Gala dinner prepared by culinary students during Research Chefs Association Conference yields flavorful, innovative dishes and scholarships for budding professionals
Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin – Johnsonville Sausage, LLC, sponsored a gala dinner at El Centro College in downtown Dallas for select guests on March 6 during the 2009 Research Chefs Association Conference. The elegant event, produced by culinary-arts students enrolled in El Centro’s Food and Hospitality Institute under the tutelage of Chef Instructor Tom Nixon, was capped by a presentation of the Chefs of Tomorrow™ scholarship, an award recognizing excellence in culinary-arts students and culinary educators nationwide.
“We’re proud to support the students in the culinary-arts program at El Centro College as they embark on exciting and fulfilling careers in foodservice,” says Sarah Babb, Johnsonville’s Senior Brand Manager. “Johnsonville wants to do its part to ensure that tomorrow’s menu-makers have access and resources to the best quality training available, and for 35 years, El Centro College in Dallas has been a superb example of a program that has consistently produced top culinary personnel for the marketplace.”
Courses created by El Centro students, as well as hors d’oeuvres that greeted guests, featured a variety of Johnsonville products including the company’s new slices and crumbles. When introducing each course, students—most of whom were career-changers relishing their dream of pursuing a new vocation—revealed their strategies for maximizing flavor delivery for each dish, and also spoke with passion about their histories and aspirations for new careers upon graduation.
“The culinary-arts program at El Centro College is honored to receive this generous contribution to our scholarship fund by Johnsonville, a brand that is highly respected among chefs nationwide,” says Chef Instructor Chris LaLonde, who helped coordinate the Chefs of Tomorrow™ event at El Centro’s Food and Hospitality Institute. “This donation will help us assist more prospective chefs in achieving their goals.”
About Johnsonville Sausage®
Johnsonville® Sausage, America’s No. 1 sausage brand according to AC Nielsen, is known and trusted in 27 countries throughout the world. Through its commitment to providing “world-class culinary” sausage solutions to customers through unparalleled quality and flavor, Johnsonville endeavors to create awareness for sausage as a key ingredient on trend-setting menus while influencing the menu trends of tomorrow.
