About Mary Petersen: Mary Petersen is President of the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education, popularly known as CAFE, an organization that she started in the fall of 2002. She is also editor of The Gold Medal Classroom, CAFE’s online publication for culinary educators.

Mary graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a business degree. Then, several years ago, she earned a master’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology while working full time with the American Culinary Federation (ACF).

Mary joined ACF in 1985 by convincing the chef association to hire her to conduct a feasibility study into whether ACF should become involved in accrediting post-secondary culinary education programs. “Of the initial 300 schools surveyed,” recalls Mary, “there was a huge interest in standards.” Mary set up the Standards, Required Knowledge & Competencies, Self-Study Guidelines and Team Report Forms. She led ACF in obtaining U.S. Department of Education recognition in just four years. Working on such a fast track, Mary visited culinary education programs from New England to Hawaii with the result that more than 100 culinary arts and baking programs nationally received accreditation.

After 13 years of working with ACF as a consultant, Mary joined Talcott Communications, the publishers of Chef magazine, in 1998. There she started Chef Educator Today and Foodservice Educators Network International (FENI), both of which provide a forum for culinary educators to share ideas, improve skills and gain recognition.

TCI partnership: “The beauty of the partnership between The Catfish Institute and Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education,” says CAFE president Mary Petersen, “is that it has introduced U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to hundreds of culinary educators who might not otherwise have been exposed to the great taste and versatility of this wonderful fish.

Of course,” continues Mary, “TCI’s sponsorship of CAFE continuing education workshops has enabled us to put on these programs and keep them affordable for educators. It has been a huge help.”

Recognition: The culinary education organizations that Mary has jump-started have recognized many chef/educators over the years. This year she, in turn, was recognized for her contributions to the field. She was inducted into the Honorable Order of the Golden Toque, an organization that includes 100 chefs and just 15 honorary members. “It was a very nice thing,” she remarks. She also received the Chef Herman Breithaupt Award of Excellence from the Council on Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Education (CHRIE).

About CAFE: Just three years ago, Mary started the Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education to provide a link between the foodservice industry and the foodservice classroom.

Each summer the organization sponsors six continuing education workshops for culinary chef/instructors. The online magazine, The Gold Medal Classroom (www.cafemeetingplace.com), reaches 2,000 subscribers and receives between 12,000 and 14,000 hits a month. Content includes case studies, teaching methods, lesson plans, news, recipes and more. “The website is the strength of the organization,” notes Mary. It is also what sets CAFE apart from other culinary education organizations.

Another goal: This year CAFE held the first leadership conference in which college culinary program directors and lead instructors dealt with topics pertinent to advanced culinary education and participated in a one-day hands-on master class. “One remaining goal I have,” says Mary, “is to set up a national endowment for culinary educators for professional development. There is no money for teachers,” she points out.

Effects of Hurricane Katrina on the U.S. catfish industry will be felt both short- and long-term:

Processing plants in Mississippi, Louisiana and parts of Alabama were without power; some for only several hours, others for several days.

Most farmers suspended feeding for several days because feed couldn't be trucked to the ponds due to fuel shortages and other damage.

Processing pipeline has been disrupted. In some cases, getting fish from the pond to the plant has been a problem. Shipping processed fish to customers in the hurricane area is also an issue.

Farmers, processors and others involved in the U.S. catfish industry agree that business will be tough due to the damage caused by the hurricane but all remain optimistic that the industry will adapt to the hardships and survive.
 

"The U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish industry did experience an interruption due to Hurricane Katrina but is mostly back to operating as normal. Our concern now has shifted to the victims throughout this hard-hit region, many of whom have been long-time supporters of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish," says Roger Barlow, President of The Catfish Institute. "As a result our farmers, processors and friends of the industry have rallied to support the victims during their time of need. As a whole, the industry has donated tens of thousands of dollars, as well as ice and water during the weeks following the hurricane.”

Barlow also accompanied the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture to the Gulf Coast where the industry sent 4,000 pounds of U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish to feed victims at a church refugee assistance station in Gulfport, Mississippi.

The Catfish Institute is rethinking its foodservice marketing strategies so this may be the last issue of Catfish Culinary News for an undetermined amount of time. Thank you for letting us into your classrooms to share techniques, recipes and other information about U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish with you and your students. TCI applauds the terrific job you do in providing the foodservice industry's premier asset — future cooks.
 

This summer more than 200 chef instructors and other culinary educators participated in CAFE’s Master Workshops. Six workshops were conducted at culinary colleges in Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, San Antonio and West Palm Beach between June and August.

The Catfish Institute’s chefs Blake Swihart and Kathleen Sanderson conducted a half-day session on catfish cookery at five of this summer’s CAFE workshops (one was devoted to baking and pastry) and served catfish at all of them. As always, to taste U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish is to love it. “The chef instructors learned a lot,” says CAFE President Mary Petersen. “Amazingly,” she notes, “most of the instructors had never tasted farm-raised catfish. They were impressed with the taste, quality, availability and versatility. And,” she adds, “they really appreciated all the educational support materials — the CDs and poster — provided by The Catfish Institute. They are great tools and teachers love tools.”

“The CAFE professional education workshops are positive for both TCI and culinary schools,” observes Blake Swihart. “By teaching the teacher how to use and cook U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish correctly,” notes Blake, “we are reaching a broader spectrum of the culinary education community. The instructors, in turn, go back to their schools and impart the knowledge and information they have gained about catfish to wave after wave of culinary students going through their programs.”

Blake loves working with the culinary instructors. “They are eager, excited and interested in learning new things,” he points out.

Last Catfish Culinary Workshop Scheduled for 2005: