Chefs Collaborative will honor a single individual in each of three categories during the organization’s awards dinner at Allandale Farm in Boston on Oct. 4. Koetke is a candidate for the Pathfinder award, which recognizes a visionary working in the greater food community who has been a catalyst for positive change within the food system through efforts that go beyond the kitchen.

Sustainability is woven throughout Kendall College’s curricula and the school’s operational practices. In 2007, Kendall was the recipient of the Green Award presented by Foodservice Consultants Society International (FCSI), the first ever presented to a culinary-training program. In 2008, thanks to Koetke’s leadership, Kendall expanded its sustainability commitment to provide education on this critical issue to the broader foodservice industry. Today, Koetke is a well-known expert on the subject and speaks frequently at regional and national industry conferences.

Here’s wishing Dean Koetke the best of luck! Click here for more information on Chefs Collaborative’s National Summit, Oct. 3-5 at Bunker Hill College in Boston.

This August 8, 2010 workshop covered topics such as:

• Key insights into the hiring process from the other side of the table
• Sell yourself: social media as a successful means of advertising yourself
• Real stories from active professionals about what is next – the things you do not anticipate after you graduate

Brought to you by the School of Business Junior Advisory Board.

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Guess where Jose, the recent Chicago public high school grad, will be starting classes this fall? That’s right—Kendall! But Jose’s good fortune doesn’t stop there. In addition to the scholarship from White Castle, Jose was awarded the 2010 Frontera Scholarship to Kendall from Chef Rick Bayless.

While Jose’s official culinary education is just about to begin, he already has accomplished something many experienced chefs would only dream of. On August 17, Rife and Jose met again, this time here at Kendall, where Jose prepared his salsa once more and Rife announced that they will test market it in some of White Castle’s restaurants. Congratulations to Jose and we look forward to seeing him in Kendall’s kitchens this fall!

Harralson showed both parents and kids how to make healthy homemade “Energy Boost Bars” after the kids’ morning workout on August 15. The kids train twice a week in preparation for running the 5K in September, but organizers are also emphasizing healthy eating and exposing the kids and parents to healthy food options that will have a lifetime of benefits.

Kendall College is introducing a childhood nutrition concentration in the School of Education in the fall of 2010. Designed for early childhood educators, this concentration is in direct response to state and federal initiatives on childhood nutrition, healthy eating and childhood obesity. In conjunction with this, Kendall is committed to doing community outreach throughout the Chicagoland area and looks forward to working with more schools and nonprofit organizations to help educate kids, parents and teachers about childhood nutrition.

Click here to read more about the running program in the Chicago Tribune.

This year’s classes spotlighted international breads, and the baguette is traditionally associated with France. “Baguettes Six Ways” was an intensive demonstration and hands-on class aimed at beginning and intermediate bakers. Students had the opportunity to compare a variety of baguette formulas and techniques, including pousse lente, intensive mix, and poolish-based baguettes, and practiced shaping and scoring the loaves.

Jeffrey Hamelman is a Certified Master Baker, the highest rank available to American bakers, and the author of the highly acclaimed Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes. He was a member of Bread Bakers Guild Team USA 1996, coached the 2008 team, and received The Guild’s Golden Baguette Award (now the Raymond Calvel Award), which recognizes individuals who have contributed significantly to the advancement of artisan baking. An employee-owner at King Arthur Flour, Hamelman directs the production bakery and teaches professional level classes in the King Arthur Baking Education Center.

The Bread Bakers Guild of America is a non-profit organization comprised of professional bakers, farmers, millers, suppliers, educators, students, home bakers, technical experts  and bakery owners and managers who work together to support the principle and the practice of producing the highest quality baked goods. It was formed in 1993 to shape the skills and knowledge of the artisan baking community through education.

For the full World’s Fair of Bread class schedule, visit www.bbga.org.

Each year Chef Bayless, along with other board members, selects a Mexican-American student from the Chicago Public School System who has shown a genuine and consistent interest in the hospitality industry. The winning student is then awarded a full scholarship to attend Kendall College’s School of Culinary Arts for an Associate of Applied Science degree in culinary arts or baking and pastry. In addition, the winning student gets to do an internship at Chef Bayless’ restaurants—and the chance to accompany the Frontera team on their annual trip to Mexico.

The judging panel consisted of Rick Bayless, Chef/Owner of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo; Christopher Koetke, Dean of the School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College; Sheila O’Grady, President of the Illinois Restaurant Association; George Cardenas, Alderman; David Blackmon, Program Manager Hospitality & Culinary Arts, CPS ETC; and Steve Dolinsky, ABC-TV.

Click here to learn more about scholarship resources, including the Frontera scholarship.

The CAFÉ/Kendall Green Award is the first-ever, national award to recognize national secondary and postsecondary culinary arts and baking/pastry programs for their commitment to sustainability.

Chef Jennetta donated her $1,000 prize for the creation of a scholarship for a TCD student who wants to continue his or her education at Kendall College. Kendall College announced it will match the donation, bringing the total scholarship to $2,000.

Chef Jennetta was recognized for her tilapia aquaculture project at TCD. An interdepartmental learning experience that includes both culinary and landscape students, the program provides practical experience in aquaculture, fish butchery and cookery. The entire program is taught under the school’s guiding principle, “Be respectful of food, the environment and each other.”

But not alone, and not just any cake. The “cake” that Webb and recent Kendall baking-and-pastry-arts graduates constructed consisted of three tiers of Styrofoam with a base of 3 by 1 feet. The middle tier was just more than 2 by 1 feet, and the top tier was about 18 inches by 1 foot. A 1-foot-plus gumpaste cake topper crowned the “confection.” Once completed, the creation, frosted in the official FCCLA colors of red, black and white, was so heavy it had to be transported on a flatbed cart.

“We worked on it for nine days,” Webb says. “I had never worked on something this large, and we had to account for decorative mishaps due to humidity. But all told, it was a decent first effort. My student helpers—all recent graduates—were really great. They helped with icing the cake, fondant work and gumpaste flowers and designs.”

But what did the 3,000 FCCLA guests eat at the anniversary celebration at McCormick Place? Webb came to the rescue with pre-sliced sheet cakes. So everyone got to have his or her cake. And eat it, too!

The team advanced to the national competition after being named the Central Regional Champion team at the ACF 2010 Central Regional Conference in Indianapolis on March 26, where they beat 11 other teams.

To take the national title in Anaheim and win their gold medals, the team had to earn the most points for correctly answering “Jeopardy”-style culinary questions in a round-robin challenge, beating finalist teams from California, Florida and Pennsylvania. This is a tremendous achievement as Kendall has never even had a team compete in the Knowledge Bowl competition, let alone win both the regional and national titles!

The Baron H. Galand Culinary Knowledge Bowl tests the acumen of culinary-arts students via a “Jeopardy”-style subjects grid that includes challenging culinary, baking, nutrition, sanitation and math questions as well as sensory perception. The competition is named after the late Chef Baron H. Galand, CEC, who served as national president of ACF from 1983 to 1987. First held at the ACF’s 1992 National Convention in Washington, D.C., today the four geographic regions of ACF hold the competition at their respective conferences in winter and spring to qualify teams to compete for the national title at the ACF’s convention in summer.

Jean-Luc Naret, worldwide director of the Michelin Guide, commented, “We are eagerly anticipating the MICHELIN guide’s entry into this wonderful city known for its cuisine, culture, beauty and innovative spirit.”

Guests at Tuesday’s invite-only launch party included Mayor Daley and other city officials as well as 100 other restaurateurs and chefs from highly acclaimed restaurants, including Alinea, Blackbird, L20, Charlie Trotters and Avenues. Kendall attendees included Karen Gersten, Interim President and Provost; Christopher Koetke, Dean of the School of Culinary Arts; Jeffrey Catrett, Dean of the School of Hospitality Management; and various other members of the Kendall faculty and staff.