CAFE Episode 104 - Assessing flavor memory
CAFE Talks Podcast
When all is said and done; after a restaurateur invests a fortune in an operations ambience, perfect location, the right music, detailed training, and a well thought out marketing strategy, success comes down to flavor. This is what pulls guests in and keeps them coming back. Ah, but flavor includes all these factors in addition to the typical understanding of flavor. Smell, texture, sound, taste, and visuals are the building blocks of flavor, but even if all these factors are spot on, we can’t forget the importance of context which includes all those efforts surrounding the food. Learn how...
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Food Insecurity
CAFE Talks Podcast
Imagine not knowing when you will eat next or where that meal will come from? Think about the relationship that sound nutrition has with your ability to learn, understand, focus, grow, and solve everyday problems. When you are hungry, everything else seems to carry less weight. Consider that nearly 25% of young people in America today (including college students) are food insecure. Try to digest how that might be possible in the wealthiest country in the world; a country that produces more food than it needs. Yet, here we are, in the grips of a serious problem that impacts so many. As...
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The Entrepreneurial Chef
CAFE Talks Podcast
It’s every chef’s dream – to own a restaurant that carries their signature. A culmination of years, if not decades of experiences, skill building, brand creating, networking, and product testing can lead to an operation that is theirs to mold. Ah…but the skill set that got a chef to this point is suddenly significantly different and more complex. All the anxiety and stress of preparing a station in time for the onslaught of orders never goes away even when the chef is now an owner. They may not find themselves sweating out the plethora of orders on a Saturday night, multi-tasking...
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Episode 101 -The Global Impact of Cooking
CAFE Talks Podcast
One hundred countries, millions of chefs, unique traditions and styles of cooking, sustainability, and a commitment to giving back. This is World Chefs, an organization of culinary organizations commited to the betterment of the food industry, the profession of chef, and the core beliefs of its founder – Auguste Escoffier. At a time when the world seems so fractured and in disarray – chefs unite around the importance and binding nature of food and food preparation. Food is one of the most important communication tools that brings people together and points to what makes us the same and...
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CAFE Episode 100 - An Educational EcoSystem
CAFE Talks Podcast
The best partnerships require a willingness to listen, the flexibility to change and the desire to embrace it, recognition of each other’s challenges and needs, and a touch of creativity. In culinary education, this partnership process requires consideration for the community, partner businesses, faculty, maximization of space, and, of course, the student. Tune in to the 100th episode of CAFÉ Talks podcast for an inspiring conversation with Chef Jorge de la Torre from Sun Valley Culinary Institute as we examine their program that breaks from tradition to partner with all stakeholders in...
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CAFE Ep99 - Only so many fish in the sea
CAFE Talks Podcast
We have all heard the phrase: “There are plenty of fish in the sea”, of course used in a different context, but with increased demand at the plate and concerns over the impact of global climate change, the reality is that seafood supply is not guaranteed. Chefs and educators have a role to play in helping consumers stretch their palates and move towards more sustainable fish and sustainable fishing processes used domestically and internationally. Join CAFÉ Talks Podcast for a conversation with Tally Hite, Seafood Watch Outreach Partnership Lead as she offers insight into the work of...
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CAFE Episode 98 - Taste and Flavor & Modern Menus
CAFE Talks Podcast
The menu is centerpiece to the restaurant experience and as such, one of the most critical (and enjoyable) tasks that a chef engages in. Bringing family traditions, work experiences, influence from mentors, and ethnic background to the table, a chef will create his or her menu signature. This signature includes all components of FLAVOR (taste, smell, texture, visual impact, sound, and context) as well as the business dynamics that drive restaurant success. Join CAFÉ Talks for a conversation with Katie Ayoub, one of the country’s most experienced experts in the areas of menu development and...
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CAFE Episode 97 - Cheese - Milk's Immortality
CAFE Talks Podcast
The American dairy represents the core of generational family businesses that made our country strong. The work is incredibly hard and unpredictable; the connection to the land is critical; the love of and care for dairy cows is wonderful to experience, and the product is on every kitchen table from coast to coast. Yet, operating a dairy farm focused on fluid milk is so incredibly challenging forcing farmers to seek ways to increase herd size and production to make ends meet. Some, like Point Reyes in California, have embraced a different approach, an exciting way of turning the page toward...
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CAFE Ep 96 - Is Pizza a Key to a Happy Life
CAFE Talks Podcast
Since those early days, in 1905, when Gennaro Lombardi opened the first American pizzeria in New York City, the United States has been in love with this seemingly simple menu item of crust, tomatoes, and cheese. Pizza has become the menu choice of everyday celebrations, a neighborhood attraction that brings people together, a family tradition, and a nourishing, delicious, versatile item for people on the go. It is nearly impossible to find a city, town, village, or hamlet in the United States that lacks at least one, if not many pizzerias to choose from. The pizzeria is an important...
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CAFE Episode 95 - How Will You Answer
CAFE Talks Podcast
Most students and young cooks share common unanswered questions about the process of becoming a cook and chef, how they will fit in a changing industry, and whether or not they made the right decision to choose to pursue a formal culinary education or go the route of the school of hard knocks. They are questions that deserve answers – questions that seek our mentorship and coaching. Join CAFÉ Talks as Paul Sorgule, our podcast host, considers these questions and offers answers from his experience as a chef and educator.
info_outline We lift a glass of wine and toast the wonders of a life well lived. In its color we see the care of the winemaker, its bouquet – the influence of terroir, its texture, the purity of the grapes from its humble beginning, and the experience the joy of being with those with whom we share it and the artistry of the craftsman. To a chef, wine is the most extraordinary friend to his or her work on the plate, the exclamation points to the flavor coaxed out of beautiful ingredients. Wine must be discovered, relished, cherished, and understood to fully enjoy the story that it has to offer. Andre Simon the French born wine merchant once said: “Wine makes every meal an occasion, every table more elegant, every day more civilized.” and Clifton Fadiman, the American author stated succinctly: “To take wine into our mouths is to savor a droplet of the river of human history” Join CAFÉ Talks Podcast for a wonderful conversation with Donald Patz of the Donald Patz Wine Group – one of California’s most renown winemakers as we explore the life of a wine artisan.