Great American Seafood Cook-off: 4-H Edition 2013

Sensational Seafood – The Healthy Way!

The Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board and LSU AgCenter invites 4-Her’s from across the country to show off their culinary prowess at the 3rd annual Great American Seafood Cook-off:4-H Edition high school 4-H competition on Sunday, August 4, 2013, at the Louisiana Foodservice and Hospitality EXPO at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Eight teams of two to four contestants will compete for the title of 4-H Kings/Queens of Seafood.  The theme for this year’s event will be “Sensational Seafood – The Healthy Way.” Competitors will prepare dishes that highlight USA Domestic Seafood in a healthy way.  Dishes must contain 500 or fewer calories per serving. 

This contest is geared for high school (9^th-12^th grades) 4-H youth, who are interested in pursuing a career in the food service industry and have a general knowledge of cooking and food safety practices in the kitchen. The goal of this competition is not only to highlight the exceptional skills of 4-H youth from different states focusing on nutrition, food safety and presentation skills, but to promote workforce development by giving youth an up close and personal view inside the food service industry.

 

This contest promotes positive public awareness of the importance of consumers using fresh seafood at home with their favorite recipes to support the seafood industry. The contest will also highlight recipes that are healthy and easily replicated at home. Participating teams are also encouraged to include their state commodities in the dishes they present.

Not only will participants compete on the same stage as the professional chefs, but they will be given the opportunity to tour local farmer’s market venues in New Orleans and also sample some of the wonderful cuisine for which New Orleans is so famous. 4-H youth participants will have the opportunity to take a close look into the world of culinary arts by exploring both back-of-the-house operations as well as the front-of-the-house, where the chefs and service staff make magic happen.

       
The Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board will give the first eight teams to register $500 to assist in travel costs.    

The winning team will take home the title of GASCO: 4-H Kings/Queens of Seafood and also receive awards from the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, Louisiana 4-H, and National 4-H. 

For more information on this event, or to enter a team from your state, please contact Quincy L. Cheek with the LSU AgCenter at qcheek@agcenter.lsu.edu or 318-767-3969 or 318-623-5217.    

Do you have a killer recipe for Louisiana Sweet Potatoes?

Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission seeks your winning recipe

Do you have a killer recipe for sweet potatoes? Get inspired to create a unique dish featuring this exceptional root veggie and enter to win the annual Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission Contest.

The sweet potatoes popularity in Louisiana in the past few years has risen and can be found on many restaurant menus. Most commonly consumed as a side dish complimenting a Thanksgiving Feast, the year round consumption boosts many health benefits and let’s face it, they are delicious.

However, the sweet potato is not a potato at all. Or even a distant relative to the potato. Potatoes are tubers and sweet potatoes are actually roots. In Louisiana, they are often referred to as yams and have found their way onto many restaurant menus as side dishes and desserts mainly in recent years.

Now in its 10^th year, the Louisiana Sweet Potato Commission is sponsoring a recipe contest in partnership with Louisiana Cookin’ magazine. More than 1,000 recipes were submitted last year from every state in the nation and more are expected this year. 

Sweet Potato Corn Spoon Bread took the top prize in the
Professional category in 2012.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association is also a sponsor and encourages professional chefs and amateurs foodies to submit their most delicious recipe for an appetizers, side dish, entrée or desserts. An overall grand prize winner will be selected and will win $1,000! To top it off, one winner in the professional category will be awarded an additional $500 each. 

"Culinary competitions are really exciting ways to grow your restaurant's customer base and exposure," said Wendy Waren, LRA VP of Communications. "Winning this contest results in a spot in the October issue of Louisiana Cookin' magazine and hard cold cash. What are you waiting for?"

So if you are thinking you want to try your hand at a root vegetable gratin featuring sweet potatoes, a gulf seafood bisque or your specialty sweet potato dessert, here’s your chance to possibly cash in and earn bragging rights.

This year, chefs and home cooks have the option of using fresh, frozen or canned sweet potatoes in their creations.  Deadline to submit your recipe(s) is May 31, 2013. If you enter more than one recipe, you need to complete a separate entry for each recipe.

Prize winners will be determined based on overall flavor, visual appeal and creativity. Finalists’ recipes will be prepared by culinary students at Delgado Community College of New Orleans and judged by an independent panel of food industry professional whose decisions are final.

Those that are the brightest, prettiest orange color are the richest in beta-carotene, contain vitamin B6, iron, potassium and fiber and contain virtually no fat or sodium.  Studies have consistently shown that a high intake of beta carotene-rich foods like the sweet potato can significantly reduce the risks for certain types of cancer.

With the rich soil conditions in Louisiana, the nutritional benefits and a cash prize, that’s a winning recipe in our books! So enter today!

We love to eat them fried, mashed, baked, in a soup and even as a hash for breakfast. What is your favorite way to eat the beloved sweet potato?

Hammond and Rayne teams takes first place in Louisiana Seafood ProStart Competition

The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) hosted the 12^th Annual Louisiana Seafood ProStart^® Student Competition, March 5-6, 2013 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner. The competition showcased the culinary and academic talents of students from 17 high schools across Louisiana, and featured two primary components: the Culinary Arts Competition and the Restaurant Management Competition. This year began a multi-year relationship with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, the competition’s title sponsor.

During the Culinary Arts Competition, teams demonstrated their knife skills, poultry fabrication and creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course meal in 60 minutes, consisting of: a soup, salad or appetizer; an entrée with a protein, vegetable and starch; and a dessert. All teams’ menus had to feature at least one type of the six Louisiana seafood species.

Hammond High Magnet School's team takes
top place in the Louisiana Seafood
ProStart Culinary Competition, March 5.

For the sixth year in a row, the winner of the Culinary Arts Competition was Hammond High Magnet School, led by instructor Patti Johnson and students Jacquita Jolley, Julia LaSalle, Edna Phares and Chantal Quillen. The second place team was Salmen High School in Slidell, led by instructor Allison Armand and students Sean Coats, Courtney Mobley, Lauren Pedeaux, Ta’Ron Rayford and alternate, Shilon Callahan. The third place team was first-time competitor West Feliciana High School in St. Francisville, led by instructor Amy Dreher and students Warneiseya Davis, Chaselan Lee Eames, Amanda Mangham, Elizabeth Ritchie-Fudge and alternate, Deneshia Walker.

Hammond’s winning menu was: appetizer-pumpkin seed and curry crusted jumbo Anna Maria Gulf Shrimp, Mardi Gras slaw, pepper bacon and Creole cane sauce with jumbo lump Louisiana crab; entrée-braised pork “Osso Bucco,” bacon jam, cornmeal dusted, goat cheese grits and lardon field greens; and dessert-Red Velvet pan “cakes,” with cream cheese icing, whipped cream, white chocolate shavings, and garnished with a Ponchatoula strawberry.

Teams participating in the Restaurant Management Competition demonstrated their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing a restaurant proposal, delivering a verbal presentation, creating a visual display and applying critical thinking skills to challenges managers face in day-to-day operations.

Rayne High School's team takes first place in the
Louisiana Seafood ProStart Management Competition.

For the fourth year in a row, the winner of the Restaurant Management Competition was Rayne High School, led by instructor Kandice Dequeant and students Kelsey Burleigh, Sebastian Hebert and Beth Thibodeaux. The second place team was Fontainebleau High School in Mandeville, led by instructor Angie Drago and students Dylan Bernard, Mark Gravois and Graham Roth. The third place team was Lakeshore High School in Mandeville, led by instructor Judy Achary and students Brandi Francis, Rachel Howard, Ricardo Najorro, Elizabeth Salazar and alternate, Katie Taylor.

Rayne’s winning restaurant concept was a food truck called Rock & Wrap, with the tagline, “Healthy Without the Hassle.”

Hammond High Magnet Academy and Rayne High School will represent Louisiana in the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland April 19-21, 2013.

The 2013 Louisiana Seafood ProStart Student Competition Sponsors include: Louisiana Seafood, Acme Oyster House, Auto-Chlor Services, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Performance Foodservice Caro, Atmos Energy, Louisiana Culinary Institute, Ocean Conservancy, Ovations, ECOLAB, Mestizo Restaurant, Notini’s Restaurant, Capitol City Produce, Centerplate, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, Freeman Decorating, Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center, Reinhart Foodservice and Sysco New Orleans.

“We are proud to sponsor the Louisiana Seafood ProStart Student Competition,” said Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board Executive Director Ewell Smith. “It is a great way for us to introduce the students to cooking with Louisiana seafood and demonstrate how it can be used to create award winning dishes like the ones we saw in the competition. I am glad to know that these talented students will be the future spokespeople for our restaurant and seafood communities.”

ProStart is a two-year comprehensive culinary management course for juniors and seniors in high school with two primary outcomes: to prepare students for higher education and to train students to go directly to work in Louisiana’s foodservice industry. The LRAEF pairs ProStart students and LRA members together in a mutually-beneficial relationship. Students are required to complete a 400-hour work internship, thus providing hands-on training. Many of LRA members serve as mentors to ProStart students.

Louisiana Seafood center plate at the 12th Annual ProStart Competition

Nearly 20 ProStart teams from across Louisiana demonstrated their culinary prowess during yesterday’s competition held at the Pontchratrain Center in Kenner. This year, the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board was the title sponsor and teams used delicious Louisiana seafood in either their appetizer or entrees, and some teams opted for both.

"People visit Louisiana to enjoy our delicious cuisine and our seafood," said Stan Harris, President/CEO, LRA. "Having Louisiana Seafood as the title sponsor re-enforces its important culinary role to a captive audience --the future chefs and restaurateurs in our industry."

Students exhibited their impressive preparation skills with shrimp, crab, crawfish and finfish from our bounty rich waters before fellow teams, family members and members of the LRA Board of Directors.

"These students work so hard on their three-courses in hopes of wowing the chef judges like Chris Lusk, Haley Bitterman, Tariq Hannah and others," Harris added.

Each member of the top three teams in the Culinary Competition and the Management Competition will receive $870,000 in scholarships to notable schools in Louisiana and nationwide. The winning team of each competition will represent Louisiana at the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore in late April.

Winners will be announced later today at the Closing Ceremony.

ProStart is a two year culinary arts and restaurant management curriculum offered in 45 high schools across Louisiana. The program is designed to attract students to meaningful and rewarding careers in our world renowned culinary and hospitality industries.

ProStart® Students Compete for More Than $870K in Scholarships

Louisiana Seafood on board as title sponsor

The Louisiana Restaurant Association Education Foundation (LRAEF) will host its 12^th Annual Louisiana Seafood ProStart^® Student Competition, March 5-6, 2013 at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner, Hall A. A total of $872,000 in scholarship opportunities will be awarded to students whose teams place in the top three in both the culinary and management competitions. The funds were donated from nine of the leading post-secondary culinary and hospitality programs in the country, including Louisiana Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu and University of New Orleans School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism, among others. This year begins a multi-year relationship with the Louisiana Seafood Promotion & Marketing Board, the competition’s title sponsor.

The competition showcases the culinary and academic talents of high school junior and senior ProStart students from 17 schools across Louisiana. The competition features two primary components: the Culinary Competition and the Management Competition.

During the Culinary Competition, Tuesday, March 5 from 10:45 a.m. – 3 p.m., teams will demonstrate their creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course, gourmet meal consisting of: a soup, salad or appetizer; a protein such as meat, fish or fowl, vegetable and starch; and a cold or flambé dessert. All teams’ menus must have at least one type of Louisiana seafood. Twenty-one judges from the foodservice industry, and post-secondary educational institutions will observe and rate their performance during the competition.

Teams participating in the Management Competition, Wednesday, March 6 from 8:30 a.m. – 1:35 p.m., will demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing a restaurant proposal, delivering a verbal presentation and applying critical thinking skills to challenges managers face in day-to-day operations. Their performance will be observed and rated by 14 judges from leading colleges and universities and industry professionals.

The 2013 LRAEF ProStart Student Competition Sponsors include: Louisiana Seafood, Acme Oyster House, Auto-Chlor Services, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation, Performance Foodservice Caro, Atmos Energy, Louisiana Culinary Institute, Ocean Conservancy, Ovations, ECOLAB, Notini’s Restaurant, Capitol City Produce, Centerplate, Drago’s Seafood Restaurant, Freeman Decorating, Pontchartrain Convention & Civic Center, Reinhart Foodservice and Sysco New Orleans.

Budding culinarians compete live and
produce awe inspiring cuisine
at the Louisiana Seafood ProStart
Competition, March 5-6, 2013.

ProStart is a two-year comprehensive culinary management course for juniors and seniors in high school with two primary outcomes: to prepare students for higher education and to train students to go directly to work in Louisiana’s foodservice industry. The LRAEF pairs ProStart students and LRA members together in a mutually-beneficial relationship. Students are required to complete a 400-hour work internship, thus providing hands-on training. Many of LRA members serve as mentors to ProStart students.

The participating schools in the Management Competition are: East St. John HS, Fontainebleau HS, Hammond High Magnet School, Lakeshore HS, N. Vermillion HS, Rayne HS, Salmen HS, Slidell HS and Woodlawn HS.

Rayne High School is the team to beat in the 2013 Louisiana
Seafood ProStart Management Competition. Rayne's team
places first in 2012 in Louisiana and previously won
the National ProStart Management Competition.

 

The participating schools in the Culinary Arts Competition are: Ascension Parish Center for Excellence, East St. John HS, Fontainebleau HS, Grace King HS, Hammond High Magnet School, Lakeshore HS, Mandeville HS, N. Vermillion HS, Rayne HS, Salmen HS, Slidell HS, St. James Career Center, Thibodaux HS, WD Smith Career Center, W. Feliciana HS, West St. John HS and Woodlawn HS.

 
The winning teams will go on to represent Louisiana at the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Md. April 19-21, 2013.

9 tips to prepare for a health inspection

Health inspections are a fact of life when you run a restaurant. Sanitarians are tasked with unannounced visits to your establishment to ensure that you are following the necessary food safety and sanitation measures to prevent foodborne illnesses among the dining public.

The proper strategy for a successful health inspection is to be ready for an inspection at any time. To stay ahead of the game, managers can conduct weekly, in-house inspections before health inspector arrives.

• Use the same form ̶ or a similar form ̶ that your health department uses, and put yourself in the health inspector's place. Check with your local health department on what regulations and forms are being used.
• Walk into your establishment from the outside to get an outsider's impression.
• Brief your kitchen staff to review any problems post-inspection. This will help convey the importance of food safety to staff members.
• Ensure all staff are on the same page. If your staff includes employees for whom English is a second language, have the findings translated so everyone understands how important food safety is to the success of your restaurant. Consider hiring a professional translator. A bilingual staff member might use terms or phrases that might not make sense or could be misinterpreted in other dialects.
• Know your priorities. Your self-inspection priorities for kitchen employees should include: food time and temperatures, personal hygiene (including hand washing) and cross contamination. Temperature guidelines include checking the temperature of products when they arrive, when they are stored and when they are served.
• Reinforce the importance of hand washing. Post signs at all kitchen sinks and in employee restrooms.
• Train your managers to ensure they are up-to-date on the latest food-safety techniques. Restaurant employees can use the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation's ServSafe food-safety training programs.
• Review your local health code for any special, local requirements.
• Get involved politically to give a restaurateur’s perspective. One opportunity could be to join your state's health-code-revision committee. Involve senior staff on such committees as well.

Now that you have prepared for the inspection, you need to know what to do when the health inspector arrives. Be warned that inspections usually arrive unannounced, so you'll want to be ready on any occasion, even during rush hours.

The Louisiana Restaurant Association is a partner in food safety with the industry's regulatory agency, Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals. The LRA also is the state's largest trainer of ServSafe, an eight-hour food safety and sanitation course, and offers classes statewide, year around that meets the mandated requirement in Louisiana.

Safety leadership pivotal to managing your workers’ comp costs

By Stan Harris, LRA President & CEO, Former Restaurateur

The restaurant business is all about the people—your customers and your team. In my previous 25 year career as a multi-unit restaurant owner, my philosophy on workplace safety was holistic. Honing your observation skills is imperative. As the owner or manager of a business, if you want to make a difference in your workers’ compensation cost, make it part of your daily DNA. How does this become part of your daily routine? It’s easier than you think.

When you arrive at your place of business, walk around the parking and delivery areas. Is there broken concrete, curbs or bumper blocks that could be a trip or fall hazard? Is the exterior lighting in good working order? As you enter the door, if it is an exit door, is the EXIT sign properly illuminated? As you go to the cook line, look at the interior of the hood surfaces. Are they clean and free from dripping grease? Are the links in the fire suppression system covered with grease? Is the tag on the ANSUL system up to date? Are the handheld fire extinguishers in an accessible location that wouldn’t require you to be at the source of a fire to reach them?

Is your ceiling clean? Do the light fixtures or lamps have the proper covers or shields? Are the cords of the electrical appliances in good condition? Are the knobs and thermostats of the gas appliances installed and in working order? I know it sounds like a lot, but your powers of observation are important in monitoring the safety process.

Take a look at your dish station. Try to avoid a pre-soak tub that could have broken or chipped glass in it. Be sure to size your dish and glass racks to fit the appropriate glassware or serving items. This helps avoid chips and breakage while also helping to avoid cuts. Is the floor drain working properly to avoid a staff member having to work in standing water?

In the prep areas, do the employees wear cut resistant gloves when prepping lemons or chopping vegetables? Is the can opener cutting edge clean? Do you ensure that each time you access the ice machine bin, you use an air dried scoop?

As you enter the dining room are the floor surfaces clean? If you use dust control mats, are they laid out properly? Are the floor transitions as smooth as possible to minimize slip and falls? Does your staff pre-bus tables to avoid having to carry overloaded trays to the dish station? This will help avoid strains and sprains.

If you want to lower your mod factor and avail yourself of the most competitive rates for workers’ compensation, raising your observations during your walk through each day will help develop a culture of safety. As the owner or manager, if you embrace safety each and every day, so will your staff members. We have a number of tools that can help you better train your staff on the proper use of fire extinguishers, measure the grip of a floor surface, or help you create checklists to review each shift.