by Shannon Harman
SAN ANGELO, Texas — When I was in elementary school, first learning about the seasons of the year, I remember instantly finding fall and spring fascinating. Not only are the visuals during these times of year some of the most inspiring elements of the human experience, but also the notion of what is happening is quite a powerful sentiment.
I was taught that fall and spring are times of transition. Fall is the season where life begins to feel compelled to go to sleep or complete a cycle. Spring is the season where life begins to wake up or begin anew. The notion that a period of transition can manifest itself with vibrant colors and powerful storms (I was also taught that storms are Mother Nature’s attempt to “right” the world again) makes the scary idea of “transition” seem beautiful and necessary — and right.
A family obligation pulls me away from San Angelo in a hurry. I wish the transition could happen a different way, but I am reminded that I am a human being and am not in charge of the way life flows. I’ve worked hard while I’ve been here, and I’m happy to have served Angelo Civic Theatre and the community of San Angelo to the best of my ability.
It seems the role of a human being is to wish, work and serve, then let go of all expectations or attachments. Seems like an impossible task. At least we can party!
Chefs Gone Wild is one way Angelo Civic Theatre will be celebrating spring and transition. Angelo Civic Theatre and the Texas Chefs Association have partnered to create a fabulously fun event to be held at Angelo Civic Theatre on Saturday night.
The event will feature the culinary genius of Jason Helfer of Peasant Village, Billy Hillis and Robert Martinez of Chartwells at ASU, Larry Lambert and Rudy Perez of Shannon Medical Center, Manny Martinez of Miss Hattie’s, Liz and JR Matthews of Silo House, Mike O’Neill of Sealy Flats, Sergio Rico of Community Medical Center, Jeff Utter of Feffer’s, and Henry Wiens of Community Medical Center.
These chefs will create appetizers with the best flavors in the world. The funds raised from the event will go to support the artistic programming of Angelo Civic Theatre and scholarship funds for the Texas Chefs Association.
Hope you will join Angelo Civic Theatre and the chefs Saturday night!
Shannon C. Harman is the producing artistic director at Angelo Civic Theatre. Contact her at shannon@angelocivictheatre.org or (325) 949-4400.
Source
================
This event from chefs with big heart will not teach about culinary art but also what is the real joy of gdoing something for a good cause.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Belton High School’s “Top Chefs”
Competing against other top teams from a region that includes the Dallas, Houston, and Austin areas, the BHS Culinary team secured 1st place at the ProStart Regional culinary competition, taking them forward to the state competition on Saturday, March 6.
With only a week to prepare for the state competition after their top-notch performance at regional, the Belton High School Culinary Team garnered an honorable and accomplished third place at state in what turned out to be a tight competition.
“One of the judges told me that there was only a five point difference between 1st and 3rd,” said BHA culinary team member Jackson Mitchell. “It was very close.”
As related by the Belton High School Culinary Team, the competition involved more than just simply serving food. Every step of the process, from the transport of ingredients to the site to techniques used in the food preparation to presentation was heavily scrutinized by judges and rated from 1 point (poor) to 5 (excellent). The competition also required the students to budget their food costs and provide a menu for their end products that reflected what it would be like in a real world restaurant setting.
“Everything on the menu was cost evaluated and increased by 33%,” said Daniel Combs, explaining the suggested costs on the menu that the team presented to judges during the competition.
As related by Combs, the culinary team prepared the same menu at the state level competition as they had at regional, taking the advice of judges to fine tune and tweak their dishes’ content and presentation to further perfection.
“Dessert was a cheesecake rolled up like a sushi roll,” said Combs. “One of the judges at regional said I should strain the sauce before putting it on the roll. I strained it at state.”
Team member Aaron Gross also noted a slight change to their food’s final presentation, the team changing out some of the cutting techniques, going from sliced to diced tomatoes in their starter of a “Reinvented Wedge Salad” at state.
With all the details involved in the competition, the issue of perfect timing, as related by the team, was seen as the most crucial element.
“Finishing on time was probably the biggest thing at State,” said Combs. “At regional, half of the teams did not finish on time.”
Mitchell noted that at the state competition, on of the teams working in the same kitchen area as BHS finished four minutes late, costing that team four points.
“Every minute late is one point off,” said Mitchell.
“Ten minutes late is a DQ (disqualification),” added Combs.
However much time-related stressors were involved, the BHS Culinary Team felt that the most intense moments of their experience at state revolved around losing the mascarpone cheese they had transported as the main ingredient of their cheesecake dessert. Judges determined that the cheese’s internal temperature upon arrival was one degree too high, causing culinary instructor Kay Lewis to make an emergency trip to HEB to replace the ingredient before competition – not just once, but twice. The second attempt was finally approved by the judges.
Kay Lewis, culinary arts and vocational homemaking instructor at BHS, was quite pleased with her students’ accomplishments, noting their hard work and dedication brought them to success. Like her students, she is no stranger to accomplishment. Lewis was recently recognized at the BISD meeting Monday of Jan. 18 for having received the Channel 10 KWTX Golden Apple Award on Nov. 19. Lewis was nominated by student Daniel Combs. Josh Wucher with Channel 10 came to BHS to make the presentation in Kay’s classroom with her students and a large group of administrators present.
Currently, both Daniel Combs and Aaron Gross have been accepted to the Culinary Institute of America upon graduation from BHS. Madelyn Roop and Jackson Mitchell both have pending applications with the C.I.A. and have also been accepted to the Texas Culinary Academy in Austin. Team member Esther Kuo, who is in her junior year at BHS, hopes to graduate early and eventually be accepted into a post-secondary culinary program as well.
Source
===============================
Being competitive will make you a better student just like in culinary arts.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts Department
The San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department is known throughout Texas as one of the perfect places to go for culinary education. As the name implies, San Jacinto College (SJC) is an institution that has been serving the public for long years with a high quality education. However, unlike the other culinary schools, this College does not only offer culinary education. It covers a wide selection of degrees that people may tend to consider for their own future.
Given such fact, the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts is simply a department of SJC. But it is interesting to know that the culinary department is but one of the famous areas of the school. It has in fact received a lot of accolades from culinary enthusiasts. Perhaps the greatest accolade received by the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts Department was the 2006 Artist of the Year award given by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. According to the chairperson of the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department, Leonard Pringle, they attained the award of the hard work and dedication of their culinary students.
Speaking of students, it has been claimed that the students of San Jacinto College Central Culinary department are taught primarily about the necessary basics of cooking and baking. From the basics, they were introduced to the most advanced techniques in the culinary industry, and they are strongly encouraged to become involved in the community. Professors of the department even say that they want their students to be successful in a global way, where they can do everything, not just cooking and baking. It is for this reason that this College Central Culinary department is preferred by many culinary enthusiasts, especially those who are living in Texas.
There are a number of degree programs offered by the culinary department of this College. In particular, they offer about three associate degrees and certificates of technology in chef training, chef's apprenticeship training specialty and restaurant management. Aside from these, the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department also offers its certifications of specialization which are made available in assistant cook, baker's helper, basic cooking, assistant restaurant manager and food manager, garde manager or specialty foods, and food protection management.
What is further nice to know about the culinary department of the San Jacinto College is that all of the programs they offer are available at pretty affordable costs. They even offer certain financial aids, such as loans, grants, scholarships and work study programs for their students to enroll in. These financial aids are given knowing that not all of their prospective culinary students can support their education. Simply put, the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department gives the people the chance to obtain a degree in culinary arts regardless of their being capable or incapable of supporting their educational needs. Obviously, this is but a great asset possessed by the institution and this is probably one of the reasons that more and more culinary arts enthusiasts are heading to San Jacinto College for their culinary education.
Given such fact, the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts is simply a department of SJC. But it is interesting to know that the culinary department is but one of the famous areas of the school. It has in fact received a lot of accolades from culinary enthusiasts. Perhaps the greatest accolade received by the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts Department was the 2006 Artist of the Year award given by the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. According to the chairperson of the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department, Leonard Pringle, they attained the award of the hard work and dedication of their culinary students.
Speaking of students, it has been claimed that the students of San Jacinto College Central Culinary department are taught primarily about the necessary basics of cooking and baking. From the basics, they were introduced to the most advanced techniques in the culinary industry, and they are strongly encouraged to become involved in the community. Professors of the department even say that they want their students to be successful in a global way, where they can do everything, not just cooking and baking. It is for this reason that this College Central Culinary department is preferred by many culinary enthusiasts, especially those who are living in Texas.
There are a number of degree programs offered by the culinary department of this College. In particular, they offer about three associate degrees and certificates of technology in chef training, chef's apprenticeship training specialty and restaurant management. Aside from these, the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department also offers its certifications of specialization which are made available in assistant cook, baker's helper, basic cooking, assistant restaurant manager and food manager, garde manager or specialty foods, and food protection management.
What is further nice to know about the culinary department of the San Jacinto College is that all of the programs they offer are available at pretty affordable costs. They even offer certain financial aids, such as loans, grants, scholarships and work study programs for their students to enroll in. These financial aids are given knowing that not all of their prospective culinary students can support their education. Simply put, the San Jacinto College Central Culinary Arts department gives the people the chance to obtain a degree in culinary arts regardless of their being capable or incapable of supporting their educational needs. Obviously, this is but a great asset possessed by the institution and this is probably one of the reasons that more and more culinary arts enthusiasts are heading to San Jacinto College for their culinary education.
Click here Now for more FREE information about Culinary Arts and Culinary Arts Grants and Scholarships and develop the necessary knowledge to be a successful culinarian
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milos_Pesic
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Austin Culinary Arts School
Austin is one of the centers for culinary arts in Texas. Almost a hundred restaurants, hotels and resorts are already operating throughout Austin, each serving specialties prepared by professional cooks or chefs. The culinary style found in the area is said to be diverse and a number of training opportunities are now available for aspirants to consider. Several reports also revealed that in Austin, Texas the hospitality industry has nearly doubled in the past decade, supporting more than 130 hotels and resorts. Well, it is this condition actually that makes Austin an ideal place to study these arts.
The Austin culinary schools now come in great number. They can be found all throughout the area and each offers degrees and programs in culinary arts that are designed to help prepare people in finding job possibilities in the culinary field. What is nice to know about the Austin culinary schools is that all of their programs are handled and conducted by professional culinary artists. They are even offered with a good balance of hands-on trainings and theoretical instructions.
If you are wondering what particular Austin culinary schools are popular in Texas and in the United States, read on. Below are two of the most well-known culinary schools that have been serving the Austin area with high quality culinary education. Here are the best picks:
Texas Culinary Academy
Considered throughout Texas as an upshot of a Chef Apprenticeship program that was approved by the American Culinary Federation in 1981, the Texas Culinary Academy has partnered with one of the most prestigious institutions in culinary industry, the Le Cordon Bleu. It is this partnership that sets the Texas Culinary Academy one of the best Austin culinary schools available. They are noted specifically for the high quality education that they provide which features a unique combination of classical French culinary techniques with the innovative American technology. Today, this Austin culinary arts school has made their pursuit of excellence their primary foundation for success in today's rapidly growing culinary field.
Culinary Academy of Austin
Here is but another notable culinary arts school serving the Austin area with a high quality education, the Culinary Academy of Austin. This institution is particularly committed to helping their students reach their professional goals by way of using the individualized training methodology that they have been offering for years now. What is great about this Austin culinary arts school is that all of their programs are handled by highly experienced and trained culinary instructors. They even work hard just to place their students in the career path that best matches their goals and needs. It is for this effort that the Culinary Academy of Austin is now preferred by many aspirants of culinary arts.
The Austin culinary schools now come in great number. They can be found all throughout the area and each offers degrees and programs in culinary arts that are designed to help prepare people in finding job possibilities in the culinary field. What is nice to know about the Austin culinary schools is that all of their programs are handled and conducted by professional culinary artists. They are even offered with a good balance of hands-on trainings and theoretical instructions.
If you are wondering what particular Austin culinary schools are popular in Texas and in the United States, read on. Below are two of the most well-known culinary schools that have been serving the Austin area with high quality culinary education. Here are the best picks:
Texas Culinary Academy
Considered throughout Texas as an upshot of a Chef Apprenticeship program that was approved by the American Culinary Federation in 1981, the Texas Culinary Academy has partnered with one of the most prestigious institutions in culinary industry, the Le Cordon Bleu. It is this partnership that sets the Texas Culinary Academy one of the best Austin culinary schools available. They are noted specifically for the high quality education that they provide which features a unique combination of classical French culinary techniques with the innovative American technology. Today, this Austin culinary arts school has made their pursuit of excellence their primary foundation for success in today's rapidly growing culinary field.
Culinary Academy of Austin
Here is but another notable culinary arts school serving the Austin area with a high quality education, the Culinary Academy of Austin. This institution is particularly committed to helping their students reach their professional goals by way of using the individualized training methodology that they have been offering for years now. What is great about this Austin culinary arts school is that all of their programs are handled by highly experienced and trained culinary instructors. They even work hard just to place their students in the career path that best matches their goals and needs. It is for this effort that the Culinary Academy of Austin is now preferred by many aspirants of culinary arts.
Click here Now for more FREE information about Culinary Arts and Culinary Arts Grants and Scholarships and develop the necessary knowledge to be a successful culinarian
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Milos_Pesic
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)