Blog for Kendall College in Chicago IL | Culinary Arts, Hospitality, Business, Education

Where are they now? Catching Up with School of Education Alum Cody New

The Kendall College Alumni Relations Office recently caught up with School of Education alum Cody New (Early Childhood Education ’06). Since graduating from Kendall, Cody has been teaching kindergarten at a Title 1 school in Evanston/Skokie School District 65. When asked about his favorite part of working as an early childhood educator, Cody said “As a kindergarten teacher, I have the privile... read more

Bayless Honored as Inaugural Namesake for “Great Chefs Kitchen”

Meredith, April 26th, 2013 | Category: Featured, Green, Inside Kendall | Permalink | Email this
tagged: chicago chefs, Chris Koetke, Culinary Arts, great chefs kitchen, Rick Bayless, School of Culinary Arts

Celebrity chef Rick Bayless was on hand April 12 to speak with students, faculty and staff as the School of Culinary Arts honored him with Kendall College’s dedication of the “Great Chefs Kitchen.” The commercial kitchen lab that has served culinary students since the Riverworks campus’ opening in 2005 will bear Bayless’ name for the inaugural year of this new program that will annually honor a chef who has significantly influenced and shaped American foodways.

In the foodservice realm, Bayless, owner of Frontera Grill, Topolobampo, Xoco and other well-known eateries in greater Chicago, is arguably America’s foremost expert on authentic regional Mexican cuisine. His PBS television series, “Mexico – One Plate at a Time,” along with his gourmet retail lines and award-winning cookbooks, have made Bayless a household name from coast to coast.

“In 1987, Rick started to change the landscape for restaurants in Chicago by demonstrating that Mexican cuisine is extraordinary—and not just tacos,” said Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC, vice president, Laureate International Universities Center of Excellence in Culinary Arts and the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts. “Beyond his award-winning restaurants, Rick has accomplished more than anyone else in the United States in introducing Americans to real Mexican cuisine.”

At the dedication ceremony, Bayless, who said he’s “just a person who loves the craft of cooking,” called Kendall culinary-arts students the “hope of our generation.” He added that he has always loved Kendall College for embracing the teaching of global cuisines in ways that culinary-arts programs elsewhere may not.

Encouraging students to reach for the stars in their careers and make a positive impact on society, Bayless recalled his first trip to Mexico when he was 14. “It changed my life,” he said. “The cuisine spoke to me. We can share our voices through food, which brings people together. So go wherever food leads you.”

Bayless has a longstanding relationship with Kendall College, including developing the Frontera Scholarship, launched in 2007—a full tuition scholarship to send a Mexican-American student living in Chicago to Kendall College to study the culinary arts. The 2013 scholarship recipient is third-year baking-and-pastry student Mareli Castellanos, who will accompany Bayless to Oaxaca in late June for a five-day immersion in Mexican baking and pastry arts.

Where are they now? Catching Up with School of Hospitality Management Alum Imran Jivani

Meredith, March 29th, 2013 | Category: Alumni, Featured | Permalink | Email this
tagged: Alumni, Careers in Hospitality, Hospitality Alumni, International Hospitality Management, San Francisco, School of Hospitality Management

The Kendall College Alumni Relations Office recently caught up with School of Hospitality Management alum Imran Jivani (International Hospitality Management ’11.) He is living in San Francisco, CA and working at Hotel Kabuki, a Joie de Vivre Hotel/Commune Hotels and Resorts.

In his day-to-day as a department head, Imran handles a myriad of hotel guest requests while overseeing the front desk, concierge, bell/valet desk and reservations. “I truly enjoy the “Moments of Truth” that I have with guests whether it is guest recovery or creating a great experience.”

Currently a Front Office Manager, he hopes to be a General Manager in the near future. “I was in the industry for 10 years prior to completing my degree at Kendall. I like to say that while I walked in to Kendall as an experienced manager, I walked out as a leader,” says Jivani. “The advice, curriculum, and environment at Kendall really allowed for professional and personal growth that has made me much better in my career.”

The School of Hospitality Management at Kendall College currently offers concentrations to fit a variety of hospitality-related interests, including: Hotel/Lodging Management, Restaurant Management, Meeting, Incentive, Convention and Exhibition (MICE), Sustainable Management in Hospitality and Tourism, and Beverage Management.

“My advice [for current students hoping to enter the hospitality industry] would be to sincerely work with integrity while developing key relationships with all stakeholders (i.e. guests, associates, peers, and executive leadership). This is the key to success in many fields, but in hospitality, you have to have a gracious nature that is based in a service-first mentality,” says Jivani. “Always go above and beyond what is expected of you and offer your time/ help to anyone who needs it. You cannot grow in this industry with a ‘not my job’ mentality.”

While Jivani enjoys San Francisco and says “it has too much available to create a list of favorites. I always enjoy a simple day in my neighborhood, Hayes Valley, reading a book and enjoying gourmet single drip coffee,” he is “a Chicagoan since birth” and misses “everything about Chicago, especially Deep Dish Pizza.”

Learn more about the Global Hospitality Management program at Kendall College in Chicago. Any questions for Imran Jivani? Leave them in the comments!

Stein and Mestan Win Silver Medal in National Culinology® Competition

Meredith, March 26th, 2013 | Category: Around Town, Featured | Permalink | Email this
tagged: Chef Eric Stein, Chicago Culinary, Culinary Arts, Culinology, Research Chefs Association, School of Culinary Arts

The team of Eric Stein, MS, RD, CCE, a chef-instructor at the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, and Jaime Mestan, CSC, a Kendall culinary alum (’08) and research chef at Ed Miniat, Inc., in South Holland, Ill., took second place, a silver medal and a cash award of $3,000 at the second-annual Professional Culinology® Competition, March 8 in Charlotte, N.C., held in conjunction with the Research Chefs Association’s (RCA) Annual Conference and Culinology Expo.

The competition, which was sanctioned by the American Culinary Federation (ACF), called for two-person teams to submit concepts reflecting North Carolina regional cuisine via an appetizer for fine dining, a shareable appetizer for casual dining and a fine-dining or casual-dining dessert. Stein and Mestan beat two other teams with their three-concept entry that comprised an “N.C. BLT,” fried shrimp-and-grits ravioli with Texas Pete dipping sauce, and “The Ultimate Southern Sundae.”

Prior to the competition, teams prepared commercialized versions of their concepts and shipped them to Charlotte. On competition day, each team created the gold standard, fresh versions of their commercialized concepts and was judged in part against how well the plated, commercialized products matched up against the gold standards prepared on site. Entries were judged by a panel of culinary R&D experts against criteria that included originality of concept, nutritional profile, manufacturing feasibility, flavor, aroma, texture, presentation and safety standards.

The discipline of Culinology was pioneered by the Research Chefs Association with the organization’s founding in 1996. The RCA represents more than 2,000 members including chefs, food scientists, technologists, writers, nutritionists, academicians, researchers, consultants, sales and marketing professionals, suppliers, co-packers, distributors and students. RCA is the premier source of culinary and technical information for the food industry and is committed to the advancement of Culinology—the blending of the culinary arts and food science. For more information, visit www.culinology.com.

Photos courtesy of Research Chefs Association, 2013.

From the Kitchens at Kendall College: Spicy Breakfast Sausage Recipe

Meredith, March 25th, 2013 | Category: Inside Kendall | Permalink | Email this
tagged: Chef Koetke, chicago culinary school, Chris Koetke, Culinary Arts, Food Trends, Recipes, Sausage, School of Culinary Arts

Part 4 of our series on homemade sausage! Recipe developed by Chef Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC, vice president, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and the Laureate International Universities Center of Excellence in Culinary Arts.

Spicy Breakfast Sausage
Yield: 5 lbs.

Nothing beats the heady aroma of pork sausage sizzling in a skillet—unless it’s the sausage you made, yourself. Making breakfast-sausage patties is not difficult, and the results are superlative. This recipe also packs a punch to help jump-start your morning.

Ingredients
4¼ lbs.pork shoulder (the meat and the fat)
¾ lb. pork fat back*
2 T. salt
2 t. black pepper
1½ t. white pepper
2½ t. ground sage
2 t. chile flakes, ground in the spice grinder
½ t. nutmeg
1¼ t. ground thyme
½ t. ground ginger
1¼ t. ground coriander
1 T. sugar
¾ c.water cold water

Directions
1.Cut the pork and fat into a large dice. Place in freezer until they are very cold. Grind in a meat grinder (with a plate with approximately 3/16” holes) or in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
2.In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients.
3.Pour the liquid spice mixture into the cold ground meat and fat. Mix vigorously until the meat becomes slightly elastic.
4.Form the meat into small patties about 3” in diameter.
5.To cook, sauté the patties over moderate heat until they are cooked through (165°F with an instant-read thermometer), 5 to 10 minutes.

*Pork fat back is the firm fat from the back of the hog, although the fat from the leg will also work.

Want to learn more about culinary school in Chicago? Take a tour of Kendall with Chef Koetke!

From the Kitchens at Kendall College: Sheboygan-style Bratwurst Recipe

Meredith, March 22nd, 2013 | Category: Inside Kendall | Permalink | Email this
tagged: chicago culinary school, Chris Koetke, Food Trends, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts, Recipes, Sausage, School of Culinary Arts

Part 3 of our series on homemade sausage. Recipe developed by Chef Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, HAAC, vice president, Kendall College School of Culinary Arts and the Laureate International Universities Center of Excellence in Culinary Arts.

Sheboygan-style Bratwurst
Yield: 20 links (about 5 lbs.)

In Wisconsin, brats are a way of life. Variations of the brat, however, range from sausage that is finely emulsified to that which is more coarsely ground. This recipe is for the latter, and is easy to make. Pork can substitute for veal if desired. Serve with plenty of caramelized onion and lots of strong brown mustard.

Ingredients
1 lb. veal (leg or shoulder)
3½ lbs. pork butt (fat and meat)
½ lb. pork fat back*
1 c. milk
½ c. cream
2 eggs
2 t. ground white pepper
½ t. ground mace
¾ t. ground ginger
¾ t. ground nutmeg
2½ T. salt
1½ T. onion powder
¾ t. ground thyme
¼ t. dried sage
1 T. sugar
12 to 14 ft. well-rinsed hog casing

Directions
1. Cut the veal, pork and fat into a large dice. Freeze until very cold. Grind in a meat grinder (with a plate with approximately 3/16” holes) or in a food processor until coarsely chopped.
2. In a bowl, combine all remaining ingredients except the hog casing.
3. Pour the liquid spice mixture into the cold ground meat and fat. Mix vigorously until the meat becomes slightly elastic.
4. Using a sausage stuffer, stuff the meat into the hog casing and twist into 6” individual sausages, or form into patties.
5. To cook the links, simmer them in a generous quantity of water or beer (enough so the links are not crowded in the pot and the entire surface area of each link is well exposed to simmering liquid) until they are cooked through (150°F with an instant-read thermometer), 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Lightly brown the links in a sauté pan or on a grill until they reach 165°F with an instant-read thermometer, 5 to 10 minutes. Char on all sides. (To cook patties, sauté or grill them like a hamburger until they are cooked through, about 5 minutes per side depending on the thickness of the patties.)

*Pork fat back is the firm fat from the back of the hog, although the fat from the leg will also work.

Note: Cooking twice results in a moister sausage and increases its flavor.

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