Kendall College named 2008 Cooking School of the Year

The School of Culinary Arts at Kendall College has won the Academy of the Culinary Arts Cordon d' Or-Gold Ribbon Cooking School of the Year Culinary Academy Award for 2008. The Academy of the Culinary Arts awards recognize exemplary contributions to the culinary arts from chefs, chef-instructors, entrepreneurs, schools, associations and cuisine advocates and promoters from around the world.

Chef Christopher Koetke, CEC, CCE, dean, will represent Kendall and its School of Culinary Arts when he joins the other honorees at the Culinary Academy Awards Dinner on May 16 at the Don Cesar Beach Resort in St. Pete Beach, Fla., during the Tampa Bay Food & Wine Festival.


"This award from Cordon d' Or acknowledges the impact of avid, superbly trained graduates of Kendall's School of Culinary Arts on the U.S. foodservice industry, as well as our pioneering programs that position us as an education leader," said Koetke in a statement. "Kendall College is grateful to the Academy for recognizing the value of our sole product: graduates prepared to meet employers' needs for qualified personnel."

For a list of all the winners, visit www.cordondorcuisine.com.

CIA honors leaders of California wine industry

At the Culinary Institute of America's Celebration of California Food & Wine on March 14 at the CIA-Greystone, the CIA recognized the 2009 Vintners Hall of Fame inductees for their contributions to the wine industry.

(l to r) CIA president Tim Ryan and wine journalist Gerald Asher

Inductees, honored at the event's third annual Hall of Fame Induction dinner, include:

• wine editor emeritus and journalist Gerald Asher, Gourmet magazine;
• Jack and Jamie Davies, founders of Schramsberg Vineyards;
• Jess Jackson, founder of Kendall-Jackson Estates;
• Carole Meredith, University of California--Davis professor and co-founder of Lagier-Meredith Winery;
• Justin Meyer, co-founder of Silver Oak Cellars; and
• Warren Winiarski, founder of Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.

Warren Winiarski

Brothers Frederick and Jacob Beringer, who founded Beringer Vineyards in 1876, were inducted into the Vintners Hall of Fame as Pioneers, a category that recognizes those who made a significant contribution to the California wine industry and passed away before March 1989.

Proceeds from the Vintners Hall of Fame Induction Dinner contribute to the CIA at Greystone's Rudd Center for Professional Wine Studies. The Vintners Hall of Fame was opened to the public for the first time on March 30 at the CIA-Greystone.