CURRENT ISSUE
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| By Erica Burke | |
| Friday, 28 March 2008 | |
 Culinary School of the Rockies is the first private culinary school in the country to organize a culinary externship – Farm to Table – dedicated to the sustainable food movement. Believing that all children deserve better, a notable group of school foodservice directors have embraced East Boston, Ma.-based Project Bread’s Better Breakfast Initiative (BBI), and have stepped up to the challenge of developing healthy eating habits for their students. The BBI guidelines call for added sources of fiber, including whole grain bread products and cereals, skim or 1 percent milk as opposed to whole milk, and fresh whole fruit rather than fruit juice. These foodservice directors are serving locally grown fruits and vegetables, eliminating trans fats, and are often bypassing popular low-sugar, but high-fat, breakfast alternatives. “Healthy breakfast translates into students who have an increased attention span, are physically healthier, and more likely to be on time for school,” said Brendan Ryan foodservice director and chef for Framingham, Mass., public schools. “By repeatedly exposing students to new foods, cafeteria staff can help students develop new, healthier taste preferences.” For more on Project Bread and tips for foodservice directors, visit www.projectbread.org. A ‘Klick’ Away Klick Kitchen LLC’s www.klickkitchen.com allows for streamlining the communication process between chefs and vendors that service this multibillion-dollar industry. Developed by CEO Jordan Glaser and his team of developers, programmers and food service professionals, Klick Kitchen organizes, processes and sorts orders efficiently and consistently. Currently, chefs and vendors rely on a phone call, garbled voicemail messages, unclear faxes or a visit from a sales rep that is not always opportune to manage a process that, with a few simple clicks, should take only minutes. “Klick Kitchen is not for the general retail public; our system is for wholesale vendors and foodservice professionals who communicate each and every day,” Vice President Dan Ziegler explained. “Our site is a subscription-based system that benefits users in uniquely different and very personal ways like nothing currently on the market; our system thinks like a chef or route owner.” College With A Conscience Diners in today’s top restaurants are demanding locally grown seasonal food, so it only makes sense tomorrow’s top chefs are being instructed on how to cater to these growing needs. Culinary School of the Rockies (CSR), located in Boulder, Colo., is the first private culinary school in the country to organize a culinary externship dedicated to the sustainable food movement. Dubbed “Farm to Table,” the experience gives aspiring cooks and chefs the chance to gain both culinary know-how and a deep understanding of ways to source and use local ingredients. “Farm to table is not a passing trend in the culinary world. It is a lasting cultural shift,” said Joan Brett, director and founder of Culinary School of the Rockies. “We want our students to respect and understand the intricacies and challenges of sourcing and serving local, seasonal food. “We want them to develop a passion for savoring and serving the freshest ingredients available.” To build the Farm to Table curriculum, Brett reached out to her long-standing colleagues who know Colorado’s agricultural richness firsthand. These local farmers and producers will play an essential role in teaching students during the five-week externship at their farm or facility. After the “farm” portion of the program is complete, students apprentice in restaurants with sustainable practices, such as The Kitchen and Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, Colo. Visit www.culinaryschoolrockies.com for more information. Craft Beer Soars The craft beer market again grew by double digits in 2007, leading all other segments in the beer category. The Brewers Association reports estimated sales by independent craft brewers were up 12 percent by volume and 16 percent in dollars for 2007. Craft brewers’ share of the beer category is 3.8 percent of production and 5.9 percent of retail sales. The Brewers Association annually polls the country’s craft brewers to estimate the total volume of beer sold by brewpubs, microbreweries and regional craft breweries in the United States, and uses scan data to estimate sales. Results show that the United States had 1,449 total breweries in operation during 2007, including 1,406 small, independent and traditional craft brewers. Nearly 70 percent of craft breweries are brewpubs that sell most or all of their beer on-premises. “Since 2004, dollar sales by craft brewers have increased 58 percent,” said Paul Gatza, director of the Brewers Association. “The strength of this correlates with the American trend of buying local products and a preference for more flavorful foods and beers.” For more information, visit www.beertown.org. |
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