NRAEF James H. Maynard Award Winner 2013

I was honored to be awarded this year’s James Maynard Award at the NRAEF’s Educator Excellence Awards Dinner at the Hotel Sax in Chicago on Friday, May 17th. Jennifer Guiffre, a teacher at Putnam Northern Westchester BOCES in New York, was the other national award recipient and I look forward to working with her in July at the Golden Corral Corporate Headquarters in North Carolina to undergo a portion of their management training.  

More information can be found at Wisconsin Restaurant Association's article regarding the award.

                                                                                                     

Sharing the moment with my good friend
and fellow award winner
from Missouri, Linda Stinson

As part of the Educators of Excellence Awards was being able to collaborate with the other award winners from across the country, as well as have the opportunity to work one-on-one with chefs at Chicago's Le Cordon Bleu.  It was an amazing day and I learned so much from the chefs in such a short amount of time.  I highly encourage students to check out their campus as I guarantee you would be receiving an excellent education in preparing for a future in the culinary industry.

                                                      

CA2 Explores Indian Cuisine

In order to better understand the cuisine of India, teams of Culinary Arts 2 students investigated the Indian culture to identify traditions and customs of a region of India (Northern India, Southern India, Western India, Assam, and Jain).  Their research included:

o   Traditions and customs

§  In addition to other research,  include material found in the “Regional Alerts” portion as identified in India’s Food Pyramid (see http://www.foodpyramidindia.org/)

o   Food preferences

o   Religion/Impact on cuisine

o   Specific culinary techniques

Recipes were then prepared in class for everyone to
taste test.

Super Ron's Smart Consumer Cook-Off

As being smart consumers, students planned recipes based on items on sale at our local grocery store, Super Ron's.  A wide variety of dishes and desserts made for an eclectic cook-off!

                           

Hr 3 Cook-Off Winners

Hr 2 Cook-Off Winners

Hr 1 Cook-Off Winners

Nutrition Across the Lifespan

Elmo Pizza for Toddlers

Pineapple Fried Rice

Family Foods students explored the nutrition across the lifespan by dividing up into six different stages of life to present nutritional needs of a certain age group and planning a nutritionally beneficial main entree for that age group.                       

Juicy Lucy Turkey Burger

 

      Hr 2 Winners: Pineapple Fried Rice

Hr 1 Winners: Chicken Stir Fry

Hr 3 Winners: Juicy Lucy Turkey Burger

Mama Mia! CA2 Italian Buffet

Working in pairs, Culinary Art 2 ProStart students planned a 5 course Italian menu
that focused on either Northern or Southern Italian styles. Teams presented their menus to the class and who then voted on what would be prepared for our Italian buffet that included the following:

• Antipasto - hot or cold appetizers 
• Primo ("first course"), usually consists of a hot dish like pasta, risotto, gnocchi, polenta or soup
• Secondo ("second course") usually fish or meat 
• Contorno ("side dish") may consist of a salad or vegetables. A traditional menu features salad after the main course. 
• Dolce ("dessert")

Chocolate, Bow-Ties, and Rainbows... Just a typical day in CA1

Bow-Ties... Made with much more love than the box variety

After having some good ol' fashion practice preparing basic pasta, the Culinary Arts 1 ProStart students were able to explore their own pasta whims, which included hand-made bow-ties, chocolate pasta, and even rainbow colored pasta!

Chocolate Pasta

Bow Ties with Creamy Pesto Sauce

A Crayola like bowl of pasta

Chocolate Pasta with Nutella Sauce and White Chocolate

Fettuccine with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Adding the final touches

Process of Rainbow Pasta

Break the Fast and Get Cookin!

Sweet Potato Breakfast Skillet

Banana, Berry, & Flax Seed Oatmeal

Family Foods students planned a breakfast combination food to include a whole grain, low-fat or nutrient-dense protein, and a fruit or vegetable.  If eating breakfast is THIS tasty, how can you go wrong??!

Hr 2 Winners: Breakfast Skillet

Whole Wheat Pancakes

Whole Wheat Waffles with Berry Coulis (and a little happiness)