ENTER PHILLY AND SAVE FIFTY
In the current economic climate, who wouldn’t want to save 50%? So Kraft Foodservice offers catering operators 50 percent off a single invoice of bulk PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (up to $200) and the chance to win a $5,000 culinary innovation session with the Philly Express Holiday Sweepstakes. The Philly Express Holiday promotion also includes up to $250 in rebates and rewards. Plus 15 on-trend catering recipes featuring PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, including appetizers, spreads and desserts, which were developed by the chefs of Kraft Foods to make the holiday catering season more profitable. The grand-prize winner of the Philly Express Holiday Sweepstakes will receive a four-day, three-night Windy City getaway for two. The trip consists of two roundtrip tickets to Chicago, wining and dining downtown and tickets to a play of the winner’s choice. The winner of the sweepstakes will also be invited to participate in a free menu makeover session with the innovative chefs of Kraft Foods. Product must be purchased between November 1 and December 31, 2008. Operators will be rewarded with an additional $50 bonus if they choose to sign up for the free Kraft Works business-building program. To order a Philly Express Holiday Sweepstakes mailer, complete with rebates, recipes and all the details of the rewards, operators may register online at the www.phillyexpress.com.

GET YOUR FOOD & BEVERAGE CERTIFICATE FROM THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF HOSPITALITY
The International School of Hospitality (TISOH) in Las Vegas announced a new addition to its curriculum: The Art of Food & Beverage Certificate Program. Timothy Lam, Director of the School said, “The goal of this program is to teach the skills necessary in planning, managing, and selling F&B.” The program, which was designed by a team of experts in the food and beverage industry, was created in response to research showing that working professionals in the industry want to learn more about culinary terminology, trends, menu creation, and beverage pairing. The courses include a Culinary Terminology and Trends Module, Menu Planning & Events Logistics Module, and a Beverage Pairing Module. Classes are set to begin September 16th.

RICHARD BATTISTA HONORED
Richard Battista received an honorary induction into the honor society of the American Culinary Federation by the American Academy of Chefs in July. For the past 6 years, the president and founder of the Professional Culinary Institute in Campbell, California, has helped prepare young culinary enthusiasts enter careers in the industry. Battista is also a member of the Golden Toque and ACF chapter and also hosts his own radio talk show in San Francisco.

CRUSH HOUR IN NEW YORK
Until September 19th, a New Yorker’s idea of getting crushed meant stepping into a subway car at rush hour. But the opening of City Winery, Manhattan’s first fully operational winery and the barrel ownership program that offers wine lovers the opportunity to make their own wine within the confines of Manhattan, makes New Yorkers relish a good crush. Especially if those grapes are headed for their own personal barrels. The winery’s first arrival of grapes, five tons straight from the nation’s finest vineyards of California, Oregon, Washington, and New York State, made their way from temperate-controlled trucks onto the destemming conveyor belt and the process began. This is wine with a view…the grapes are crushed and fermented in 2,300-gallon steel tanks with a view on New York’s Varick Street and SoHo neighborhood. For more information on City Winery, visit www.citywinery.com.

EATING UNDERGROUND
You might not expect a group of New Yorkers to actually pay to butcher their own meal. You probably wouldn’t expect a whole lot of people to spend $48 to eat a meal in a non-air-conditioned Brooklyn apartment either. But the reality is that they will and they do. The growing popularity of underground restaurants has diners frequenting Brooklyn apartments like that of Sara Newberry’s, a cookbook editor who serves dishes made from organic ingredients like heirloom tomatoes, watermelon radish, and purple basil. One diner, Mr. Rubin, said, “I want a dog walking around while I eat. I want the fan to tip over. I don’t want that sterile white tablecloth. That’s why I’m not in a restaurant.” As part of a unique cooking experience, members of the New York-based dining club, A Razor, A Shiny Knife, recently paid to take a trip upstate and butcher the boar they then prepared and cooked as part of a six-course meal. What are some popular yet secretive successes in the underground scene? Some supper clubs becoming the new hotspots include the Whisk & Ladle, Coach Peaches, Homeslice West, and the New York Bite Club.

HURRICANE HIT FOOD BANKS RESTOCKED BY TYSON
Just after Ike blew through Texas and the Gulf Coast a fleet of 26 Tyson trucks carrying Tyson chicken and pork headed south to restock food banks in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. As a part of the company’s ongoing commitment to hunger relief with Feeding America, formerly known as America’s Second Harvest, Tyson team members coordinated this caravan of goodwill to deliver more than 3.2 million meals for those in need. “Helping our neighbors when disaster happens is important to us, which is why so many of the Tyson Team Members have organized this effort to help out in Texas and the Gulf States,” said Dick Bond, president and CEO of Tyson Foods. “With increasing fuel prices and the adverse effects of the economy, times were already tough for many families. Food banks are short on supplies, and this is an area where we can help. Hunger relief is a top priority for Tyson; we’re blessed to be able to help.” This most recent donation brings the amount of food donated by Tyson Foods for disaster relief in 2008 to more than 1.5 million pounds- the equivalent of more than 6 million meals. Food banks throughout Texas and the Gulf States are struggling to meet the needs of thousands of residents who have lost their homes or are displaced due to severe weather, most recently Hurricane Ike. According to Feeding America, the need for basic food assistance has overwhelmed the resources of many food banks since the recent storms. For more information on how to get involved in the fight against hunger go to
www.hungerrelief.tyson.com or www.feedingamerica.org.

HOW CAFETERIA FOOD HAS CHANGED
The Engrained Café, an environmentally conscious restaurant dedicated to sustainable dining just opened at Arizona State University and is hoping to score good marks. The café is a partnership between the university, Sun Devil Dining, and ARAMARK, the food service provider at ASU. Engrained Café’s menu was designed to feature locally grown and harvested food prepared to order, including organic produce, fair-trade coffee, cage-free eggs and chicken, free-range beef and sustainable seafood. The seasonal menu will include grilled calamari, pea tendrils and purslane with Queen Creek kalamata vinaigrette, natural beef Bolognese, cucumber and watermelon salad with Rainbow Valley farmers’ cheese and feta with fresh mint vinaigrette, and signature Engrained date pecan bar made from campus harvested dates. “Engrained will provide an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and the larger Tempe community, to engage in sustainable dining though a living-learning restaurant committed to locally grown food and environmentally friendly practices,” says Bonny Bentzin, ASU Manager of University Sustainability Practices. “This is an excellent example of how the living laboratory concept at ASU is creating leading edge innovation and promoting sustainability in everyday activities.”Patrons will be connected with the farms from which their food was harvested, receive tips on ways they can change their day-to-day behavior and make a positive impact on the environment. Keeping it local doesn’t end once you’ve finished what’s on your plate. Many of the restaurants’ furnishings are made from local resources, such as walls made from Arizona sandstone and bamboo, and chairs made from recycled seat belts and wood from sustainably managed forests. “The Engrained Café helps Arizona’s small-scale farmers and producers, whose food entices and sustains us, stay viable and on the land, and it helps meet the ASU community’s demand for fresh and local foods,” says Cindy Gentry, Executive Director of Community Food Connection, Phoenix, a non-profit organization established to alleviate hunger and create food sufficiency for low-income households through community and economic development. The Engrained Café was developed as part of ARAMARK’s environmental stewardship program, Green Thread, a commitment to providing environmental stewardship across daily operations and services. “Our goal is to reduce our environmental footprint by educating and supporting our customers in making sustainability a part of their daily lives,” said Sam Zamrik, Vice President of operations for ARAMARK/Sun Devil Dining.