HATCHING New Points of Excellence 2014–2015 Annual Report Chairman of the Board Charlie Palmer and CIA President Tim Ryan 2 THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 20142013 HATCHING “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs.” We’ve all heard that expression, but this year The Culinary Institute of America has turned that old saying around—we truly believe that we couldn’t further revolutionize the college without building The Egg. That’s the name of the spectacular new dining and education facility at our newly expanded Student Commons, and like any egg in its nascent form, it’s bursting with potential. Offering an unprecedented new place for students to gather, The Egg brings the New York campus community together around one big proverbial table like never before. The “hatching” of The Egg in Hyde Park was a major milestone for the CIA and, especially, its students, one of many important accomplishments that have shaped an extraordinary year for the college. There’s been plenty going on across all of our campuses—the pop-up Pangea restaurant in Hyde Park…brand-new conferences and summits at Greystone…a landmark graduation in San Antonio… Singapore hosting students in the new Asian cuisine bachelor’s concentration…and a host of other highlights and intiatives. Many of these are detailed in the pages of this report, just a sampling of the imaginative and important ways the CIA prepares future leaders and advances the food world. THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 2014 3 GROWING A large part of any college’s growth is offering new facilities and campus opportunities for its students and constituents. Such growth has been a major focus for the CIA in the past year, particularly at our New York campus. CRACKING OPEN THE EGG The Egg opened its doors in June, providing seating for nearly 500 students with an additional 150 river- side seats outdoors. Dining stations—such as sushi, wood-fired pizzas, and artisanal sandwiches—use local and sustainable ingredients whenever possible. The overall focus is on health, wellness, and diversity. The Egg offers many learning opportunities, includ- ing the Innovation Station, where students in the Intrapreneurship concentration operate their own foodservice concept each semester; The Brooklyn Brewery at the CIA, an on-site microbrewery; and The Line, where students prepare and serve cuisine to classmates. Seven lounge areas, a special events stage, large multimedia screens for movie and sports nights, and dozens of charging stations make The Egg the ideal student hangout. PANGEA POPS UP Last January the CIA opened Pangea, a pop-up restaurant located at the college’s New York campus that supported our students’ continued hands-on education. Pangea showcased a menu that featured an array of inspired dishes that both celebrate and bring together the most diverse cultural flavors and influences from around the world. It provided a valuable platform for students to ex- plore how we produce and harvest the food we eat and the effect these actions have on the health of our planet and ourselves. Pangea ended its successful run in June, CURTAIN RISES ON leaving the door open for future pop-ups at the CIA. HALF MOON THEATRE The CIA and Half Moon Theatre, the Hudson Valley’s leading year-round professional theatre company, launched a partnership that has brought New York-style theatrical performances to the New York campus. The CIA’s 800-seat, state-of-the-art Ecolab Auditorium in the Marriott Pavilion makes it possible for visitors to ex- perience one of Half Moon Theatre’s productions after enjoying a meal at The Bocuse Restaurant, American Bounty, or Ristorante Caterina de’ Medici. 4 THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 2014 OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND AT CAREER FAIRS Career Fairs at The Culinary Institute of America regularly set attendance records for recruiters, reflecting both the marketability of the college’s students and the strength of career opportunities in the food world. The most recent events in New York were among the largest Career Fairs ever hosted by the college, attracting 300+ top employers to campus. And the California and Texas campuses host Career Networking Days now, providing opportunities for students there to connect with FOOD BUSINESS SCHOOL industry recruiters. OPENS FOR BUSINESS In early 2015, The Food Business School (FBS), the CIA’s new center for executive and graduate education, opened registration for its Spring 2015 session and announced a suite of innovative education programs taught by expert faculty. The first business school dedicated to food entrepreneurship and innovation, FBS offers knowledge, practical skills, and an extensive network to support a diverse range of innovators, including executives, recent graduates, and mid-career explorers. This historic intiative broadens the CIA’s commitment to the future of food education and leadership with specialized programs. STUDENTS SCORE BIG WITH SUPER BOWL DISH CIA students Matthew Johnson and Cullen Folks achieved Super Bowl glory as the winning team in PepsiCo’s Game Day Grub Match held at Super Bowl XLIX in Arizona this past January. The competition challenged students from the CIA to create the ultimate Super Bowl party dish using at least three PepsiCo products as ingredients. Johnson and Folks took home the crown with their Tostitos Chipotle Chicken Tacos recipe, winning two tickets to the big game and $5,000 in scholarship money in the process. CIA grad Anne Burrell ’96 hosted the event. THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 2014 5 NURTURING Education is always at the forefront of the CIA’s plans and priorities, and the year saw a number of major advances and exciting new opportunities for students as the college meets the evolving needs of our industry. ASIAN CUISINE CONCENTRATION INTRAPRENEURSHIP: STUDENTS MIND STUDENTS HEADING TO SINGAPORE THEIR OWN BUSINESS The college introduced its newest bachelor’s degree Students at The Culinary Institute of America have the concentration, Asian Cuisine: An Edible Journey from unique opportunity to pitch, develop, and run a success- Traditional to Contemporary. Students who choose this ful operation in the college’s Intrapreneurship: Driving concentration examine the confluence of cultures that Innovation from Within an Organization concentration occurred as early explorers plied the spice routes by sea, in the bachelor’s degree management program. No and learn the basic techniques and knowledge needed other college in the world offers an opportunity quite to produce authentic regional Asian dishes. The highlight like this—students follow a defined set of standards of the program is a semester at the CIA’s exhilarating and criteria, culminating in the operation of their own campus in Singapore—the gateway to Asia—where stu- foodservice concept in The Egg at the CIA’s New York dents travel throughout the region, meeting with farm- campus for an entire semester. Along the way, they ers, chefs, and educators; visiting production facilitites study key concepts such as business plan development, and farms; and sampling local foods. financing, corporate ventures, and innovation. FIRST BAKING & PASTRY CLASS GRADUATES IN TEXAS In April, the CIA San Antonio campus celebrated its first-ever graduating class from the associate degree program in baking and pastry arts. The class, which began its studies in San An- tonio in summer 2013, received extensive hands-on practice in baking and pastry techniques, and gained real-world expe- rience in the pop-up CIA Bakery Café and at Nao, the campus restaurant open to the public at the Pearl site. 6 THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 2014 A TASTY PARTNERHIP WITH TASTE NY This past spring, Governor Andrew Cuomo named The Culinary Institute of America an education partner for the Taste NY program to promote New York’s food and beverage industries. The CIA is working closely with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets on several initiatives to promote aware- ness of the state’s food products under the Taste NY brand. During the first year of the partnership, the college is offering a Taste NY-branded Boot Camp and several one-day cooking and beverage classes, a series of instructional cooking videos featuring New York State products, and three Taste NY-themed dinners at the American Bounty Restaurant. CULINARY SCIENCE PROGRAM ADVANCES Now in its third year, the CIA’s culinary science bachelor’s degree program continues to innovate to meet student needs. A series HOUSTON, WE HAVE A DUAL of culinary science animation videos was created to clearly and CREDIT PROGRAM visually explain some of the scientific concepts for students. The CIA and the Houston Independent School District New state-of-the-art equipment—including a food texture ana- (HISD) in Texas have created an educational partnership lyzer, digital viscometer, labscan XE sensor, and L5M-A mixer— in which students can earn their first semester of CIA enhance the student experience. And the program is now college credit during their junior and senior years of high up to 51 total graduates, who have gone on to work in such school. This dual credit program begins at Westside High high-profile venues as the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, School with the 2015–2016 academic year, with plans Rich’s, Eleven Madison Park, and Google. to expand to as many as four additional high schools by 2017. The college will assist with designing kitchens in the schools to teach the hands-on courses, and CIA fac- ulty will visit occasionally to collaborate with teachers on curriculum development. THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 2014 7 LEADING When it comes to the CIA’s stellar reputation for thought leadership in the food industry, it truly is the “thought” that counts. We’re leading industry-wide efforts to re-think food, explore new global flavor possibilities, and change the world.