Yesterday

Student Contributor: Laura Merrick
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
A.O.S. in Culinary Arts

New Orleans is a magical place overflowing with lively music, unique people, and creative food. Within this Louisiana city, shining brightly from the legendary French Quarter, is a diamond of a restaurant known as Stella! Stella! is perfectly situated in New Orleans, as it upholds the traditional values of the city (including good food and good times for all) while forging a new frontier in culinary creativity that has not been explored there. Stella!’s owner and executive chef, Scott Boswell, has created an incredibly diverse menu, perfect for increasing my culinary skills during my externship.

Having previously lived in New Orleans, I originally did not want to spend my externship there. Hoping to explore a new city, I investigated many other restaurants and did not find one that embodied all that I wanted to experience and learn. Upon reading Chef Scott’s menu and extensive biography, which details his worldwide training in various countries including France, Italy, and Japan, I realized Stella! was where I needed to be and immediately applied for an extern position. After a phone interview and job offer, I did not hesitate to accept one of the best opportunities I will ever be given. Between the high quality of products used, the interpersonal and technical skills learned, and the friendships and business relationships formed, my experience at Stella! has been life changing, and I am forever grateful.

The products at Stella! are always of the highest quality, arriving fresh and often. I had the opportunity to work with products I had only previously seen in pictures, and also products I was being introduced to for the first time. An example of the former is the beautiful rainbow chard, and one of the latter is the walu, a marvelous product from Hawaii that boasts a smooth, buttery, rich flavor. I also worked with satsumas, citrus fruits indigenous to Louisiana that are scattered throughout menus in New Orleans during their peak ripeness in the winter months.

An enjoyable activity at Stella! was preparing the various heirloom baby vegetables that came in a wide assortment of deep shades of purple, orange, and yellow, along with various kinds of arugula and bok choy. In addition, preparing the many types of wild mushrooms that flow through Stella! daily, such as the blue foot and lobster, added to my culinary skills. Working with shark’s fin for the first time illustrated the importance of not only the flavor but the mouthfeel of a broth—the fin adds a velvety, full-bodied aspect to the sea bass broth as it rolls inside the mouth.

The chefs from both the CIA and Stella! were imperative in giving me the skills needed to be successful at my job. The chefs at the CIA provided a solid foundation of knowledge on the proper care of general groups of food that my many teachers at Stella! were able to build upon when instructing proper preparation of specific items within the groups. For example, preparing the baby vegetables requires great care, and proper steps must be taken to maximize color and flavor that go beyond the steps routinely taught at the CIA. Chef Scott invests great attention to every detail in every aspect of every item on the menu.

As with most kitchens, Stella! is very diverse and showcases different personalities and different ideas on the best way to accomplish certain tasks. In this particular kitchen, however, one solid belief and value unites everyone: providing the best food possible in the manner the chef desires. This belief flows through each individual and, once service begins, it is the unifying factor that enables everyone in the kitchen to work together as one unit.

I am a very tolerant and open-minded individual who genuinely enjoys and appreciates learning new ways of accomplishing tasks and hearing feedback. I always felt comfortable asking questions during these times to further understand the “why” behind the methods used by Chef Scott. For instance, the various ways he plated cheese was one of many examples of how Stella! forced my mind to bend and rethink the presentation of a food product. Seeing the same elements on a plate presented in three different ways by three different chefs—while all maintained the same elegance and functionality—showed me how seemingly simple items can sometimes be overlooked. It is important to never let that happen, because each component will speak to the guest if the creator lets it or even encourages it.

This experience showed me how I need to start letting the items speak through me. During much of my externship at Stella!, I was learning and recreating Chef Scott’s creations. Then I focused my creativity at home and began utilizing the techniques I learned at Stella! to make my own creations.

The different approaches to cooking used by Chef Scott were ones that I generally favor over techniques learned at the CIA. One example is roasting russet potatoes to make mashed potatoes rather than boiling them. The flavor achieved by roasting is reason enough to follow this method, and the added benefit is zero water absorption and retention, which allows for a product that is never soupy. Another difference is the vegetable reheating process. Chef Scott uses white wine in place of chicken stock, resulting in a brighter, more exciting flavor as the acid and salt work together to help the flavor of the vegetable jump inside your mouth. A gorgeous glaze effect with no added color is also achieved when this method is properly executed. Lastly, during my last month at Stella!, Chef Scott began cooking items sous-vide. This method allows for a higher quality product of a more accurately temperature that retains more moisture as it encounters a minimal amount of dry heat. I enjoyed learning to temp meats in the oven, but this method provides such a superior product that I cannot articulate a reasonable argument against the use of sous-vide cooking.

I made many important contacts and friends at Stella! and had the privilege of learning from great teachers and working under very talented and knowledgeable supervisors. I hope to have this same privilege again in the future, but before that happens, I would like to gain more experience so I can provide Chef with a higher level of knowledge and skills that he can utilize however he needs. My externship at Stella! exposed some areas of my inexperience and is causing me to consider training in other areas that I have not previously had the desire to learn, such as hotel restaurants. I still want to travel the world and learn about cuisines from all cultures, and contacts at Stella! could potentially facilitate that goal. My experience at Stella! is helping me to breathe life into the skeleton of a career plan that is beginning to take shape and grow more every day.

If I had the chance to complete this externship again, I would spend more time working in the garden and familiarizing myself with the workings of the restaurant, the flow of purveyors, and the events Stella! is involved in that occur beyond the restaurant walls. Chef Scott is an incredible teacher and a joyful food orator. I enjoyed every moment spent learning from him and his well-trained staff, and I think Stella! is an excellent place for students to take their externship, if they care about food and have an unbending desire to learn. The most important attitude that Chef passed down and is to believe in yourself, that “you can do anything you want, you just have to make it happen.” Bringing truth to the statement that a great chef “puts himself on the plate,” Chef Scott and his food are unique inspirations to all who encounter them, just as his restaurant Stella! has been an inspiration to me.

April 8

Finding the right externship site in the least likely of places.

Student Contributor: Anna Berman
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
A.O.S. in Culinary Arts

Confused, dumbfounded, surprised—and that’s the nice way of describing how people reacted when I told them that I’d be going to Des Moines, IA for my externship. I got raised eyebrows, rolled eyes, and more often than not “you are going where?” When I patiently repeated myself that yes, in fact, I would soon be driving to Des Moines, every other person was more than happy to inform me that I would be spending five months in the middle of a corn field, as a crazy person. After all, who in their right mind would choose to go to Iowa when there were so many externships in more desirable culinary locations such as New York, Miami, or Los Angeles?

I’ll admit that Des Moines was not on the top of my list when I began my externship search. In fact, it wasn’t even on my radar. I focused my search on the experience that the externship would offer, which to me outweighed the location or the big name attached to the site. From the time I decided to attend culinary school, I knew that ultimately I wanted to be on the “other side of the industry.” Spending seven months at school only reinforced my decision, and as a result, I focused my externship search on publishing and research and development establishments. I was not too surprised to see that the list was rather short—the majority of sites were for traditional restaurant and hotel externships.

Being realistic and fiscally responsible, I eliminated non-paying externships. As tough as it was to say “good-bye” to well-known publications in New York and Los Angeles, I didn’t see myself happily living in these expensive cities without an income. Instead, I selected my top six paying externships and sent out résumés and cover letters. Several sites fell through pretty quickly because of the time schedule conflict; another one played hard-to-get and never returned my phone calls. I began to feel stressed out and worried—the externship was just a few months away, and I had no potential locations secured. That’s when I went back to my original list and took a closer look.

Des Moines, IA—I had to consult a map. Hmm…I’d be cold and isolated in a new place, but I remembered that I was searching for an externship, not a vacation spot, and persevered. The externship would be at Cuisine at Home magazine, part of August Home Publishing. After some online research, I sent out my résumé and cover letter and was soon contacted by the magazine’s editor. With the first interview out of the way, I waited to receive copies of the magazine in the mail to help me decide if it would be the right fit. And it was! I loved the content and format of the magazine, as well as the educational emphasis and focus for the home cook. I happily accepted the externship offer and was ready for my drive to Des Moines.

What I have discovered over the last few months as an extern is how fortunate I am to have chosen this particular site. As an editorial intern at Cuisine, I have developed and tested recipes for the magazine, written copy, assisted with photo shoots, and participated in peer editing. One of the benefits of working at a smaller company is the ability to be involved in every aspect of the daily routine. With direct access to both the editorial and art teams at the magazine, I have learned about the magazine business beyond my expectations.

There are plenty of job perks as well. The work environment at Cuisine is similar to a corporate one and offers regular weekly hours with weekends and holidays off. Furthermore, with constant recipe development in our test kitchens, there is always plenty of food for breakfast, lunch, and even to take home for dinner. With close ties to the community, members of the magazine often use their culinary expertise for a good cause. Most recently, several of the editors and I served as judges for an Apple Pie contest supporting a fundraiser at a local retirement home.

At this point, I am halfway through my externship and have enjoyed every bit of it. And what about Des Moines? I’m happy to report that the city has exceeded my expectations in a positive way. A few weeks ago, The New York Times published “In the Spotlight, Ready for Its Close-up,” naming Des Moines a traveling destination for arts and culture. With the presidential campaign in high gear and the Iowa caucuses in January, Des Moines has been a major player in the news lately, drawing much attention and deservingly so. On a regular Sunday afternoon I found myself eating brunch just inches away from Hillary Clinton, and what can beat that?

March 26

Student Contributor: Shelly Malgee
Baking & Pastry Arts Degree Program:
A.O.S. in Baking & Pastry Arts

As many of you are aware, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) controls the legal definitions of foods for sale in the United States. For example, “tomato soup” must contain tomatoes, “cranberry juice” must actually contain cranberries, etc. Legally, the American public has to be accurately informed of what is contained within the product they’re purchasing.

In spring of 2007, the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), in conjunction with a number of trade associations including the U.S. Chocolate Manufacturer’s Association, submitted a “citizen’s petition” to the FDA. This petition addresses hundreds of food products, but it is the proposed amendment to the Standard of Identity of chocolate that has many in our industry up in arms.

As it stands, the law dictates that the fat used in “chocolate” must be cocoa butter. With this petition, the GMA is asking the FDA expand the standard to allow any vegetable fat to be used. The implication? Inferior products, currently labeled “chocolatey” or “chocolate-flavored,” could legally be sold as real chocolate.

It is the cocoa butter that gives chocolate its smooth melt and silky mouthfeel, so a chocolate-like substance made with vegetable oil will feel greasy on the tongue and can even have an objectionable aftertaste. I can find no reason that consumers would want the standard lowered; it’s all about the big candy companies’ desire to lower costs—as vegetable oil sells for a third of the price of cocoa butter.

In addition to the cheating of the American consumer, a switch away from cocoa butter would also have a dramatic impact on cocoa growers in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Southeast Asia. For years, the American chocolate industry has been aiding these developing countries to improve working and economic conditions for cacao farmers. Decreasing the demand for cocoa butter now would have a disastrous economic impact on their livelihoods, since market prices would plummet as more and more American manufacturers chose cheaper fat alternatives.

However, a handful of artisan chocolate companies have spoken out in opposition of the GMA’s proposal. Guittard Chocolate Company led the fight to give “a more complete picture of the severe impact [it] would have on the pubic and the entire industry.” Their “Don’t Mess with Our Chocolate” campaign urged consumers to petition the FDA in protest, and the FDA did in fact lengthen the “public response” time period as a result. (To learn more about the campaign, visit www.dontmesswithourchocolate.com).

It may seem a frivolous concern, but consider a world in which you find yourself tasting an unpleasant change in your favorite candy bar—you know, the one you’ve enjoyed for years—without any notice at all. It’s got the same wrapper. You’ve just paid the same premium price. But the product is clearly inferior. That world may seem far off, especially since the FDA will probably take years before granting a decision, but it’s still a disturbing trend that we as professionals, as well as consumers, should be aware of.

March 18

All three winners of the number one food show on cable are graduates of the CIA. Listen to the podcast now.

Staff Contributor: Stephan Hengst

The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has introduced the newest in its "Insight from the Inside" podcast series: an interview with the winner of Top Chef Season 2, Ilan Hall '02, and Top Chef's Season 3 winner, Hung Huynh '02. To date, all three winners of Bravo's Top Chef have been CIA graduates, including Harold Dieterle '97 from the first season of the popular show.

The 15-minute podcast features a conversation with both Hung and Ilan, and details what it was like to compete on Bravo's reality show Top Chef. Both Ilan and Hung graduated from the CIA with an associate degree in culinary arts in 2002.

A native of Long Island, Chef Hall has worked in Florence, Italy, and for Chefs Tom Colicchio at Craft and Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich at Casa Mono in New York City. After receiving his CIA associate degree, Chef Hall went on to earn a 30-week baking and pastry arts certificate from the CIA at Greystone in St. Helena, California in 2003.

Chef Huynh's résumé reads like a tour of outstanding restaurants—Guy Savoy, Aureole, Lespinasse, Per Se, Manhattan Ocean Club—and it's indicative of his talent. Born in Vietnam and trained in classic French and Asian cuisines, Hung has two older brothers who attended the CIA as well.

"The CIA prepared me by providing me with the fundamentals of cooking; the basic skills I needed to win. The strong foundation, the perfect knife cuts, the perfect braising or sautéing techniques," explains Huynh when asked how his CIA education helped him during Top Chef. "What you need to serve great food is definitely great techniques. You can have all the soul you want, but soul does not make great-tasting food."

The next season of Top Chef premieres Wednesday, March 12 at 10 p.m. on Bravo. Five CIA graduates are among the 16 competing for the title of "Top Chef": Jennifer Biesty '92, now working in San Francisco; Richard Blais '98 and Nimma Osman '01 from Atlanta; and Evangelos "Spike" Mendelson '05 and Dale Talde '98 of New York City.

"Insight from the Inside" is part of an ongoing series from The Culinary Institute of America, and includes interviews with alumni such as Cat Cora '96, Duff Goldman '98, and Michael Symon '90. To download or to subscribe to receive these podcasts, visit: www.ciachef.edu/podcasts.

March 10

Student Contributor: Thomas Zacharias
Culinary Arts Degree Program:
A.O.S. in Culinary Arts

Let’s face it. Organic is now becoming the very thing to which it was supposed to be an alternative. The contradictory term “industrial organic”—an outcome of large corporate conventional farms trying to grab their slice of the organic pie—is fast replacing its more genuine precursor. We evidently have a serious problem at hand: a dilution, and possibly complete erosion, of what organic really stands for. Should we continue to fight for this seemingly lost cause or has enough damage been done already?

When you think “organic,” like almost every other American consumer, you picture a small local family farm with happy cows grazing on evergreen pastures, chickens running about pecking at worms in the soil, and pesticide-free vegetables of different kinds interspaced beautifully across the landscape. Open your eyes and embrace today’s “industrial organic” farm. Acre after acre of the same crop (most likely corn, lettuce, or broccoli) sucks all life out of the very soil it thrives on. Cattle have “access” to the outdoors but are still fed on “organic feedlots” instead of the much-preferred pastures they’re actually meant to graze. And worst of all, this same “organic food” consumes as much petroleum as its conventional counterpart does to eventually reach the supermarket—a reality that could more adversely affect global warming than your body.

Understand that in the mid 1900s when the “organic movement” came about and long before the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) got involved in the organic scenario, the term meant that the food not only was free from synthetics and genetic engineering but also promoted sustainability (capable of maintaining productivity and usefulness to society indefinitely) in the long term. Having acquired renewed focus from a 1962 book—Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring—documenting the negative implications of chemical use in agriculture, “organic” began to grow rapidly due to expanding consumer opposition to chemical pesticides coupled with a desire for food that was produced without harming the environment. By 1990, estimated sales of more than a billion pushed Congress into passing the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) of 1990. This act established the framework to create the National Organic Program (NOP), which implemented a stringent NOP certification for organic labeling in October 2002. According to this USDA certification:

“Organic food is [that which is] produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.”

But how can promoting large corporate organic growers whose produce travels thousands of miles to reach the supermarket—instead of the small local farms that probably cannot even afford organic certification—be considered an emphasis on the use of renewable resources? How can growing hundreds of acres of the same crop on the same piece of land and clearly ignoring the implications of not carrying out crop rotation be regarded as enhancing the environmental quality for future generations? Why even have a requirement for cattle to have “access to pasture” and poultry “access to the outdoors” when these loosely defined terms fall at the exploitation of these corporate organic growers?

Now don’t get me wrong. USDA-certified organic food is still considered better both for our health and for the environment. By eliminating the massive quantities of toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers (figures placed in millions of tons) used in conventional farming, organic methods help protect the health of our air, water, and soil. The exclusion of synthetic pesticides in produce and growth hormones in livestock also reduces risks of cancer, birth defects, and damage to the nervous and reproductive systems in humans.

There are, however, other relevant issues at hand here. Firstly, the USDA “organic” label only addresses the production side of farming (i.e., the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and Genetically Modified Organisms). It does not check the long-term effect of these farms on the environment and water systems. For example, farms can grow the same crop on the same plot of land over and over again without crop rotation, which is essential to maintain the soil’s fertility.

Another issue of significance is that of exports. As sales of organic food products continue to grow by nearly $2 billion each year, U.S. companies are increasingly being forced to rely on foreign imports in their effort to meet consumer demand. But serious questions remain about the integrity of the inspection and certification process in some countries, especially China. The USDA, in fact, has yet to make an inspection tour of China’s government-controlled certification system, even though the United States is already importing huge amounts of Chinese organic products.

However, the subject of utmost concern today is the industrialization of organic—or at least its consequences. After 35 years of building a multi-billion-dollar replacement for industrial agriculture, large corporations, aided and abetted by the USDA and members of Congress, are now moving to lower organic standards and seize control. According to journalist Michael Pollan of The Omnivore’s Dilemma fame, “Organic is just a word and its definition now lies in the hands of the federal government, which means it is subject to all the usual political and economic forces at play in Washington. Inevitably, the drive to produce organic food cheaply will bring pressure to further weaken the regulations.”

One thing is certain. The word “organic” has been tainted. Today, it’s nearly impossible to buy something that is “organic” in the true sense of the word. Then why bother paying so much (about 50 percent more) for something that is questionable? I am in no way suggesting abandoning organic. I only implore you to first look at your options closer to home. Buying phenomenally fresh local produce from the closest farmer’s market may not always be convenient or even pesticide-free. But it supports the small-scale farmers handicapped by the corporates and carries only a fraction of the foods miles its “industrial organic” counterpart does. An even better bet would be to get involved with CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) like Poughkeepsie Farm Project or Phillies Bridge Farm Project Inc. in New Paltz, where members make a financial commitment to a farm and receive a weekly or monthly basket of produce, eggs, milk, or any sort of different farm products. They may not be as easy as choosing certified “organic,” but most of them have very sustainable farming systems in place. Go for the certified organic in the supermarket when these options are not viable but try and find out about the company’s production methods and make a responsible, informed decision. More importantly, try and stick to what’s available in the season and hence most likely local. Remember, the key word here is local, not organic. As renowned author Wendell Berry puts it, “Eating is an agricultural act.” Treat it that way.

April 17

Insight from the Inside sits down with Dan Coudreaut, McDonalds director of culinary innovation to find out how things work behind the scenes in the worlds largest kitchen.

March 10

Insight from the Inside gets up close with winners of Bravo's Top Chef season two and three.

November 19

Insight from the Inside gets up close with the winner of The Next Iron Chef, Michael Symon.

October 3

Insight from the Inside hits the road and visits the Ace of Cakes in Baltimore, Maryland.

June 29

Celebrity Chef, and CIA alumnus, Cat Cora shares her experiences both at the CIA, and since as she has traveled the world.