Chefs Collaborative Enters The Classroom

With a greater focus on sustainability emerging throughout the culinary industry, Chefs Collaborative introduces Seafood Solutions: Sustainable Seafood Curriculum, a template syllabus that gives culinary students the knowledge and tools for making informed menu choices. Chefs Collaborative, a national organization of chefs, producers and others dedicated to advancing a more sustainable food supply, is committed to being the leader in sustainable culinary education. This comprehensive program of study allows the Collaborative to reach beyond its traditional member base of culinary professionals and help groom the next generation of chefs across the country with a mixture of lecture, film and hands-on activity.

Chefs Collaborative board member Joe McGarry, a chef with Bon Appitit Management Company in Hillsboro, Ore., chose to spearhead the culinary curricula initiative after a visit to Western Culinary Institute (WCI) in Portland, Ore., two years ago. "The students had a very strong grasp of the ideas of local, seasonal and organic as they applied to agriculture," says McGarry, "but the idea that our oceans do not harbor an endless supply of seafood seemed like a revelation to most. It generated an incredible desire to understand how to incorporate sustainability into a business model, and I realized that we need to fan this flame with every educational tool we have."

In addition to WCI, the Culinary School of the Rockies in Boulder, Colo., and Kendall College in Chicago, Ill., contributed to the content in this pilot version and all three institutions will implement the Sustainable Seafood Curriculum in the fall of 2006 as a means of preparing students for careers in today's evolving culinary field. The curriculum will be refined with feedback this year and available to additional Collaborative member culinary schools soon. Each school is encouraged to incorporate lessons specific to its geographic region, while executing the curriculum as follows:

Session 1 - Introduction
- Students familiarize themselves with terminology and explore the key issues chefs and fishermen are faced with today. Students learn about the differences in using fish from wild fisheries and aquaculture operations.

Session 2 - Film with Moderated Q&A
- Through seafood sustainability focused films, students learn to visually identify various catch methods, such as gillnetting and long-lining, and brainstorm how they might introduce sustainable seafood options to their customers and peers.

Session 3 - Fisherman in the Classroom
- A working commercial fisherman or aquaculture professional helps students develop a better understanding of the U.S. fishing industry. A lesson in filleting fish and tasting comparisons of wild and cultured species ties this session to other coursework.

Session 4 - Relationships Between Agriculture and Seafood
- Upon completion, students will comprehend the vital relationship between farming practices on land and the health of our oceans and waterways.

Session 5 - Local Choices
- Students discuss the benefits and challenges of buying locally and research new resources in their areas to find ways to stay current with trends in fishing and aquaculture practices.

The five-part Sustainable Seafood Curriculum can be implemented as either a series of sessions or as a one-day intensive seminar. Designed to integrate into existing curricula, the program of study teaches culinary students about responsible purchasing decisions in the context of their other coursework. Each of the five syllabi provides the instructor with a comprehensive set of objectives, classroom discussion topics, a resource guide, a glossary of terms and visual aids.

School administrators interested in potentially being included in a limited number of additional pilot locations should contact Elizabeth Kennedy at 617-236-5200 or elizabeth@chefscollab