Chefs across foodservice-industry segments share how they're directly applying lessons learned from the Culinary Institute of America's new Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP) in their kitchens. The CEIP is designed to prepare the commercial and noncommercial foodservice industry's best and brightest for future leadership in the field. Over the course of 18 months, participants attend four intense, three-day sessions that incorporate lectures from certified master chefs, roundtable discussions, homework assignments, field trips and in-kitchen work. Tuition for the program is sponsored by Hormel Foods. For more information, visit www.ceipinfo.com. en-us http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739.html?nid=4783 Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information. Subject to its Terms of Use November 10, 2009 http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1750050175.html?nid=4783 Have you ever worked for someone who was at the top of the food chain within an organization and thought, “Wow, that person really energizes me. I want to better myself so I can take their job”? Or have you thought, “How is that person in a leadership role when they can’t mak… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1160049916.html?nid=4783 We’ve all heard it—a chef saying, "I cook with love" or "I cook from the heart." Usually, I find the chef is saying this as a reason why he doesn’t have written recipes or follow classic, time-proven cooking techniques and instead is using shortcuts no diner wan… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/850049685.html?nid=4783 Recently I’ve come across individuals who are green to the restaurant business and already thinking about leaving their current first jobs. Why? They’re not used to management, everyone else has left after three months and/or they think could do better elsewhere. Joining a new kitc… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1460049346.html?nid=4783 Did you ever walk your serving lines prior to the start of dinner and wonder about a particular dish, "What it that?" On college campuses, we run several units and cook so many styles and varieties of foods that when you add up all the recipes and SOPs (standard operating procedures) we… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/840048484.html?nid=4783 You're in a restaurant ready to spend hard-earned money. When you ask if you can change the dressing on a salad, your server says: "I am sorry, we are not making modifications to our menu right now." How does that make you feel? For me, I immediately think, really? ... You can't change the… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/350048435.html?nid=4783 Like many of you, I am a big fan of cooking shows. PBS, Food Network, Top Chef, I watch them all. Increasingly, I find myself getting more and more frustrated with the lack of professionalism being displayed as more and more "chefs" try to make it big through the media and not kitche… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1580047758.html?nid=4783 Chefs you talk with will tell you that FAT=FLAVOR. I love fat as much as everyone else in all its many-splendid forms. But have you ever considered tasting foods before adding fat? The other night I hosted a grill-out for my band, the Steel Chops. One thing I cooked was sweet corn. Maybe th… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1570047757.html?nid=4783 Gluten-free is a big buzz term lately. But what does it mean for chefs? As a noncommercial chef, being aware of celiac disease means a lot to me--more so than just removing bread from the menu. I care because my customers need gluten-free options for their health. That doesn’t mean it&rsquo… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1740047174.html?nid=4783 As a chef with a restaurant in a major city like Boston, the same question arises every winter and summer like clockwork: Are we participating in restaurant week? An enthusiastic “YES!” is always the answer. That’s because we feel that our city’s restaurant week is a great… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/810046881.html?nid=4783 Reading Joel’s blog post last week brought me back to my early days as a chef so many years ago. I was lucky enough to work for a chef that took the time to teach and develop his staff. He spent hours with us, showing techniques, dishes, and tricks on not only cooking but how to live in … http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1310046531.html?nid=4783 Having trouble finding prep cooks, line cooks, and dishwashers to fill that empty slot on the schedule? Looking for the diamond in the rough that will annihilate overtime and let members of your staff take that much-needed vacation? Do you have employees that would want to move up the la… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1450046145.html?nid=4783 My e-mail address is featured on the Burtons Grill Web site, so visitors are able to directly send me questions, comments and concerns on any matter. Recently, I’ve noticed a trend for nutritional-information requests. There have been numerous requests that Burtons Grill should stat… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1290045929.html?nid=4783 I remember vividly my image of a chef walking the farmer’s market, touching, smelling and tasting the incredible foods on display. After hand-selecting each ingredient, he would head back to his kitchen and cook this amazing fresh food for dinner. Twenty plus years later, I sit at my desk rea… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/590045459.html?nid=4783 Let’s face it America: We are gullible. We constantly destroy our bodies by slurping, eating and popping every rapid-slimming, no-carb, mass-protein, high-carb, no-protein, super-fruit, non-fat, electric-energy and/or raw food, pill and drink we can get our hands on because the before and afte… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/960045096.html?nid=4783 As the culinary director of five full-service restaurants at Burtons Grill, I have very little time for my personal garden, let alone five additional smaller gardens per restaurant. That’s where I have to get creative. In our first CEIP modu… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/1830044783.html?nid=4783 Who says you have to pair wine with dinner when there are so many more choices? Now, before you collapse this window, let’s get the record straight. I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner just as much as the next person, but that does not mean that other alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages are… http://www.rimag.com/blog/1390000739/post/640044464.html?nid=4783 I remember when being a chef was about putting good and honest food on the plate and selling it for a reasonable price. I remember when people thought they got a good value by the amount of food left over for tomorrow’s lunch. I remember when it was cool to be serving exotic animals and high…