Class of 2014 selected for Culinary Institute's CEIP program

March 7—Thirteen chefs from non-commercial foodservice operations have been selected to participate in the third session of the Culinary Enrichment and Innovation Program (CEIP), a collaboration between The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) and the Foodservice Division of Hormel Foods. The program, which consists of four classes spread over 18 months, will begin April 16.

The non-commercial chefs participating in this class are Eric Barnachea, Marvell Technology Group; Christina Bodanza, Watermark Retirement Communities; Bill Brizzolara, North Carolina State University; Stephen Bryant, Treat America Food Service; Bill Claypool, Vanderbilt University; Todd Daigneault, Overlook Medical Center/Atlantic Health Care; Eric Ernest, University of Southern California; Justin Johnson, UW Health Partners Watertown Regional Medical Center; Michael Kann, Boston College; Michael Kiley, North Shore - LIJ Health System/Glen Cove Hospital; Kurt Kwiatkowski, Michigan State University; Steven Miller, Cornell University, andAngelo Mojica, UNC Healthcare.Peter Hesse -- Wilderness Country Club

They will be joined by three restaurant chefs: Mary Grace Viado Howard, from Village Tavern, Inc., and Martin Pfefferkorn from Hyatt Regency Atlanta.

The program’s objective is to teach an elite group of professional chefs how to identify, practice and master the necessary skills for culinary leadership and innovation. CEIP participants gather for three days every six months, disconnecting from their daily responsibilities as senior level chefs and immersing themselves in lectures, homework, hands-on kitchen work and one-to-one dialogue with fellow chefs and visiting guest lecturers. Consisting of four academic and experiential modules, CEIP covers a range of topics, including global flavor traditions; ethical responsibilities of healthful, flavorful food preparation; leadership and innovation; and menu R&D as a collaboration of culinary arts, consumer behavior, food science and management. This year’s participants will explore everything from the relationships among the five senses, to principles of Modernist Cuisine. They’ll also tour a local farm and winery, create food focused on world flavor traditions to better understand its profit potential, and explore novel approaches to developing new applications that help differentiate their operation.

“The whole CEIP program is about enrichment and innovation,” says Dave Kamen, project manager for CIA Consulting and the newly appointed director of CEIP. “In our previous graduating classes we’ve seen how the participants use the information they’ve learned to better their menus, to challenge their purchasing position, and to try to get better products into their establishments.”

The Class of 2014 will be the first to attend modules at all three of the Institute’s North American campuses: St. Helena, Calif. (Module 1), San Antonio, Texas (Module 2), and Hyde Park, N.Y. (Modules 3 and 4). This will give the class the unique opportunity to experience the seasonal differences in the CIA’s programs across the country, as well as being exposed to a wider array of certified master chefs.