Chef Kristen Cirolia Attends Pre Gel Five-Star Chef Series

Pastry Chef Kristen Cirolia recently attended the Pre Gel Five-Star Chef Series Pastry Training in Concord, NC. Chef Cirolia was among a group of culinary professionals who have established themselves, and are looking to sharpen and increase their skills during the intense training.

PreGel AMERICA’s 5-Star Chef Series is a series of educational seminars designed to create dynamic pastry experience. The "5-Star Chefs" combined with PreGel's cutting-edge facility and unparallel ingredients set the stage for a compelling learning experience that will benefit Chef Cirolia's pastry and baking classes.

More information about the seminar check out the 5 Star Chef Series Training: http://www.5-starchefseries.com/

Pierpont Wins WV State Competition

Pierpont Culinary Academy won the American Culinary Federation state culinary competition recently in Beckley. Three teams: Mountain State University, Carver Culinary Program, and Pierpont Culinary Academy competed for an opportunity to represent West Virginia at the American Culinary Federation Northeast Regional Competition in Hershey, PA March 13-18, 2010.

Pierpont finished just in time at the very last second of the 80 minute Phase I skills relay. Joe Woods had to fabricate a chicken, then Maria Provencher had to fabricate a fish, Joseph White had to demonstrate a number of technical knife cuts with the vegetable preparation, and Kellie Smith anchored the team finishing with pastry skills.

Phase II required the students to prepare a four-course meal in 90 minutes. Joseph White prepared the prescribed classical dish Paupiettes de Sole Floreal; Rebecca Krofcheck prepared the salad course Crimson Lentil and Grain Salad Timbale with Roasted Pepper Coulis; Kellie Smith prepared the entrée Roasted Pheasant in Caul, Tournee Potatoes, Butternut Squash Puree, and Haricot Vert; Maria Provencher prepared dessert Cinnamon Almond Cake with Apricot Sauce, Fennel-Fig Compote, and Vanilla Armagnac Sorbet; Joe Woods was the floor manager.

The competition was judged by a prestigious panel of chefs: Chef David Turcotte, CEC, AAC (Lead Judge) is a Sergeant Major over the Fort Lee Culinary Program, Chef Roland Henin, CMC is a Master Chef with Delaware North Co., and Chef David Campbell, CEC, CCE is a chef instructor with Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, NC.

Aside from 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, the teams competed against a national competition standard of scoring. Pierpont scored 34.47pts, Carver scored 33.51, and Mountain State scored 26.10. These point totals meant that Pierpont and Carver both qualified for American Culinary Federation Silver medals (32-35 points out of 40 qualify for Silver). This is the first time in at least the past six years that any team has accomplished a score this high at the West Virginia state competition.

See more about the competition from this News Channel 59 report:
http://wvnstv.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=70270

Hill to Offer Book Signing

Theresa Hill will be featured at a local book signing.

It will take place from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM on Saturday, November 14th at Fairmont Fitness Center. If you are interested in purchasing a book and haven’t yet, there will be copies available at the signing. Theresa will also be making a few recipes which will be available for sampling at the event.

Pierpont Student Authors a Cookbook

Theresa Hill, first-year student in the Pierpont Culinary Academy, recently announced the release of her first cookbook. The book was inspired by recipes for her family.

Treenie's Beginnings is a collection stories, recipes, family, faith, and fitness. Theresa says, "the book was inspired, it was therapeutic."

Listen to this WBOY TV story to hear more about the release:

How To Fabricate a Pig Part 1

How To Fabricate a Pig Part 2

Lobster, Mushroom & Spinach Strudel

Ingredients: Yield: 6 servings
6oz. Cooked Lobster Meat
6oz. Assorted Mushrooms
8oz. Spinach
1T Shallots, minced
2oz. Ricotta Cheese
1oz. White Wine
S&P to taste
5 Phyllo Dough, sheets (thawed)
1C Clarified Butter
2T Fresh Herbs
2T Olive

Methods:
1. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots, mushrooms, and lobster allow to briefly sauté. Add the spinach when the mushrooms are soft, and then the wine.
2. Once the spinach is wilted, but still bright green, remove the mixture from the heat. Set the mixture aside to cool slightly.
3. On a clean work surface or cutting board, layout a sheet of phyllo one piece at a time.
4. Brush the dough with sparingly with clarified butter. Lightly sprinkle with fresh herbs. Add a second sheet of dough on top. Repeat the process until five sheets of dough are stacked (do not butter the top sheet).
5. Strain the excess liquid from the lobster and spinach mixture. Add the ricotta cheese by gently folding into the mixture. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
6. Beginning ½” from the bottom of the phyllo, spoon the lobster and spinach mixture in a 2” band across nearly the sheet of dough. You will want to leave approximately ½” on each end to enclose the dough around the mixture.
7. From the bottom, roll the dough around the lobster and spinach mixture. Just before you get to the end of the roll, tuck the ends toward the middle, and then complete the roll.
8. Brush the top of the dough lightly with clarified butter.
9. Bake in a 375° oven approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.
10. Remove and allow to cool for 3-5 minutes. Slice into 1 ½” slices.

2009-2010 Culinary Competition Team Named

Nine students tried out for the Peirpont Culinary Academy Competition Team on Friday. Five new students to the program and four current students through their toques in the ring to vie for five spots.

The members of 2009-2010 Culinary Team are Joseph White, Kellie Smith, Maria Provencher, Rebecca Krofcheck, and Joe Woods. The students competed in a three phase competition. Each was required to demonstrated proficient knife skills, fabricate a chicken, and to prepare an entree plate for two using chicken.

Congratulations to all of the competitors, and especially to our new team.

Pictures from the competition:

Pierpont Presents at Tomato Tasting Festival

The Pierpont Culinary Academy helped organize and participated in the second annual Tomato Tasting Festival this past weekend. The Festival is sponsored by the Marion Co. Master Gardeners and WVU Extension. Chef Floyd and Pierpont have helped organize the event and have provided judges for the past two years.

President Blair Montgomery was among the group of honorary judges for the event this year. Chef Floyd prepared a cooking demonstration that feature three tomato recipes, and new students in the Culinary Academy helped with the day's logistics and preparation.

New students: Rebecca Krofcheck, Miranda Johnson, Joseph Bezjak, Cameron Dean, Maria Provencher, and Matt Crawford all helped with the event.

One of the favorite recipes of the event was:

Poached Salmon with Tomato-Leek Water

Ingredients Yield: (4) 6oz. Servings
(4) 6oz. Salmon Fillets, bones and skin removed
8 Med-lg Tomatoes, cored
8oz. Leeks, tops and roots removed, med. dice*
4oz. Yellow Onion, julienne
8oz. Asparagus, cut into 5”-6” spears
10 leaves + 4 sprigs of Basil
Juice one lemon
Olive oil
S&P to taste
Cheesecloth
Butchers string

*Fennel makes a fantastic substitute for the leeks

Methods
1. Rough chop the tomatoes. Add to a food processor or blender until pureed. In a non-reactive sauce pot, bring the puree to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat, allow to slightly cool.
2. Position cheesecloth over a strainer or china cap over a bain marie or a large bowl. Collect the tomato mixture in the cheesecloth and tie with string, allowing the liquid strain through to the bain marie. The idea is to capture as much of the liquid as possible the pulp and skin are to remain behind in the cheesecloth, so tying the string and cheesecloth up in your refrigerator and allow to drip all night might be the ideal way to accomplish this. However, for quicker results you can gently squeeze the cheesecloth until the liquid is removed. This method may cause more tomato puree to escape.
3. In a braising pot, sweat the leeks and onions with the olive oil until translucent. Add the basil and tomato water. Heat the mixture to 175°-185°.
4. Add the salmon fillets. Poach approximately 5 minutes. Remove from the water. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon.
5. Steam the asparagus until just tender. Should still be bright green.
6. In a pasta bowl, ladle a scoop of the tomato water. Fan 5 asparagus pieces in the bottom of the bowl. Gently place the fish on top. Garnish with a fresh basil sprig.

Pierpont Cooks at the Farmer's Market

The Pierpont Culinary Academy helped Fairmont celebrate National Farmers' Market week by presenting a demo at the market. Chef Floyd demonstrated and shared three recipes to showcase how customers of the market could use their fresh vegetables once they got them home.

Market goers sampled some of the items which included: Watermelon & Tomato Salad; Grilled Vegetable Enchiladas; and Grilled Salmon with Cucumber-Melon Salad and Tomato-Ginger Basmati.

Pierpont has been working with Main Street Fairmont to help promote the market. The cooking demo was to help bring attention and showcase the bi-weekly downtown event.

Watch WBOY's coverage of Tuesday's Market:

Grilling University

Eighteen students participated in the Grilling University Community Ed class at the Bridgeport Conference Center. Students relaxed on the outdoor patio as they learned new grilling techniques, sampled tasty food, and enjoyed some specialty beverages.

The class was treated to a menu of Peach & Mango Sangria, Grilled Pork Porterhouse w/Mixed Grill or Mushrooms and Onions, Grilled Leg of Lamb w/ Baby Beet, Blue Cheese, and Grilled Asparagus Salad, and Grilled Watermelon and Berries w/ Zabaglione Sauce.

The evening concluded with a question and answer session.

Special Thanks to: The Bridgeport Conference Center, the Pierpont Center for Continuing Education, Ron Weist and Janice Ervin.

Pierpont Culinary Academy to Play Key Role in Downtown Brand

Main Street Fairmont commissioned Arnett-Muldrow, city planning and marketing consultants, from Greenville, SC to help re-brand Fairmont. Arnett-Muldrow recommended a four district approach (Downtown, Southside, Eastside, and Riverside) to feature the distinct areas represented in MSF's boundaries.

The Pierpont Culinary Academy's future student bistro was presented as a driving force in the Downtown district. Arnett-Muldrow has laid a solid foundation for Maple Creative and Mythology, two consulting firms hired by Pierpont to brand and market the bistro and Cafe District, to build upon.

Follow Fairmont's redesign with these television stories:
WBOY TV:
http://www.wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=58927
WDTV TV:
http://www.wdtv.com/news/local/44924117.html

Pierpont Pastry Students Visit Washington DC

Pastry Chef Kristen Cirolia led a group of students on a field to our nation's capital recently to experience pastries on a large scale at Ridgewell's Catering. The group toured the food service operation, and dawned some aprons to pitch in with some extra hands as well.

The trip was designed to give the students an urban experience both from an operational perspective as well as a sense food service and restaurant options in a larger city. The group enjoyed dinner at McCormick and Schmicks.

Pierpont Culinary Gives Back to the Union Mission

Students in Pierpont Culinary Academy Quantity Foods class prepared and served a meal at Fairmont's local homeless shelter: the Union Mission. The Tuesday and Thursday FOSM 2204 Quantity Foods Lab classes put their semester's practice to work recently by preparing a meal for 75 people at the Union Mission.

Tuesday's lab prepared a BBQ theme. Residents and visitors to the shelter enjoyed BBQ ribs, pulled BBQ, coleslaw, cornbread, green beans, and honey-apple cake. Thursday's lab prepared: meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, snap peas, and double-chocolate cookies.

Pierpont Culinary ends every semester with this community service learning project. Students are given an opportunity to reflect on their experiences at the end of the class, and usually it is one of the highlights of the semester.

Hear more about the project with this WBOY exclusive:

Pierpont Celebrates its Outstanding Students

The Food Service Management programs of Pierpont paused Friday night to recognize four outstanding students. Shelby Handley was awarded the Outstanding Student in Dietary Management, and Brenda Waller received the Rhodes Dieatary Management Scholarship in Memory of Charlotte B. Flynn. Mrs. Hamilton made the presentations.


The Pierpont Culinary Academy featured Pastry & Baking Arts student: Laura Brown as the Outstanding Student in Culinary Arts/Pastry & Baking Arts. The Rhodes Culinary Arts Scholarship was awarded to Joe Woods.

Fairmont URA Plans to Work With Pierpont Culinary Academy

City Planner, Jay Rogers, updated the Fairmont Urban Renewal Authority recently on the progress of Pierpont Culinary's proposed student-operated bistro. The URA, Main Street Fairmont, the Fairmont Community Development Partnership, and the Marion County Chamber of Commerce have all been in discussions about the development of the downtown Cafe District.

Read more about the URA meeting:
http://www.timeswv.com/archivesearch/local_story_105022926.html

Pierpont Board of Governors Receives Bistro Update

Pierpont's Board of Governors received an update about the planned student-operated bistro on Tuesday. Chef Brian Floyd reported that Pierpont Culinary had been working with the Fairmont Urban Renewal Authority to develop a conceptual rendering of the bistro and new culinary and pastry labs.

The Pierpont Culinary Team and Knowledge Bowl Team were recognized by the Board for their outstanding performance at the recent ACF North East Regional competition in Boston, MA.

The Board also approved the new Pierpont Culinary Academy. The Academy is a named program of distinction, recognized for continued successful accreditation, sustained growth and future vision. The Pierpont Culinary Academy moves from traditional culinary education to community and economic development, and strives to promote future culinary entrepreneurs and leaders.

Read more about the Pierpont Board of Governors' Meeting:
http://www.timeswv.com/archivesearch/local_story_105022619.html

FCCLA State Conference Held at Pierpont

Students from Jefferson County High School competed in the state FCCLA Leadership Conference STAR Event competition at Pierpont Community & Technical College. The students competed as a team but were judged individually.

Qualifying students earn the right to compete at the National FCCLA Conference in Kansas City. Chef Jay Mahoney and Chef Brian Floyd were the judges for the Culinary Arts event. Registered Dietitian, Pam Hamilton, and Pastry Chef, Kristen Cirolia were judges in the Nutritious Snacks and Pastry Entrepreneurship catagories.

More about FCCLA Culinary STAR: http://wvfccla.googlepages.com/starevents

WBOY TV Features Pierpont Culinary

Karen Kiley & WBOY TV featured this segment recently as the Culinary Team finalized thier preparations for A Culinary Event, fundraising dinner.

Culinary Scholarships Available

The American Culinary Federation, Culinary Insider, newsletter reports:
New Scholarship Funds Available
Click on the links below to find out more:
The American Academy of Chefs, the honor society of the American Culinary Federation, is proud to offer a new scholarship for college students. Through a generous donation from The Charlie Trotter Culinary Education Foundation, eight $5,000 scholarships are now available. Applications are due by May 1 and can obtained by calling the ACF Education Department at (800) 624-9458.
Scholarship resources on the ACF Web site will assist you in your scholarship search. More

A Culinary Event

Pierpont's Culinary Teams were highlighted during A Culinary Event, a fundraising dinner for the culinary teams and programs. (Read more about the event in the Times WV article http://www.timeswv.com/local/local_story_086021604.html.) The dinner featured a variation of the award winning four-course menu presented by the Culinary Team at the recent American Culinary Federation Northeast Regional.

Two very important announcements were revealed at the dinner: First, Chef Brian Floyd, CEC gave the group of friends and partners a sneak peak of a conceptual rendering of the proposed student-operated bistro to be located in downtown Fairmont. Chef Floyd then announced the Pierpont Culinary Academy: A named program of distinction, recognized for continued successful accreditation, sustained growth and future vision.

View photos of the evening:

Pierpont Culinary Academy Announced

A special group of friends and partners gathered on Saturday March 28, 2009, as the Pierpont Community Technical College announced the Pierpont Culinary Academy. Pierpont Culinary Academy is a named program of distinction, recognized for continued successful accreditation, sustained growth and future vision.

The Pierpont Culinary Academy features the nationally American Culinary Federation Accrediting Commission(ACFAC) accredited Culinary Arts program and the ACFAC accredited Pastry & Baking Arts program. Future plans for the Academy are to pursue a student-operated bistro in downtown Fairmont, to maintain a superior level of quality education, and to continue its partnership with the City of Fairmont, Main Street Fairmont, Marion County Chamber of Commerce, and the Fairmont Community Development Partnership in its efforts to support community and economic development in Fairmont and Marion County.

Pierpont Culinary offers Scholarships to ProStart

Pictured above (LtoR)Putnam Co., Marion Co., Wood Co.

The 2009 ProStart Hospitality Cup was held at Stonewall Resort recently. Pierpont Culinary provided scholarships for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place teams in the culinary competition.

For the fifth year in a row, Pierpont offer full tuition waivers for the 1st place team, half tuition waivers for the second place team, and quarter tuition waivers for the third place team.

This year's two-day event featured eleven teams from around the state. Each team competed in the business management portion of the competition on day 1 and the cooking competition on day 2.

Putnam County Career & Technical Center won 1st place in culinary competition, Marion County Technical Center won 2nd, and Wood County Vo-tech Center won 3rd.

Hamilton Featured in Times WV

Photo by Danny Snyder/Times WV.
Pam Hamilton, MS, RD Associate Professor of Food Service Management was recently featured in a Times West Virginian article, A Healthy Lifestyle. Read about Mrs. Hamilton's tips for avoiding the wrong kinds of fat, and about how to focus on portion to maintain a more healthy diet.

Read more at:
http://www.timeswv.com/homepage/local_story_056012430.html

A Culinary Event

Pierpont Culinary recently announced they will offer:
A Culinary Event~enjoy a semi-formal evening of fine dining with the Culinary Team, Saturday March 28th. The fundraising dinner will feature a variation of the four course menu that the team prepared for the American Culinary Federation Northeast Regional competition.

Table sponsorships are available, and exciting updates and announcements about the program are being planned. Champagne Reception begins at 6:30pm and the Food & Wine Dinner begins at 7pm.

Contact Chef Floyd to see how you can be involved brian.floyd@pierpont.edu

Culinary Team Wins Bronze Medals

Building on the third place finish of the Knowledge Bowl Team, the Culinary Team members (Ted Hastings, Captin; Amanda Emerson; Joseph White; Kellie Smith; and Sarabeth Cox; Chef Jay Mahoney, Coach) were awarded bronze medals for there performance at the 2009 Amecian Culinary Federation Northeast Regional.

Eight teams competed in the event. Pennsylvania Culinary Institute won the competition and Hocking Community College (Nelsonville, Ohio) was second. The standings were announced at the Vice Presidents Gala Monday night.

Medals are award to teams reaching an industry competition standard. Some culinary competitions are won with only one team receiving enough points to be awarded a medal. However, this year's Regional fielded a very talented group of teams, and Pierpont was very proud to have received a score between 28-31.99 out of 40 to qualify for a bronze medal.

Congratulations to the Culinary and Knowledge Bowl Teams on a very solid performance in Boston.

See photos from the entire conference at:
http://www.digiproofs.com/ Password: ACFBOSTON

Boston Day 3

Today was both a rewarding and trying day. The Culinary Team has been operating the past few days with little sleep, and with high tension and anxiety. At the same time, undoubtably the competition has been the fulfilment of literally 6 months of preparation and practice.

The day began at 7am with the Skills portion of the competition. Each team has 80 minutes to complete four skills (de-boning a chicken, fabricating a fish, classical vegetable cuts, and pastry). The four team members draw to see which skill they will randomly select. Joe White drew the first spot, and de-boned the chicken. Ted Hastings followed and cleaned the Dover Sole fish. While the first two spots are usually the fastest parts, they demand much attention from the judges, and both guys were very precise.

Perhaps, one of the longest and most exact parts is the vegetable cuts section, and Amanda Emerson pulled this lot. Amanda julienned butternut squash, diced onion, concassed two tomatoes (blanched, peeled, small diced the petals, and coarsely chopped the center), and tourned eight potatoes. Kellie Smith anchored the team with Pastry Skill (roll pastry for blind-bake, peel and segment an orange, and prepare a quart of pastry cream). Sarabeth Cox kept the group organized and managed from the floor as our alternate. The ladies each turned in some of the their best performances.

The Culinary Team competed against seven other schools from the entire Northeast Region which included: New England Culinary (Vermont), Conneticut, New Jersey, Johnson & Wales (Rhode Island), Hocking Community College (Ohio), Pennsylvania Culinary Inst., and New York. For the final leg theTeam competed in the Four Course Hot Food Competition.
Each team had 75 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to plate a four course meal for four. The dishes included: the classical course- Paupiettes de Sole a la Trouvillaise (stuffed, poached Dover sole, shrimp, mussels, and Sauce aux Crevettes (shrimp sauce)); Fried Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Salad with toasted pumpkin seeds and autumn-apple vinaigrette; Boneless Saddle of Rabbit in Caul with Vegetable Ribbons, whipped Celeriac and Potato Puree, and Truffle Sauce; Nutty Buckwheat Cake with White Chocolate- Mascarpone Mousse, cherry ice cream, Cherry sauce and Honey Tuile.

The team was well poised and performed at a very high level. The judges, led by culinary legends Roland Shaffer, Certified Master Chef (CMC) and Gunther Heiland, Certified Master Pastry Chef (CMPC), and joined by Tom Recinella, Certified Executive Chef (CEC) and former National Champion Student Team Coach, gave a fair critique. Their remarks touched on a number of positive features of the Team’s food, but also exposed some areas for improvement. Pierpont was certainly among the top tier of competitors, but the official results won’t be revealed until the Vice President’s Grand Gala Monday night. Keep your finger’s crossed…

Boston Day 2

Saturday began very early. The Culinary Team began work on their cold platter around 5:30am, and the Knowledge Bowl Team got together around 7am to prepare for the day's competition.

Fortunately, both of the teams' efforts paid off. The Knowledge Bowl Team finished third in ACF Northeast Region. Baltimore International Culinary won first place and Pennsylvania Culinary Institute finished second. Our team lost their first match of the day, but rallied to carry themselves to the semifinals of the Jeapordy-style event. Ultimately, just a few questions and points separated the team from the finals, but it was a very impressive effort on Pierpont's part.
While the brain team was competing, the Culinary Team was busy slicing, glazing, cleaning, and organizing for the cold platter competition. Platters are to be presented as cold food served cold. This is the food that literally looks too good to eat. Pierpont spent extra time insuring that their product was as clean and perfect as possible. This extra effort pushed the limits of time, but paid off with the judges. Two Master Chefs and one CEC judged the competition, and they could not have been more complimentary of the our team.

Even though the food for the platters are for display only and not eaten, the judge's first comment to the team was, "I just want to pick up the food and eat it." This was a very good sign, but it is still very early in the two-day culinary competition.

The team's enjoyed dinner at a local favorite--No Name Restaurant. Many experienced their first lobster and other seafood favorites.

View photos from today's competition:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/CulinaryKnowledgeBowlTeamBostonDay2#

Culinary&Knowledge Bowl Teams-Boston Day 1

After a grueling 14hr trip in very cold and sometimes snowy conditions, the Team arrived in Boston Thursday evening around 7:30pm. Friday began with a trip on Boston’s mass transit system (the T) to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market. The marketplace featured souvenirs, historic facts and treasures, and local specialties. The morning finished with lunch at America’s oldest restaurant: the Union Oyster House (est. 1826).

In the afternoon, the Knowledge Bowl took their qualifying exam, and faired well (they qualified as the 4th seed). The Culinary Team set up their mise en place for tomorrow’s cold platter competition and Sunday’s hot food competition.

The day culminated with a student forum sponsored by Chartwell’s foodservice provider. The one-hour presentation covered: résumé writing, interview techniques, and employment opportunities in the industry, and was followed by a reception were the students could network with some of the industries’ leading chefs.

Check out photos from today at: http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/CulinaryTeamBostonDay1#

A special thank you to our sponsors:

US Foodsevice http://www.usfoodservice.com/

American Culinary Federation WV http://www.wvculinary.org/

New Chef Fashion http://www.newchef.com/

Pierpont Culinary on the Radio

Chef Floyd was recently interviewed by John Burford on WTCS am1490. The pair covered topics such as the Culinary Arts growth and program accreditations. Additionally, they talked about the future opportunities related to a student operated bistro being located in downtown Fairmont, and the creation of the downtown Fairmont Cafe Dististrict.

Click hear to download or listen to an MP3 of the broadcast:

http://www.box.net/shared/fgt2mijpqo

Pierpont CTC Cast Iron Cookoff

Chef Caleb Taylor and Sous Chef Joe Woods led the Pierpont Community & Technical College 2009 Cast Iron Cookoff at the Charleston Town Centre Marriott. The chefs' team was rounded out with eight non-professionals (including local journalist with Clarksburg Exponent Julie Perine and southern WV Fox TV personality Kennie Bass). Other team members included: Lisa Tanner, Melody Tanner, Ron Newcome, Elaina Bailey, Jill Murphy, and Kerri Niner. The group had one hour to prepare a four course meal.

Each of the dishes had to have at least one item prepared in cast iron and featured several local WV products. The four course menu included: Salad Course: Poached Egg and Frisee Salad with Truffle Vinaigrette, Appetizer: Trout with Shaved Almonds, Green Beans, and Thyme Preserved Oranges, Entree: Red Wine Braised Chicken with Button Mushrooms and Potatoes, Swiss Chard, Dessert: Waffles & Cream with Apples.

See more photos of the competition:

http://picasaweb.google.com/chefbrianfloyd/PierpontCTCCastIronCookoff2009#

MetroNews Radio:

http://www.wvmetronews.com/mediaplayer.cfm?storyid=28537

The Greenbrier's Master Chef Timmins works with Culinary Team

Pierpont's Culinary Team practiced with Master Chef Peter Timmins recently at The Greenbrier Resort in White Sulphur Springs. The team braved poor weather and treacherous roads to practice in The Greenbrier's Hemisphere kitchen. They worked on their four course menu in preparation for the ACF North East Regional to be held in Boston, MA February 5-10, 2009.

Team Coach Jay Mahoney, CEC said, "It was a great day, maybe one of the best of my career. The students learned so much in one day."

Fairmont Plans Cafe District

Chef Brian Floyd met with the Fairmont Urban Renewal Authority on Tuesday about the possibility of establishing a Cafe District for downtown. Pierpont's Culinary Arts program has for some time been looking into opening a student-operated bistro in downtown. The establishment of the Cafe District would help to collectively promote any restaurtants in Fairmont's downtown.

Pierpont has received a grant from the Charles M. & Mary D. Grant Foundation to create, brand, and market the Cafe District. The Culinary program plans to work with the City, the URA, Main Street Fairmont, the Marion County Chamber of Commerce, and the downtown restaurants to begin the work of establishing the new Cafe District.

Read more about the Cafe District here:
http://wboy.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=49591 http://www.timeswv.com/local/local_story_007010445.html