NATIONAL PROSTART INVITATIONAL

"I want to change the world with the power of food.  My mother always told me, 'Cooking is a pathway to the soul' and I know it ignites a fire inside me!"  Florida student Dallas Wynne is just one of 95,000 enthusiastic students involved in the ProStart program run by the philanthropic arm of the National Restaurant Association.  Every ProStart student is given the opportunity to learn, sharpen and hone their personal culinary skills. 
Students can also stretch themselves by being matched in mentor-apprenticeships or diving into regional, state and national competitions.

My ProStart involvement came through their annual national competition.  I was privileged to join the ranks of several other industry professionals to help judge the finals in Baltimore, Maryland.  The national competition was open to several teams from 43 states and territories.  Students were asked to display their talents in one of two venues - culinary or management.  When it was all said and done, winning teams took home $1.4 million in scholarship funds.

Top winners included Guam's Simon Sanchez High School for culinary and Wisconsin's Badger High School for management.  Throughout the competition I was in awe of the kind of young talent that was present.  I saw some very good to exceptional culinary skills being played out - skills I definitely lacked when I was in high school.  At that time, no one was pressing kids to cook professionally.  It's really terrific to be a witness to the current change of landscape.  The view is much better here this side of the road.

THE MOMENT

Photograph by Kiyomi

 For 11 years, I had the honor of doing daily what most chefs would be lucky to do once in their lifetime.  I served the First Family in the White House.  It was an unforgettable experience.  When I left Washington D.C. to tackle the next career chapter in my life, I was not rock solid about the direction I would go.  I had to take an extended inventory of the things I truly love to do and the things that come naturally to me.  It was important to me to fuel my passion to inspire others and to continue to create in the kitchen.  The fact that I have a sanguine personality simply added to the current career that I landed in.  Today, I travel around the world, meet folks from every walk of life, share stories and create dinners with some pretty extraordinary people.  This has been my second chance at a great career change.

This spring the USA network has created its first reality TV series that gives people a second chance to act on a career that they once dreamed about, but had to put on hold.  Hosted by former superbowl MVP Kurt Warner, the show is currently airing Thursday evenings at 10pm.  In one upcoming episode, I get a chance to mentor someone with similar career dreams. This episode is scheduled to air on Thursday, April 25.  You can watch current episodes and find out more about The Moment here.

TARRANT COMMUNITY KITCHEN

Photo (left) forthworthstocyards.com

'Cowboys and Culture' is the new signature identity that the Fort Worth, Texas city planners have adopted.  If you're an outsider, you might be able to grasp this concept by attending a historical old west event at the Stockyards. However, if you just drive through the present day surroundings, you would see that the landscape does not reflect the Old West.  Rather, it is a vast expanse of terrific urban sprawl.  The county itself has a population of 1.8 million people.

There has been a lot of effort to revitalize Tarrant County, but the transformation has been at a slow rate.  One of the bright spots of positive change can be witnessed at the Tarrant Area Food Bank.  The good people who run this incredible 'little' operation extend their arms to thousands of people in the community as well as serving as a network hub to over 300 charities.

I became acquainted with the Tarrant Area Food Bank through a businessman named Doug Renfro, president of Renfro Foods and board member of the Tarrant Food Bank.  Doug connected me with the Tarrant Community Kitchen.  There I was privileged to join a very hard working group of young chef trainees who were eager to learn and assist in a dinner for a private event.  After my arrival, I learned that the students had actually been given my recipes for their mid-term.  So, when I got in the kitchen I was pleasantly surprised with their familiarity over the menu.  

The dinner turned out great.  In the 'after' kitchen talk, the students rallied with enthusiasm and expressed a desire just to keep getting better. Most of the thanks really goes to Chef Manny Vasquez.  He runs a pretty tight ship at the Community Kitchen.  I am amazed by the fact that his standards for his students are set very high. He is an individual who desires complete success for each student.  In addition to basic culinary training, each student is offered foundational life skill classes, job readiness advice, connection with professional chefs in the industry and ServSafe training. 

Here's a video link from one of the local stations who covered the event.

AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ON THE SAD AND DECLINING STATE OF "FOOD TV"

EAT BRAY LOVE by Andy Grreenwald

A decade ago Emeril Lagasse was omnipresent, sprinkling catchphrases and cayenne nightly in front of a live studio audience. A lumbering, rump roast of a man who cooked like Paul Prudhomme but talked like the Gorton's Fisherman, Emeril was the unlikely poster boy of the transformation of what had once quaintly been known as "cooking shows" into a more unwieldy behemoth: "food TV." Fueled by the insatiable advertising needs of the Food Network and a viewing public suddenly interested in distinguishing deglazing from deveining, the staid format established by Julia Child and Jaques Pepin was chucked into the garbage like spoiled milk. It was no longer enough to stand behind stove top and instruct.  The new goal was to entertain. Chefs were required to prep themselves right alongside their mise en place, the garnish their dishes not with parsely but with personality.

And so, beginning in 1997, Emeril applied essence and kicked things up to varying notches. He employed a soft jazz band and cooked with Pat Benatar. He made garlic an applause line and convinced untold millions of Americans to try their hand at something called Urky Lurky. The goal remained ostensibly the same, despite the extra volume: to make home cooking appear doable and fun. But the extra noise soon began to drawn out the message. Emeril endorsed toothpaste and floor mats and allowed someone to talk him into starring in an NBC sitcom.  Eventually, the demands of celebrity scraped Emeril's plate clean, and by the time Emeril Live's goose was finally cooked in 2007, he unwittingly set the table for an entire generation of cheesy blasters to come. 

You can read  the rest of Andy Greenwald's article here.

Finger Lakes Wine Symposium

Photo By Kramer

Riesling Wine has been one of the most unappreciated and misunderstood wines in the world.  Part of the reason is due to the fact that the Riesling grape was used a few years ago to produce several poor quality sweetly muddled innocuous wines.  However, within the last decade, Riesling has been undergoing a thrilling resurgence.  Jancis Robinson, author of the Oxford Companion to Wine says that "Riesling is indisputably the greatest white wine grape in the world but many people think I am mad." Personally, I am glad for Ms. Robinson's bold stance ~ I'm discovering more and more how incredibly elegant and satisfying Riesling is.

Photo by NASA

The Finger Lakes vineyards of New York specialize in cool climate Rieslings. In fact, winemakers have nurtured the noble grape in such a way that they are now producing some extraordinary wines. One world class Riesling recently caught the attention of the White House.  It was served at President Obama's inaugural luncheon.  The 2010 Tierce Dry Riesling is a very special collaboration of three winemakers and three distinct sub-regional vineyards.  Tierce was paired with lobster and clam chowder during the first course.

James Treadwell

With the current popularity and rise of the Riesling, the Finger Lakes viticulture area will be hosting its own Inaugural Wine Symposium aimed at wine enthusiasts.  The symposium will take place on March 23, 2013.  Attendees will be treated to a unique wine and food experience while mingling with several international wine experts.  I will be there along with industry specialists, Thomas Pastuszak - wine director of The NoMad Hotel in NYC, James Treadwell - sommelier and co-owner of Treadwell Farm-to-Table Cuisine and Dan Berger - award winning Los Angeles wine columnist.

Thomas Pastuszak

This is going to be an exceptional event.  The wine symposium of the Finger Lakes will take place in the Scandling Campus Center, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, N.Y.  For more information please go to www.winesymposiumfingerlakes.com

CHEF VYKY and the CITY OF REFUGE

"Listen, I'm sorry.  I have to get off the phone now.  I want to be able to tell you more, but my ladies come first."  These are the words of Chef Vyky who works at the City of Refuge kitchen in Atlanta, Georgia.  And, while my interview with the chef was not long, I was thankful that she took time out of her busy day to talk with me.  Her customers are some very important people who desperately need Chef Vyky's time, attention, and talent.  The guests that Chef Vyky serves are temporary residents at Eden Village - an incredible facility that features 40 individual, hotel-style units for homeless women with children and 100 beds for single women.  Chef Vyky describes these ladies as, "...Women who have lost everything including thier pride.  It's not enough for someone to slap down some food in front of you.  you are already devastated."

With the Kitchen Staff - Photograph by Nick Burchell

Chef Vyky is a graduate of the 180 Kitchen, a fully operational culinary program that was set up to transform lives.  Chef Vyky shared with me that 25 years ago she was a drug user, but has been drug-free since that time.  Vyky worked in the home health field and eventually lost her job because of company downsizing.  This situation along with some family problems led her and her husband and grandson out of Detroit and into Atlanta.  One year ago today, they ended up at the City of Refuge where Vyky was able to enroll in the 180 Kitchen program.  In addition, the United Way helped them with housing by giving them the first and last month's rent along with a security deposit.  In this way, Vyky and her family were able to secure a place to live and get stabilized.  After receiving her culinary skills Chef Vyky gave back to the City of Refuge by serving as a staff member.

The 180 Kitchen is just one of the supportive programs and services that the City of Refuge offers.  Other services include primary medical and mental health treatment, job placement, transition into permanent housing, daycare/preschool, GED preparation, after-school tutoring for children, and case management.  In my opinion it is a stellar outfit that is truly working to accomplish its goal to "empower homeless women and children to regain control over their lives and to attain self-sufficiency." Chef Vyky confirmed this mission goal by telling me that everyone who makes their way to the City of Refuge is treated with respect, courtesy and dignity despite their circumstance. 

 Finally, I learned that Chef Vyky also faced the recent passing of her husband.  Imagine, under this duress she has tirelessly given her time and efforts to the ladies at Eden Village.

"Vyky, I wish you the best."   ~Walter Scheib

The Los Angeles Unified School District has the enormous responsibility of making 650,000 meals a day.  It’s obviously not a light task, especially when you consider that the school district has adopted a resolution to ensure that “students have access to nutritious and wholesome food that is locally sourced with sound environmental practices.”  That’s quite a mouthful, but when you consider that the LAUSD is committed to giving each one of their students a fighting chance to be successful, you can also see this effort as a great endeavor.

I had the privilege of being at the dinner where the “Good Food Procurement Resolution” was presented to parents, students and staff.  The resolution carries some pretty tight guidelines that are designed to help students get a leg up on being healthy and fight childhood obesity. The district became very concerned with the obesity epidemic as well as having a few students who died from Type II diabetes. David Binkle who is the current food services director summed it up nicely when he said the district sought to “get rid of the carnival food, replacing pizza, fried chicken and hot dogs with roasted turkey and chicken, mashed potatoes, fruits, vegetables and tossed salads.”  

If you happen to be in the Los Angeles area this morning (November 17, 2012),  you can go and enjoy the screening of the film “Weight of the Nation:  Children in Crisis”, food tasting, and kids activities. It’s a free event for the whole family. The address is 8501 Arleta Ave., Sun Valley, CA 91352