Sunday, January 31, 2010

Chocolate Bacon Bar

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,6807851001_1870752,00.html

Chocolate vs the Drug Lords: Peru's move from Coca to Cacao

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,6807851001_1870752,00.html

Cacao Farmers

One of my goals of retirement is owning a farm in my home, the Philippines, specifically, cacao trees.  Cacao trees are easy and fast growing.  They thrive under taller trees and can be productive only after 5 years.  They also produce pods all year, and there is always a market, domestic or international.  The World Cocoa Federation is well represented in poor countries all over the world.  It encourages small farmers and coops to grow trees and they also provide resources for interested governments and farmers.

Chocolate vs the Drug Lords: Peru's move from Coca to Cacao

Chocolate vs the Drug Lords: Peru's move from Coca to Cacao

Thursday, January 21, 2010





















































Le COrdon Bleu alumni and students participated in the Disney on Ice Let's Celebrate.....Cake Competition held at the United Center on Wednesday, January 20th. Our students, Diana Alicea-Cuevas(Cafe 757), Jesus Renteria(La Baguette Bakery), Aireen Dungca and Kim Schuster chose the theme Let's Celebrate.....Chicago Culture and Food....The participants were given a three tiered 16", 10" and 8" cake that was buttercream frosted, and technically, no rules other than you have to finish the cake in 1 hour and 45 minutes.and of course, Mickey has to be present. Of all four culinary schools that participated, our team was the only one who took the cakes apart, slipped an aditional 12" tier in between, covered the cake with fondant and assembled it back on a totally new and covered board. Each member of the team was assigned a particular task, having met only 1 full day. Diana created all six Disney characters, Jesus created the Chicago community arches, Aireen made the flags, Kim created the Chicago skyline. the Mulan dragon was also an added feature that Jesus created on site. The group also met at school the day before the competition to finalize their design and go over their game strategy.
The competition was a charity event to honor each school's chosen charity. The Le Cordon Bleu Chicago has an ongoing partnership with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana, and it was amazing to see our partners and their families come and join us in the competition. The kids were cheering our team and were so proud of the cake that the students created.
Clearly, our students' cake had an edge over all the other competitors. They were organized, methodical, their cake was very creative, well constructed, colorful, and "very Disney". Excellent job.....



Monday, January 18, 2010

One Celebration Marks Two Milestones
















January 14 officially marked the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago's name change to Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Chicago. It also celebrated the partnership with the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana as our official charity. Over a hundred reservations to the "friendly" chef competition/dinner/silent auction were placed. Chefs Stephanie Izard, winner of the first season of TOP CHEF, Ron Aleman, sous chef at Aria, and Radhika Desai, all LCB alumni graced the event. Also present were guests from the Ronald McDonald House Charities, CEC Corporate and some of our very own staff. Over 30 students volunteered to help with the event, and almost everybody in the building got involved...

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

Ready for a Change?


The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago is shedding its name. In a few short days, we will be officially called the Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts-Chicago. Signs on the front facade are coming up, and it will be as bright as our future chefs. The well lit name, we are told, will be visible from any building facing west in the downtown area. We are in the process of removing old logos and signs. There are events happening to mark the name change including a tickets only dinner/competition prepared by Ron Aleman and Stephanie Izard.


Come and check out the new images.....