Culinary students learn to love cooking green

[Guest guest]

Culinary students learn to love cooking green

Tara Duggan

 

Friday, August 15, 2008

 

 

At the Friday farmers' market in St. Helena, there's one farm stand where you

can get expert cooking advice along with squash and heirloom tomatoes.

 

 

The Greystone Green Thumbs stand is operated by chefs-in-training at the nearby

Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. Students in the Green Thumbs club

help weed and harvest the school's handful of pesticide-free vegetable plots,

attend lectures on farming, and cook with the produce they grow.

 

" I have never seen such enthusiasm around this topic. Saturday morning from 8

until noon, I have 10 students in the garden. I don't have to drag them out of

bed or anything, " said CIA Professor Chris Loss, who has a doctorate in food

science and leads the project.

 

About a year old, the CIA's garden project is an example of the kind of green

programs local culinary schools are adding to their curriculum. It's gone beyond

recycling, or even composting kitchen scraps. San Francisco's California

Culinary Academy now offers a three-week class devoted to vegetarian cooking.

The culinary program at the brand-new Art Institute of California campus in

Sunnyvale plans to send its used cooking oil to Oakland to fuel public school

buses.

 

" Culinary schools have a great opportunity to contribute to sustainable

education. Restaurants are a wonderful microcosm of larger food systems, " said

Loss, whose garden project is part of research he is conducting on how to

develop educational programs in sustainable culinary practices.

 

At the CCA, Vinita Jacinto teaches the Contemporary Cooking class, in which

students learn about vegetarian and vegan cuisine, as well as how to cook for

people with allergies, diabetes or other dietary restrictions.

 

Jacinto, who grew up in India with a vegetarian father and a meat-eating mother,

asks her students to come up with vegetarian alternatives in a range of culinary

traditions, which can appeal to the growing number of diners who are interested

in reducing their meat consumption.

 

" Look at the number of restaurants that are prominently featuring vegetarian

items on the menu. I tell students it's good business, " he said. " It should not

be thought of as, 'This is for the vegans, this is for the vegetarians.' It's

just good food. "

 

At the Art Institute of California's culinary school in Sunnyvale, where

students can earn an associate's degree in culinary arts or a bachelor's in

culinary management, program director Eric Frauwirth said the emphasis is on how

to select ingredients and run the kitchen in a green way.

 

When the student-staffed restaurant opens in the fall, the beer and wine list

will be hyper-local, with selections produced within the greater San Jose area.

Frauwirth plans to install an organic herb garden for student use and is working

on getting the school certified as a green business.

 

At the CIA in St. Helena, Loss has the students work at the farmers' market so

that they can learn about the economics of growing quality produce.

 

" They need to know everything about their food, " he said. " If you really want to

provide your customers with the most honest and authentic cuisine, you have to

really know where it's coming from. "

 

Jacinto of San Francisco's California Culinary Academy notices a transformation

in her students, who usually start out griping about having to cook vegetarian

food for three weeks.

 

" I know that in the end my students are more mindful, " she said. " They

definitely look at things differently. "

 

tduggan

 

 

For more information

Art Institute of California Sunnyvale: 1120 Kifer Road, Sunnyvale; (866)

583-7961; artinstitutes.edu/Sunnyvale

 

California Culinary Academy: 350 Rhode Island St., San Francisco; (888)

897-3222; baychef.com

 

Culinary Institute of America at Greystone: 2555 Main St., St. Helena; (800)

285-4627; ciachef.edu/california

 

This article appeared on page W - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle

 

 

 

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