Category: Culinary

Holland America Welcomes Guest Chef Jacques Torres

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Chocolatier, pastry chef, candy maker and cookbook author. When it comes to sweets, Jacques Torres has it all wrapped up! This is one of the primary reasons Holland America Line invited Torres to be a guest chef during 2006 at its onboard Culinary Arts Center presented by Food & Wine magazine. Passengers are able to attend cooking classes in a theatre-style demonstration kitchen and also view the classes on large-screen plasma TVs.

With a charming smile and exciting personality, Jacques Torres is a natural with public speaking and teaching. Starting his career at the age of 15, Torres began his apprenticeship at La Frangipane, a small pastry shop in his hometown of Bandol, France. Upon graduating first in his class, Torres began to refine his intuitive sense of creativity and artistry under the direction of two-star chef Jacques Maximin at the Hotel Negresco.

Always a proponent of education, Torres went back to school to earn his Master Pastry Chef degree from 1980 to 1983. Immediately upon completion, he began sharing his wealth of knowledge and his talent with students at a local culinary school in Cannes. In 1986, however, Torres set a record by becoming the youngest chef ever to receive the prestigious Meilleur Ouvrier de France medal: something in which he and his students took great pride.

An ever-growing list of distinctions follows Jacques Torres, including:

participation in the rededication ceremonies for the Statue of Liberty

winning the Japanese Pastry Chef Association’s gold medal

winning the 1986 French Championship of Desserts

guest chef on Julia Child’s Master Chefs program

recognition as James Beard’s Pastry Chef of the Year

receipt of Chefs of America Pastry Chef of the Year award

recognition as Chocolatier magazine’s 10 Best Pastry Chefs and

membership in Academie Culinaie de France

Likewise, his accomplishments are equally amazing. Torres has:

developed two television shows: Dessert Circus with Jacque Torres and Dessert Circus At Home

authored a companion cookbook entitled Dessert Circus At Home (Morrow, 1999)

opened two chocolate and pastry shops in New York: one in New York City and one in Brooklyn

made frequent guest appearances on the Food Network

sailed as guest chef onboard Holland America Line cruises

served as Dean of Pastry Arts at the French Culinary Institute

prepared desserts and pastries for presidents, kings, celebrities and the wealthy worldwide

and much more!

Deeply concerned with giving back to the community, Torres donates his time to a wide variety of notable charities, including the American Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, Gods Love We Deliver, New York’s Hard of Hearing Association, Sloan Kettering Cancer Research Center, the Association to Benefit Children and others.

With a fun, fanciful style, Torres creates delightful confections that look as fabulous as they taste. His goal is to appeal to all the senses, as he engages the eyes with creative presentations, the nose with exceptional aromas and – most importantly – the mouth with textures and flavors that can only be described as decadent.

The guest chef lineup for 2007 includes other amazing chefs. Check with your travel agent or Holland America for details on who will sail on which ships throughout the coming year.

Culinary Schools Start Your Own Restaurant

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The demand for cooks and assistant culinary artists is expanding; it is just because the chow trade is increasing as well. For that reason, many people were able to forecast that this can be a good livelihood choice. At present, quite a few would like to evolve into a gourmet chef.

If you’re among those individuals who are faithful about cooking and would like to become an ace in cuisine, taking lessons in culinary arts would seem imminent; particularly now that it is studied as an art.

Baking at this moment is not only paying notice to basic dishes. Assorted culinary programs now offer programs in a variety of categories, which include:

?Distinctive Cuisines ?Style Cookery ?Regional Culinary science ?Desserts ?Sauces ?Pastry Planning ?Knife Techniques ?Healthy Foods ?Desserts ?Holiday Foods ?Wine and Beverages ?Chocolates ?Safety and Hygienics ?Cost Executive ?Food and Nutrition ?Food Handling and Cataloging

After graduating from any of the culinary schools, you can be an executive chef, sous-chef, pastry chef, gourmet chef, saucier, wine steward, chef garde manager and more. In any way, you can put up your own eating house.

culinary schools offer three types of certificate: Level 1, which focuses on elementary nutrition or cookery introduction; Level two, which is aimed at for more accomplished cooks; and Level 3, which is for resourceful cookery.

Getting enrolled in a culinary schools will not only give you a degree that will be accepted in the entire earth, you will also get directed in an fantastic facility, educated by experts of culinary arts and given job placement support after finishing the program.

You can get the enlightenment you’ll need about a certain cooking or gastronomic culinary school by visiting their office personally or by traveling their websites. By doing so, you’ll find more about the courses they are offering and the range of education fees.

culinary schools

Weight Loss Aids by Controlling Stress

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So you want to lose weight? The issue is not can you, for you can. The issue is how, and how effectively and easily.

I agree there are probably countless quick fix programmes around that may work for a few, but how many can you trust? Bear in mind that amongst these quick fixes there are genuine weight loss programmes that with the right attitude will keep you fit, trim and healthy.

My aim is a series of articles explaining reasons for weight gain and ways to lose it, and keep it lost, naturally.

You may try, lose some, then, it comes back with a rage. There are reasons why weight loss programmes fail. Knowing a bit about the nature of our body can help understand these reasons.

Stress it not just a mental reaction but a physical condition. When placed under stress your body will produce adrenaline but it also produces a hormone called Cortisol. This hormone is responsible for sending sugar into the blood to fuel the adrenalin rush. Stress is then a natural bodily function, evolved in our prehistory, designed to help keep us alive and reactive to things in our environment.

Unfortunately there is then a negative by-product if you are not using this energy. The extra blood sugar that is being released has nowhere to go except settle around your stomach as fat to be used later. Stress in the modern world often takes the form of money worries, job worries, family problems and much more. These situations are not the energy burning fight or flight.

Because of this many people are keeping or gaining weight without even realising it. Of course, there are other factors but stress is one that very few people talk about. Stress however needs to be controlled and fought against such as an unhealthy diet needs to be. It may be the one thing stopping you from losing the pounds you so desperately want to.

Stress and anxiety is in fact a double edged sword. Not only does it produce the excess blood sugars that turn to fat but it also encourages you to use food as a comfort tool. You may tuck into chocolate or fast food for that instant hit that is the culinary equivalent of a warm hug from a loved one.

Eating these foods that are bad for you when you are stressed does not mean you are weak minded. You are just following your biological programming. Tests on rats have shown that under stress animals naturally engage in pleasure seeking behaviour, especially high calorie food.

Other tests have shown that men who only manage to get four hours sleep a night have on average a thirty seven percent higher level of Cortisol (the hormone that is responsible for energy – sugar) than those who get a full eight hours? And what is one of the biggest reasons for lack of sleep? Stress!

On top of that it is imperative you get a good nights sleep when trying to shed the pounds because a deep sleep leads to higher secretions of a natural occurring hormone called Human Growth Hormone. This protects your muscle mass and it is muscle that helps to maintain a steady burning metabolism. We’re not talking bodybuilder type muscle here either. Just the natural kind we all have.

Culinary Creations and Amazing Art in Miami

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February sizzles in South Florida at a host of Miami outdoor festivals. One of the best, considered a signature event on the calendar, is the annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival held in the captivating village that bears its name within the city of Miami. Coconut Grove is just south of the hustle and bustle of downtown Miami, overlooking the breathtaking and expansive Biscayne Bay. Visitors and residents alike can meet and greet renowned artists while they sample culinary creations and listen to live bands play the night away in the beauty of the outdoors. The annual outdoor festival has grown over the years into one of the premier events in the country.

The 48th annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival will be held February 19, 20, & 21, 2011, and is expected to attract over 150,000 attendees. Over 360 of the best and brightest artisans and craftspeople from around the nation and Canada will be featured at the Miami event. A rigorous selection process ensues in order for an artists work to be featured at the festival. Last year, 1,230 applicants from 35 states and our neighbor to the north submitted a sampling of their artwork in genres such as mixed media, digital art, watercolor, claywork, sculpture and wood.

In addition to the stunning artwork pervading the grounds, the exciting Culinary Pavilion maintains its place at the center of the Festival. Top chefs prepare their top dishes and are on hand to explain and describe their cooking techniques. Popular restaurants throughout South Florida send their world-renowned chefs to Coconut Grove each year. In 2009, we saw the likes of Executive Chef Philippe Pinon from the Ritz-Carlton Coconut Grove, Wok Star Inc.s Eleanor Hoh and Chef Hugh Sinclair from Irie Spice.

The Coconut Grove Art and Historical Association, Inc produces this outdoors festival in Miami each year. The non-profit community organization contributes the proceeds from the successful event to help fun arts programs in and around South Florida each year. An astounding four million dollars of artwork was sold during the three days of last years event!

Home-based Cooking Classes Are Really Great!

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Home-based cooking classes are really great since you can learn about cooking even at the comfort of your home using you cooking equipments at home. At home cooking classes can be classified according to the geographic area and the cuisine learned. Those who want to learn at home cooking can choose what type of cooking they need and want.

In New York, at home cooking classes basically offer private sessions on at home cooking classs right in the student’s home. Cooking students can also opt to host after the school classes a cooking party for themselves or a birthday bashes for children. For more details go to: www.delicious-sandwich-recipes.com Individuals can also opt to have professional to make the meals that they need or want. Usually, at home cooking classes take around two hours and may extend for thirty minutes. The sessions are devoted mostly in cooking the entire meal. Those who are from New Jersey, Westchester, Fairfield, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Long Island may take the course. Interested cooking students may opt to create their own classes or may choose from the available classes that they can join. The fee in engaging in these classes is pegged at $250 for two individuals and $75 for an added student. If you are already enrolled, you are expected to be ready with the ingredients and grocery items before the start of the class. Students have the option to either host a cooking party at their homes or give a cooking class as a gift to a couple as a wedding gift.

In Washington D.C., the chef professor is ready to teach individuals for at home cooking classes. Students can choose to have a personal lesson in teaching individuals a new cooking skill or teach them the cooking procedures of the food that they want. These lessons may also last for about four hours which would cost $350 especially designed for two individuals. One may also opt to have a cooking party for six persons with a fee pegged at $400. Aside from these, one can also opt to conduct the classes one in every week. For can visit to: www.july4-recipes.com one can also choose to learn the basic techniques and skills, of course which is expected why they chose to join the class. These classes also offer the background right from the introduction up to the planning techniques of having decorative food for parties. One can also learn the different cuisines of different countries.

Culinary Business is basically different on the options it offers in the at home cooking classes. Interestingly, Culinary Business helps one to teach individuals in rendering lessons to other individuals. An Entertainment Cooking Training Program is offered that can help the students in starting their own business. The students enrolled would receive their Visual Tutorial Guide, Business Manual and even a Jacket Patch for Chef.