Vol. 5, No. 5, May 2008
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What’s Cooking?
Since 1981, the Academy of Culinary Arts has been producing award-winning chefs. If only people could get the name right!
No, it’s not the Culinary School, the Culinary Institute, Future Chefs of America or Food U. “It’s the Academy of Culinary Arts!” says an exasperated Kelly McClay, dean of the academy that produces several hundred gold-star chefs and bakers each year. “For some reason, we have terrible name recognition.”
Though people may bungle the name, they are increasingly aware of the reputation. Since 1981, the academy has graduated more than 2,300 culinary professionals who have gone on to work in Atlantic City and St. Moritz, New York and Miami Beach, London and Las Vegas. Noted alumni include Marvin Woods (Class of ’85), host of the cooking show Home Plate; Terence Feury (Class of ’88), executive chef at Fahrenheit at the Washington, D.C., Ritz Carlton; and Deb Pellegrino (Class of ’91), pastry chef at Showboat in Atlantic City.
The academy offers two-year associate degree programs in all aspects of food service, and students learn back-of-the-house management by working at the student-run restaurant, Careme’s. Right now, baking and pastry are popular courses, due in part to Food Network programs like Ace of Cakes.
“Interest is phenomenal, and the curriculum is so exciting,” says McClay. There’s a wedding cake class, an artisan bread class and “centerpiece artistry,” where students use pliable pastillage dough to create edible flowers and decorations.
Students also learn that the life of a celebrity chef as seen on reality TV is not the reality for most food professionals.
“It’s a tough business,” says McClay. “It’s a lot of work. But it’s very, very rewarding.”
And the job market is wide open. “The phone here rings incessantly from March to June,” McClay says.
“There are probably three jobs for every one of our graduates, and even in the off season we have tremendous recruitment from area casinos.”
Among those now at work in Atlantic City: 21-year-old Anthony Bell of Galloway, cooking for top chef Michael Mina at SeaBlue; and 24-year-old Jennifer Quig of Medford, an award-winning pastry chef at Buddakan and the Continental.
“The academy really equipped me for what I’m doing now,” says Quig, whose chocolate rendition of Edvard Munch’s “The Scream” earned her a gold medal at the 2007 Salon of Culinary Art competition. “I learned the essentials, and certain teachers took me a step farther. They saw talent in me that I didn’t see in myself.”
“It was very easy getting a job because there’s such high demand around the city,” says Bell. “It’s amazing working with Chef Mina.”
Shawn Henry, 33, is now fulfilling a long-deferred dream: to be a chef.
“As a teenager I used to watch my grandmother cook,” Henry says. “I always knew I wanted to do culinary, but I didn’t have the patience or the time. Now I’m buckling down to finish my education. I have one more semester.”
His plan: to open a restaurant blending the Caribbean-Jamaican influences of his youth with a broader palate. Henry credits his confidence in the kitchen to his academy training.
“The people there are excellent, they are professional. They want to see you succeed.”
In February, when Chef Bruce Johns was named educator of the year by the South Jersey chapter of the American Culinary Federation, four presenters ascended the podium to honor him. Just one of the four, according to Kelly McClay, got the school’s name right. It bears repeating: the Academy of Culinary Arts.
CHEF'S CORNER
Taramind-Glazed Salmon
Chef Educator Linda Wohlman of the Academy of Culinary Arts created this tasty entrée; other original recipes are available at www.atlantic.edu/aca.
Ingredients (serves 4)
4 6-ounce fresh salmon filets Salsa:
1 cup pineapple, medium dice
1 cup papaya, medium dice
2 tbsp. diced red bell pepper
1 tbsp. cilantro, lightly chopped
2 tsp. fresh lime juice 1
/2 tsp. finely diced jalapeno pepper
1/2 tsp. ginger, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients and let flavors blend for at least two hours
Glaze: 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp. taramind concentrate
1 tbsp. pineapple juice
1 tsp. dark soy
1 tsp. ginger, finely diced
1/2 tsp. fresh lime juice
To Prepare
For glaze, combine all ingredients in a small sauce pot and bring to a simmer. The glaze will have the consistency of syrup.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place salmon on a pan, allowing enough space between each piece of fish for easy removal. Brush each piece of salmon with the glaze and put in oven for 10 minutes. Glaze the salmon again and bake another 5 to 10 minutes to desired doneness.
Plate salmon with salsa and a wedge of lime. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with jasmine or wild rice, roasted red bliss potatoes or mashed sweet potatoes.
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