"cia" news and stories

Until the book Culinary Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at The Culinary Institute of America came out, I had no idea that there was actually a Culinary Boot Camp program at the Culinary Institute of America. The programs (which you can get 10% off of through Amazon by buying the book!) take place at the CIA's New York campus and offer people the opportunity to experience what it's like to go to culinary school and pick up some new tips and techniques, without having to change careers. While it's not the same as a hands-on kitchen classroom experience, this book aims to guide the reader through the program.

It is written by a professional cookbook author who attended the class and detailed her experience there. She tries to filter through the mass of information and pass on only what the reader, presumably a home/amateur chef, needs to know. The book, while it does have a lot of recipes, is not as good as a reference as some of the CIA's other cookbooks, though it is a good choice for someone interested in going to or learning more about culinary school. Or someone who lives across the country from the CIA's NY campus and can't make it to the real thing.

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The CIA combines helpful, step-by-step recipes with beautiful photos in The Culinary Institute of America: Breakfasts & Brunches, the perfect combination to get your brain and your taste buds eager to get to work in the morning. The volume covers the basics that you'll want to have every day, like banana bread or oatmeal, and more elaborate dishes that are worthy of company or spoiling yourself on a lazy Sunday, like cheese blintzes and wild mushroom quiche. All of the more than 175 recipes are up to the high professional standard of the CIA. It's a great, comprehensive book and, because it focuses on breakfast and brunch, it's a great way to fill out your cookbook collection.

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No newspaper worth its weight in matzo doesn't have a story related to Passover. The San Francisco Chronicle dishes out some artichokes and fiery horseradish sauce. To change up the sweets filled with matzo, potato starch makes a sponge cake covered with berries.

It started with the Ferry Building Marketplace at Embarcadero, and now gourmet "food malls" are sprouting up all over the Bay Area.

The CIA at Greystone has expanded its program to include a full-fledged culinary program, just like its New York headquarters.

On the dining scene, watch the chefs at Rogue Chefs. John Bentley's gets a re-visit and an updated review, as does Cortez.

Baseball season has kicked off, and at Bay Area stadiums, the food has kicked off, too, with offerings beyond hot dogs and peanuts.

Pan-roasting the last of winter's vegetables gets praise, with a recipe for caramelized vegetables.

Thomas Keller is building a tiny empire over in the Napa Valley

The New York Times Travel section has a list of twenty slightly offbeat, more interesting things to do for Spring Break, when most people pack up a bikini and sunscreen and head off to the beach. One of their suggestions is to learn a new cuisine by enrolling in a weekend cooking course that can go anywhere from spending the weekend in a bed and breakfast to the CIA. Their recommendations (all on the East Coast) are:

• Culinary Institute of America (CIA) offers day-long cooking classes every Saturday this spring in Hyde Park, NY
• New England Culinary Institute takes you to their Inn at Essex, VT, where you spend two hours helping to prepare your own meals
• You can learn to make your own maple syrup at The Manor on Golden Pond in Holderness, NH
• Also in Vermont, Deborah Krasner's Vermont Culinary Vacations offers weekend-long group cooking courses.