New Chef Brings Fresh Ideas to CIA Restaurant

St. Helena, CA, January 27, 2012 – The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant starts out the new year with a new executive chef and general manager, as well as new menu items. In addition, the restaurant on the California campus of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) was recently awarded a 2012 Great Wine Capitals Best of Tourism Award, citing the many delicious educational opportunities the restaurant offers to guests, whether they are tourists or locals. Guests at The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant get a chance to take home new culinary and wine lessons, while interacting with the up-and-coming chefs of the future.

New Executive Chef
Chef Almir Da Fonseca has been a culinary instructor at the CIA at Greystone for five years. He now steps into the role of executive chef at The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant, in addition to his chef-instructor duties. This makes the restaurant not only a great place to experience world-class food and wine, but an excellent hands-on classroom for CIA students.

A native of Brazil, Da Fonseca studied culinary arts at the Senace Trade School in Rio de Janeiro. He went on to a 25-year career in the food industry—which included culinary training and apprenticeships in southern France and Italy—before coming to the CIA at Greystone. After moving to Northern California, he gained experience as executive chef at Lucas Wharf Restaurant in Bodega Bay. Chef Da Fonseca has also owned his own restaurant, ran a catering company, and developed a line of sauces. A member of the CIA at Greystone faculty since 2007, he teaches classes, participates in consulting projects, presents at CIA conferences, and regularly speaks at graduation ceremonies.

Students enrolled in the CIA's Associate in Occupational Studies degree program spend the final 12 weeks of the 21-month curriculum working in the restaurant. It's the perfect culmination of their CIA education, working under the direction of Chef Da Fonseca and learning in this hands-on classroom.

"I am really excited to show our students and customers that all of the ideals we teach are not just words and ideas," says Da Fonseca. "We are actually putting the ideals to work in our restaurant kitchen. The students are learning that sustainable cookery and using local ingredients can be done in a restaurant, and that solid culinary skills can turn those ingredients into beautiful food."

New General Manager
Pat Jeffries is a Napa native who comes to the CIA with 25 years of experience in the food and wine industries. Most recently he was the general manager at the successful Norman Rose Tavern in Napa, and has managed Cole's Chop House and BarbersQ. He has also been a consultant for Luna Vineyards.

"I've always wanted to teach," says Jeffries. "I get to work directly with CIA faculty to make sure the lessons in the classroom are consistent with 'real world' experience. We focus on the skills needed to provide the best guest experience day in and day out."

New Menu Items
The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant features new, fresh menu items, such as a brand-new raw bar featuring fresh oysters, crab, and other shellfish. Da Fonseca works closely with advisors of the student garden club members, who have planted specific produce requested by the chef. Beginning in February, about 80 percent of the produce served in the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant will be harvested from the organic student garden, located just a 1/4 mile away. Look for creamy Mushroom Risotto made with various mushrooms, or homey Ragout made with Rancho Gordo beans and braising greens from the garden.

Da Fonseca works closely with advisors of the student garden club members, who have planted specific produce requested by the chef. Beginning in February, about 80 percent of the produce served in the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant will be harvested from the organic student garden, located just a 1/4 mile away. Look for creamy Mushroom Risotto made with various mushrooms, or homey Ragout made with Rancho Gordo beans and braising greens from the garden.

The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant has adopted the sustainable practice of ordering whole cattle from neighboring Five Dot Ranch and using the entire animal in dishes on the menu. Chef Da Fonseca has taken this practice one step further and is now dry-aging cuts of beef in house, giving the grass-fed beef more flavor and tenderness. Featured cuts rotate daily based on what is available, and include a New York strip steak, aged for 28 days, or a Butcher's Cut special of flat iron, hangar, or skirt steak, that has been aged 5 to 7 days. The Better Burger is really that—Five Dot Beef sirloin that has been aged for 28 days, hand ground, and served with house-made Kennebec potato chips and house-made catsup.

Chef Da Fonseca continues the practice of using the whole animal by ordering sustainably raised whole hogs from Gleason Ranch in neighboring Sonoma County. Da Fonseca breaks down the whole hog in the restaurant kitchen, instructing students and giving them valuable, eco-friendly skills to use in their culinary careers.

Da Fonseca uses his own Mediterranean curing mix to make bacon, which is smoked on the CIA property and used throughout the menu. Larger cuts are braised and served as specials, while other parts are made into a Spanish-style chorizo sausage and served with mussels and other dishes. Da Fonseca is also making charcuterie in-house, and instructing students in the practice.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1: Almir Da Fonseca is the new executive chef at the Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. He is also a chef-instructor at the culinary school and will continue to work with students in the restaurant. (Photo Credit: CIA/Charlie Gesell)

Photo 2: A look inside The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant on the California campus of The Culinary Institute of America. (Photo Credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Media Contact:

Tyffani Peters
Media Relations Specialist
707-967-2322
t_peters@culinary.edu

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The Culinary Institute of America Launches Cutting-Edge Series of Culinary Science Courses for Professional Chefs

Four Exciting New Continuing Education Classes are Now Offered at CIA Campuses in Hyde Park, NY and St. Helena, CA

Hyde Park, NY, January 26, 2012 – As part of the college's mission to provide cutting-edge education and to advance new understanding of food and flavor, The Culinary Institute of America has launched a series of four new courses. These additions to the CIA Continuing Education curriculum, designed for the professional chef, will explore the science underlying new techniques, culinary traditions, and food safety.

Through a combination of lectures, discussions, and extensive hands-on kitchen—and guided by award-winning members of the CIA faculty and guest faculty from industry and academia—professional chefs will gain a better understanding of culinary science principles that can foster efficiency and innovation in the modern food service industry. These classes are now offered at the CIA's main campus in Hyde Park, NY, and at the Greystone campus in St. Helena, CA. All programs are designed for professional chefs with advanced culinary skills.

"A sound foundation in the principles of science underlying our techniques and traditions is 'Mise En Place 2.0' for the modern chef," said Dr. Chris Loss, PhD, director of the Department of Menu R&D. "The culinary industry is becoming increasingly technical and cross-disciplinary. Chefs eager to keep pace in the competitive food industry should be familiar with the fundamentals of culinary science that have already captured the attention of the culinary world."

The CIA Culinary Science courses have been designed by chefs, a microbiologist, a sensory scientist, and a food chemist, as well as consulting experts from the recent book by Nathan Myhrvold, Modernist Cuisine. This cross-disciplinary faculty team reflects the fascinating integration of the art and science of cooking that drives major food industry trends.

To find out more about the faculty designing and teaching this course, please visit us online.

The four Continuing Education classes that open this new series include: Culinary Science: Principles and Applications in Modern Cuisine; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Writing; Introduction to Precision Temperature Cooking Techniques and Processes; and Menu Development—Commissary/Contract Feeders.

Culinary Science: Principles and Applications in Modern Cuisine allows students to review the principles of culinary science and their applications in modern foodservice industry careers through lectures, discussions, and extensive hands-on kitchen work. By comparing traditional and "modernist" techniques, this course introduces chefs to the mechanisms underlying the physical and chemical changes that occur during food preparation and cooking—and how to control them. The five-day class will be offered August 13–17 at Hyde Park. Tuition is $1,795 per person.

HACCP Writing offers an overview of how the education, health care, military, contract foodservice, commissary, and restaurant segments of the industry must be brought into compliance with current Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) regulations, according to state codes. In this non-cooking class, students apply the process of creating a HACCP program specific to their foodservice establishments, and study the science, microbiology, and safety elements of precision temperature cooking. The four-day class will be taught at St. Helena, February 21–24, 2012. Tuition is $1,300 per person.

Introduction to Precision Temperature Cooking Techniques and Processes offers a foundation for foodservice managers, chefs, decision makers, and researchers seeking to understand the techniques and benefits of precision temperature cooking processes. The course is designed to demonstrate the interconnectivity, techniques, and benefits of complete end-to-end systems centered on precision temperature cooking systems. The four-day class will be taught at St. Helena, April 9–12, 2012. Tuition is $1,300 per person.

Menu Development—Commissary/Contract Feeders allows food production facilities to improve menu items and products for receiver kitchens, in segments such as health care, education, military, institutions, and business and industry properties. Students analyze their site facilities and create operational changes that promote economic savings, through efficient food production techniques, green initiatives, and carbon savings and operational cost reductions. The four-day class will be taught at St. Helena, March 19–22 and May 14–17, 2012. Tuition is $1,300 per person.

To enroll in any of the classes in the CIA's new 2012 Culinary Science curriculum, visit www.ciaprochef.com or contact the CIA's customer service department at 1-800-888-7850.

Photo Captions:

Photo 1: The future of the culinary arts has arrived. The Culinary Institute of America, the world's premier culinary college, has launched a culinary science curriculum in 2012, featuring four exciting courses, designed for the professional chef. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Photo 2: "A sound foundation in the principles of science underlying our techniques and traditions is 'Mise En Place 2.0' for the modern chef" said Dr. Chris Loss, '94, who helped design the CIA Culinary Science: Principles and Applications course. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Media Contact:

Jay Blotcher
Media Relations Specialist
845-905-4419
j_blotch@culinary.edu

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Rising Star New York Chef George Mendes is Commencement Speaker at his Alma Mater

Hyde Park, NY, January 24, 2012 – George Mendes, chef/owner of the acclaimed Aldea restaurant in New York City and one of Food & Wine magazine's Best New Chefs for 2011, returned to his alma mater on Friday, January 20, 2012 with words of inspiration for the newest class of fellow graduates of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

"Take a moment on a daily basis to appreciate your craft, your métier. Respect it. Love it," Mendes advised 52 recipients of associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts. "Take the time to wake up early in the morning and breathe in the fresh vegetables at the farmers' markets. That should be inspiration enough."

After graduating from the CIA in 1992, Chef Mendes continued to hone his craft, doing stages with European Michelin-star chefs Roger Vergé, Alain Ducasse, Alain Passard, Martin Berasategui, and finally with Ferran Adrià at elBulli in Spain. At Aldea, a restaurant celebrating his Portuguese heritage, he has earned his own stars in the New York Michelin Guide for the past two years.

"Sometimes opportunities don't present themselves to you. You have to go out and discover them," said Mendes, who didn't even consider a career in the food world until a high school field trip brought him to the CIA's Hyde Park, NY campus in 1990. "Be the first one in your kitchen and the last one out. You'll be surprised at how many more opportunities will arise from it."

Chef Mendes returns to Hyde Park on January 28 and 29 as a judge for the Bocuse d'Or USA competition at the CIA.

Photo Caption:

CIA graduate George Mendes '92 delivers the commencement address at his alma mater on January 20, 2012. (Photo credit: CIA/Keith Ferris)

Media Contact:

Jeff Levine
Communications Manager
845-451-1372
j_levine@culinary.edu

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