Greetings from the Program Chair of Hospitality Management & Culinary Arts
 Greetings…
Welcome back!
I do hope that everyone had a wonderful summer. I had the pleasure of traveling to New York City again to visit the Fancy Food Show with a small group of students from the Hospitality & Culinary Arts Program. The show was fantastic and dinner at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant, Maze was phenomenal.
Class enrollment does seem to be up this semester which is a good sign for the program. It is nice to see that people are becoming more interested in the hospitality industry in general. Growth in the program mirrors the growth in hotels and convention centers being built in the Collin County area. Kudos to our students who have selected to study either hospitality or culinary arts; they will have plenty of opportunities right in their own backyard upon graduation.
Construction will start on the new culinary arts facility at the Preston Ridge Campus in September. If construction goes as planned, the facility should be completed by July 1, 2009. I will keep you updated hopefully with some pictures in the next newsletter.
This year we are working on a new A.A.S. Pastry Arts Specialization and certificate. If approved, this program will be available to student’s fall 2009. In addition, a review of the current A.A.S. Hotel/Restaurant degree will be taken on by the Hospitality & Culinary Arts Advisory Board to see if changes need to be made to that particular degree plan.
I would also like to welcome Chef Cheryl Lewis, who joins us from Le Note – Houston. Chef Lewis brings with her many years of teaching experience along with a strong resume from the private sector. We are glad she has selected to work at Collin.
Cheers!
Karen
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Message from the president of Hospitality & Culinary Student Association (HCSA)
This school year’s first HCSA general members’ meeting is scheduled on Friday 9/19 at 11:30 at PRC Room F144. We welcome all new and returned students to come and get to know each other. The association is a great place to make friends and get involved in the college as well as in the community.
We are having another general members meeting on Friday 10/10 at 11:30 at PRC Room F144. A chef's table is scheduled for October at Roy's in Plano. You will be informed of the details in the near future.
On top of all the regular meetings and activities this year we are looking at putting together a hospitality & culinary student assistance program, where current and former students can donate items (chef's coats, books, supplies, etc) back to HCSA and we can loan them out to students that are financially challenged, also looking at using our current scholarship money to assist current students with their class tuition. We think we can reach out to many needy students by doing it this way.
Have a great day!
Cynthia Stafford
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Book Review by Chef Michele Brown
I was lucky enough to be given this book to review for Cheftalk.com. 
Here is a preview for the culinary enthusiasts at Collin College.
If you have had a class with me, you know I am all about food, pastry, technique and taking chances with flavor. That would explain why I loved this book!
Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts: Recipes from Citizen Cake
10 speed press
by Elizabeth Falkner (Author), Ann Krueger Spivack (Author), Ryan Falkner (Illustrator), Frankie Frankeny (Photographer)
Reviewed by, Michele E. Brown
Before a long winter into spring holiday season of traditional pumpkin pies, sticky fruit cake, coconut covered lamb cakes and sparkled sugar cookies a welcome change to the pastry repertoire is Demolition Desserts. Like a breath of fresh air it throws off the conventions of “traditional desserts” and performs CPR. Breaking down the chocolate chip cookie, improving upon the zing of a brownie taking things apart and putting them back together again guided by lightness, humor with all the intensity and passion of a professional pastry chef on the center of the cutting edge.
Pastry Chef famed of song and story Elizabeth Falkner together with Anime character / alter ego Caremi (illustrated by her brother Ryan) take you step by step into the creative process of her shop Citizen Cake. Or is it a laboratory... She must be a mad scientist…. Pastry is science… but what about the demolition part… For being a serious pastry arts cook book, Demolition Desserts is delicious fun.
You’ll find that though some of the desserts are all about sophisticated elements and complicated parings, Elizabeth takes each dessert and breaks it down into components. For a professional pastry chef this is this system is the norm but for the home chef, it’s quite radical. Rather than putting that lemon curd into a pastry shell, it is side by side with meringue, mint oil and the crust as a side. This system is the familiar to the professional, sure, but the flavor/texture combinations? Not your usual suspects. With Elizabeth there are no cobwebs by way of flavor profiles, there are jumps from texture to texture, flavor to flavor. Peanut butter and jelly has taken on new meaning with Concord Grape Tapioca and Peanut Butter Ice Cream.
For fans of Elizabeth’s Citizen Cake, you will be comforted to know that some of her discontinued items are here for you to replicate. Speaking of Citizen Cake, being located in Northern California, Elizabeth has access to beautiful, farm fresh produce and encourages us all to go out and find the finest seasonal produce to work with. Adjust your thinking to utilize your local best of the season produce while it’s in season and say good bye when that season comes to an end.
This tends to be a book that folks read in an upright position, getting ready to race through their kitchen getting Mise En Placed to produce one of the delectable elements featured in the photographs Frankie Frankeny. The glossy pictures reach out and tempt you to throw a dessert party, complete with dessert cocktails.
Demolition Desserts makes the heart dance and taste buds sing. With sections from cookies to beverages and a back section with the principal sweets to make the desserts piece by piece; Elizabeth gives you to do lists to make the home baking enthusiasts’ presentation look like that of an effortless professional.
It’s a beautiful adventure thanks to Frankie Frankenys’ photos, Ann Krueger Spivacks prose and Ryan Falkner’s kicky illustrations!
Chef Michele Brown
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Culinary Trends & Issues
Is Foie Gras Really a Luxury?
Recently, I had the pleasure of eating foie gras in an utterly sumptuous form – simmered in Sauternes, chilled and whipped, and then sandwiched between two meringues (à la Gaston LeNôtre) - with a drizzle of veal/blueberry glaçe. I know that “life-changing” is a clichéd idiom, but that it was. All at once, I tasted savory and sweet – crunch and melting – rich and light – old school versus 21st century. It was hard not to cry out in delight, and easy not to remember the ill treatment some goose was forced to endure, just to change my life.
Ancient Egyptians realized that migrating geese store fat in their livers, making them rich and delicious. The Egyptians started force-feeding geese year round. It didn’t conflict with the dietary laws of the captive Jews, so they embraced the practice, including the preservation of meats in goose fat. It was the Jews who, once freed from Egypt, brought those techniques to wherever they settled.
The word “foie” comes from the Etruscan word “ficatum”, or fig. In the last twenty days before killing the geese, the Greeks would augment the food (force-fed through long funnels), with figs, to sweeten the livers. At the time of death, the liver comprises 1/3 the weight of the bird – and it is severely diabetic.
There are two interesting issues that arise when discussing foie gras. The first is the issue of luxury, for its own sake. The second is the (arguably) inhumane treatment of the birds to attain said luxury.
Luxury is subject to perception. The Japanese put hard-boiled eggs, cut in half, in the lunch boxes of school children, because they represent the (lucky) moon with a ring around it. It’s the intellectual luxury of symbolism. Quality is luxury. The result of producing the right grapes on the right slopes of the Haut Medoc- grown and processed by artisans - is Margaux. Truffles and honey, two of the first known culinary luxuries, are created only by nature. In most cases of luxury, we must seek our desire, and then work hard to get it. The challenge is to the benefactor, not the prey.
At first glance, there is no kind treatment when it comes to foie gras. “Making foie gras …involve(s) doing something unnatural to ducks or geese…the procedure…sickens the birds” (Juliet Glass; NY Times; 4/25/2007). At second glance, foie gras is as sublime as a vintage Bordeaux, or fresh truffles studded in a fat omelet.
Do no harm. It’s the first principle of every major religion, and the battle cry of all responsible parents. Is it the flavor or the tradition of luxury that makes us forget that, even though geese and ducks aren’t human – we’re creating luxury from torture?
In 2006, Chicago aldermen banned the sale of foie gras, “…arguing that foie gras is a product of animal cruelty…” (Monica Levy; NY Times, 5/15/2008). Mayor Richard Daley expressed regret that too much time was being spent “…telling people what to eat” (Levy). Perhaps the aldermen were telling people how not to treat ducks and geese. The ban motivated Chicago chefs to serve more foie gras – to guests who might not have considered it before. Now, foie gras was both delicious and forbidden.
The ban was lifted 3 months ago, “…as the public accused city officials of trying to micromanaging people’s lives” (Nick Fox; Chicago Sun Times, 5/14/2008). Smoking laws exist because secondhand smoke hurts other people. That’s not micromanaging. The ducks and geese aren’t just killed for dinner – they’re forced to overeat, made chronically ill – and then killed.
A Spanish company, Patería de Sousa, is going back in history – allowing the birds to “…gorge naturally - without tubes - on grass, acorns, figs, and lupines…and processing them just once a year” (Juliet Glass). The company won the Coup de Coeur for innovation in October 2008, at the Paris International Food Salon. This is my foie gras – my luxury.
Chef Cheryl Lewis
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Student Corner
Rika Kari
Q: Are you studying for certificate or degree in culinary arts program?
A:. I haven’t decided how far I will go, but I’m currently pursuing the degree.
Q: What inspired you to start taking classes at Collin?
A:. My girlfriend. She said I was bored and needed something to do. I really enjoyed cooking at home, so I decided to take the classes for personal enrichment.
Q: What stands out as one thing you are glad that you have learned in your classes?
A: I’m really happy to have learned how to fab meat. I knew how to do it before I took classes, but when I was done it looked like I chewed the bones out. Now, I’m able to reproduce portioned meat from the butcher. It saves a ton of money and is a really cool skill to have.
Q: What food items do you enjoy cooking with?
A: I enjoy so many different types of food, but right now I love quinoa. Its fantastic for you and is absolutely delicious. I’ve been substituting it for the starches in a lot of my recipes. Being half Italian, I have had an unnatural addiction to tomatoes all my life and so far I haven’t found a cure. I walk around my house eating them like apples.
Q: What is your approach to cooking?
A:. My approach huh? That’s a complicated question. I gravitate towards simple dishes with very clean flavors. I don’t like strong sauces that mask the flavor of the main item; only clean flavors that compliment them. My big thing is I like to cook with the seasons. I go to the farmers market both to shop and to see what’s growing now. Things that grow together go together.
Q: What do you want to do after you graduate?
A: Right now I cook at Charlie Palmer Dallas, and that place is amazing so I’ll probably stay there. I will want to expand my culinary horizons by staging and some of the other restaurants in Dallas when I finish school. Eventually I’d like to open my own restaurant, but that’s a ways off.
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Professional Development Seminar Schedule – Fall 2008
Presented by Career Services & Cooperative Work Experience
Open to the public & FREE – please call 972 881 5104 to register
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Seminar Topic
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Location
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Date & Time
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Organizing Your Work and Your Life
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SCC J131
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Wed. Sept. 10
6-8pm
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Secrets to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur:
Imagination, Determination, Realization, & You!
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SCC K233
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Sat. Sept 13
9-11am
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Secrets to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur:
Risky Business or Solid Venture?
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SCC K233
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Thur. Sept. 18
6-8pm
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Keys to Financial Wellness
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SCC K233
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Thur. Sept. 25
6-8pm
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Teamwork in the Work Place
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SCC K233
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Fri. Oct. 3
6-8pm
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Six Thinking Hats: Effective Interaction Skills
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SCC K233
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Thur. Oct 9
6-8pm
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Turning Job Interviews Into Job Offers
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PRC F144
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Tue. Oct 21
3-5pm
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Professional Image: Your Future Can Depend On It!
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SCC Conference Center
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Tue. Nov. 4
6-8pm
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Have Ethics and Integrity Gone Away or Awry?
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PRC F139
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Sat. Nov. 8
10:30-12:30pm
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Skills That Give You a Competitive Edge
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PRC F139
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Sat. Nov. 8
1-3pm
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Preparing for the Real World: Employers Speak Out
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SCC Conference
Center
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Thur. Nov. 13
6:30-8:30pm
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Stress Management: Why We Should Avoid C.A.T.S!!
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PRC F144
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Tue. Dec. 2
3-5pm
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Anxiety & Depression: How They Impact Your Life & Work
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SCC K233
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Thur. Dec. 4
3-5pm
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If I’m Running So Fast, Why Am I Still In One Place?
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SCC K215
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Sat. Dec. 6
9-11am
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Q & A with Cheryl Lewis
Are you a Texan?
I’m the daughter of a military officer, so I have lived all over the US, but if home really is where the heart is – I am a Texan.
What got you interested in cooking?
My mother was a wonderful hostess, who gave memorable dinner parties, teas, bridge parties – and Brownie Scout meetings. She introduced me to the books of Julia Child, James Beard, and Paul Bocuse. I brought both volumes of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking” to summer camp when I was 10. From the very beginning, my love of cooking blended with my passion for history, geography, and the French language – it all goes together.
What was it like to go to CIA in the early 80’s?
It was exciting! Before going to school, I worked in the industry, but getting a classical training (not just from books), meant everything to me.
What are the big changes you experienced going back to CIA after 21 years?
Yes, 21 years after earning an Associate’s degree from the CIA, I went back to earn the Bachelor’s degree. I was delighted to find out that the Bachelor’s program centers around leadership, business ethics, and the study of world history and cultures. The work was challenging and fascinating. I also loved having Generation Y as my classmates – there is no doubt that the smartest generation in the history of the world raised the bar for me.
What advice do you give to your students as far as finding success in their chosen career paths?
The very best advice is to study successful leaders and analyze their personal and professional patterns. If you want to be a chef, don’t just study the recipes of the chefs you admire – study the patterns of their careers! Look at your training as though you are an Olympic athlete – choose your chef/leaders and learn to collaborate in teams.
Do you have any passions in life other than teaching?
I am passionate about sustainable fishing and agriculture, creating productive gardens, fly-fishing, culinary history, and Impressionist art….oh, and cooking!
What is a perfect day for you?
· A morning run
· Spending the day planning and preparing a memorable dinner for 7 good friends. The menu would be a fusion of the cuisines of Barcelona, southern France, and northern California.
· Enjoying dinner and wine with my friends, on my candlelit patio.
What’s on your MP3 player?
“Songs From the Wood” – Jethro Tull
“The White Album” – Beatles
“Gaucho” – Steely Dan
“Court and Spark” – Joni Mitchell
“Abby Road” – Beatles
“Ten” – Pearl Jam
Which movie did you see last?
I almost hate to admit this…….”Sex In the City”
Where is your next vacation destination?
San Francisco – my favorite city in the world.
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This newsletter will let you know about upcoming activities and programs in the Hospitality & Food Service Management department and the Hospitality and Culinary Student Association (HCSA). Administrative details (like how to be removed from the mailing list) are at the bottom of this mail.
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Program Chair Hospitality & Foodservice Management
9700 Wade Blvd.
Frisco, TX 75035
972.377.1672
www.ccccd.edu/hospitality
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