anthony Rudolf III '01 speaking to graduates at baccalaureate commencement ceremonies at The Culinary Institute of America on Thursday, August 19, 2010. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Contact:

Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu

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The Culinary Institute of America Takes to the Road with Destination Boot Camp: The Finger Lakes

CIA Chef Michael Skibitcky Will Teach Popular Class at New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, October 4–8; Space Still Open for this Unique Culinary Experience, Designed for the Passionate Food Lover

Canandaigua, NY, August 17, 2010 – For the first time ever, Western New York food lovers will have a chance to take a class from The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) in their own backyard. The CIA has partnered with the New York Wine & Culinary Center (NYWCC) to offer a five-day culinary immersion in the picturesque Finger Lakes region.

Destination Boot Camp: The Finger Lakes will take place at the NYWCC on Oct. 4–8, 2010. This exclusive session of the Culinary Boot Camp: Basic Training program is limited to 16 students.

During this culinary intensive, food enthusiasts will become well-versed in the fundamentals of cooking. Through chef demonstrations and hands-on cooking, they will learn knife skills, kitchen terminology, dry-heat cooking methods (roasting, grilling, sautéing, pan-frying, and stir-frying), and moist-heat cooking methods (braising, shallow poaching, deep poaching, and steaming). Participants will also enjoy a sampling of American, French, and Italian wines, and learn how to effectively pair them with foods. Destination Boot Camp: The Finger Lakes runs from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.

Boot Campers will receive two chef's uniforms, each with a jacket, pants, and a neckerchief. Paper chef's hats, side towels, and aprons will be provided in class. The tuition for Destination Boot Camp: The Finger Lakes is $2,095.

To reserve your place for this exciting program, call The Culinary Institute of America at 1-800- 888-7850 or book online at www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts. For additional information, visit www.nywcc.com/cia.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1: The CIA Boot Camp program takes to the road in October, offering a special week-long class at the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY. (Photo credit: www.nywcc.com)

Photo 2: NYWCC's professional kitchen will be the ideal site for CIA's Culinary Boot Camp, taught by CIA Chef Michael Skibitcky. (Photo credit: www.VisitFingerLakes.com)

Photo 3: Canandaigua Lake, one of the 11 Finger Lakes, is a marvelous backdrop for the CIA Culinary Boot Camp in October. (Photo credit: www.nywcc.com)

Contact:

Jay Blotcher
Media Relations
845-905-4419
j_blotch@culinary.edu

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NAFEM Establishes Professorship at The Culinary Institute of America

Hyde Park, NY, August 12, 2010 – The North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers (NAFEM) and The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) announce Brad Barnes, associate dean for food production at the CIA, as the first recipient of the NAFEM Professorship in Culinary Arts. This new position is dedicated to specialized research in food equipment manufacturing, curriculum development, and industry education.

Certified Master Chef Brad Barnes is a 1987 CIA graduate. He returned to his alma mater in 2009. Chef Barnes is responsible for developing the curriculum of the college's production classes, including Seafood Identification & Fabrication, Meat Identification & Fabrication, Quantity Food Production, and Classical Banquet Cuisine; monitoring food quality; evaluating faculty; and responding to student concerns. He also participates in the design of the CIA's kitchen classrooms and conducts equipment research, evaluating emerging technology to meet the demands of the industry for quality volume production.

During his professional career, Barnes has been an executive chef, corporate executive chef, and business owner. He is the Certified Master Chef Committee chair for the American Culinary Federation, and is certified both nationally and internationally as an international judge. "NAFEM has created an information pipeline to fully understand how a chef thinks about equipment," Chef Barnes says. "This is urgently needed to equip for success in today's kitchens."

"NAFEM has enjoyed a decade-long relationship with the CIA and its esteemed faculty," said Deirdre Flynn, NAFEM's executive vice president. "By expanding the existing relationship and establishing the NAFEM professorship, we open doors for collaboration to better serve the needs of our respective communities."

The NAFEM Professorship will advance the discipline of food equipment and supplies studies in a global manner by exposing students and faculty to cutting-edge ideas. Under the direction of CIA Vice President–Dean of Culinary Education Mark Erickson, the NAFEM Professor will establish industry-wide authority on equipment and facilities design and strengthen the relationship among the CIA, NAFEM, its members, and food equipment and supplies manufacturers.

Photo Caption

Brad Barnes '87, CMC, associate dean for food production at The Culinary Institute of America (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Contact:

Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu

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