The Italian Culinary Foundation (ICF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to elevating the standards and understanding of authentic Italian cuisine. To that end, one of ICF’s most important endeavors is THE VISITING CHEF INSTRUCTOR PROGRAM, which is financed by Italy’s Ministry of Agriculture under the leadership of Minister Paolo DeCastro. During the first half of 2007, some of Italy’s top Chef Instructors will join leading U.S. culinary institutions to conduct three week courses comprised of lectures, food presentations, seminars and hands-on kitchen practice.

To date, the participating schools include the Atlantic Culinary Academy, the Minnesota College of Culinary Arts, the California School of Culinary Arts, Oregon’s Western Culinary Institute, the College of Culinary Arts Las Vegas, the College of Culinary Arts Miami, the Orlando Culinary Academy, the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, the College of Culinary Arts Atlanta, the San Francisco California Culinary Academy, the Scottsdale Culinary Institute, the Texas Culinary Academy, the Providence (RI) and Charlotte (NC) campuses of Johnson & Wales’ Universities, The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, both Connecticut Culinary Institute campuses and the Culinary Academy of Austin.

The fundamental objective of the program is to update learning institutions (and, ultimately, the American public) about contemporary Italian cuisine. The ease of travel and migration of ingredients, among other things, have had a significant effect on the way Italians in every region cook. As a result, broad knowledge of the ingredients themselves – first and foremost – should now be considered the key to creating great Italian cuisine. This concept will be at the center of every ICF teaching program as this is the surest and clearest way for students to understand today’s Italian culinary landscape.

Reduced-tuition arrangements have also been made with culinary schools in Italy for participating students’ post-graduate studies.

For more information about this program, please contact:
tmay@italianculinaryfoundation.com.

What others have to say about the program:

Kirk T. Bachmann, Vice President of Education and Corporate Executive Chef/
Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America: “This initiative represents a tremendous opportunity for our schools to engage in a collaborative learning environment with gifted professional educators who are dedicated to the development and success of students. We look very much forward to welcoming our Italian colleagues to our schools”.

Rainer Hienerwadel, Department Chair, Culinary Arts Baccalaureate Programs, College of Culinary Arts, Johnson & Wales University: “This is a wonderful opportunity to tap into the resources and knowledge of these visiting instructors who will come to our Providence and Charlotte campuses, and to play a role in preserving the true Italian cuisine and culture. We’re also looking forward to the opportunity of sending one of our instructors to Italy as part of the faculty exchange program.”

Brad Baran, President of the Connecticut Culinary Institute: “We are thrilled to be welcoming such talent to both of our campuses and are pleased to be able to offer our students and the public a chance to learn from such prestigious individuals. CCI hopes to show our visiting chefs a great big Connecticut welcome and we will be encouraging a true exchange of ideas and training while the chefs are here with us. To truly foster education we must always look for new and exciting initiatives and we believe this is the beginning of a great new relationship where we all benefit, and those who will benefit the most are our students. We are pleased to welcome our Italian Chefs to Connecticut and look forward to sending our chefs to Italy as well.”

ICF’s 2007 Visiting Chef Instructor Team:

FERDINAND METZ, CMC, MBA serves as Senior Advisor for the program. Following numerous posts with top restaurants, including New York’s famed Le Pavillion, as well as spending several years as a senior R&D executive for H.J. Heinz Company, Certified Master Chef Ferdinand Metz has dedicated himself to improving culinary educational standards throughout the world. In the mid-70s, Metz was instrumental in establishing the Chefs’ Apprenticeship, Certification and Master Chefs’ Certification programs in America. He was President of the American Culinary Federation and for 22 years, he served as President of the Culinary Institute of America. He currently leads two consulting companies, Ferdinand Metz Culinary Innovations and the Master Chefs’ Institute. In addition to his role with the Italian Culinary Foundation’s Visiting Chef Instructor program, he is President Emeritus of the Culinary Institute of America and Past Chair of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. He is also President of the World Association of Chefs, an organization comprised of more than eight million culinary professionals in 74 countries. Metz is the recipient of numerous awards including a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award and the prestigious Caterina de' Medici Award.

ICF Boardmember ENRICO BAZZONI brings his vast experience and culinary know-how to the Visiting Chef Instructor Program. A chef with more than 35 years in the culinary industry, he has served as a restaurateur, food and wine author and culinary educator in the U.S. and Italy.

SUSAN LIETZ serves as the Chief Marketing Officer for the organization, and joins the team with more than 20 years of Corporate Communications and Public Relations experience working for such companies as Bertelsmann, EMI Music, Rodale and others.