Newsletter: Summer, 2010

Chef Shelley Receives ServSafe® Certification

Chef Shelley received the ServSafe® Food Protection Manger certification which is nationally recognized and required of all food managers in the culinary industry (although personal chefs are not required to have it).

Chef Shelley Participates in “Fun and Fitness Day” at Delprado Elementary in Boca Raton to Fight Childhood Obesity

In May, Chef Shelley participated in DelPrado Elementary’s “Fun and Fitness Day”, a program to promote healthy eating among children and families. Chef Shelley provided cooking demonstrations throughout the day and offered samples and recipes.

Chef Shelley at “Fun and Fitness Day”

White House Rolls Out “Lets Move” and “Chefs Move to Schools” Programs; Chef Shelley Attends Obama Launch in Washington

Michelle Obama and Sam Kass

On June 4th, Chef Shelley, sat on the South Lawn of the White House only 6 rows back from the podium where Michelle Obama and Sam Kass, the Obamas’ personal chef, launched their new program called “Chefs Move to Schools.” Chef Shelley also walked through the White House vegetable garden which included radishes, tomatoes, blackberries, arugula, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, rhubarb, spinach, fennel, leeks, scallions, squash, and collard greens. Approximately 700 chefs from 35 states attended the event.

Chef Shelley in front of the South Lawn

Chef Shelley also attended a breakfast before the White House event which included speakers Arne Duncan, United States Secretary of Education; Billy Shore, Founder and Executive Director, Share Our Strength; Janet Poppendieck, Professor and Author; Sam Kass, White House Assistant Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator; Ellen Teller, Director of Government Affairs, Food Research and Action Center; Chef Jorge Collazo, Executive Chef, New York City Department of Education, and others.

Chef Shelley has committed to partner with a local school to implement the “Chefs Move to Schools” program. The program’s aim is to have a chef in every school in America. Also partnering with Share Our Strength, a non-profit organization whose mission is to end childhood hunger in America by 2015, “Chefs Move to Schools”’ goal is to connect children with the nutritious food they need to lead healthy, active lives. This will be done by educating kids on food and nutrition, raising community awareness and working with Food Service to improve their menus. Another goal of the “Chefs Move to Schools” program is to plant a garden at the school and possibly implement a salad bar and “farmer’s market.”

The “Chefs Move to Schools” program, run through the U.S. Department of Agriculture, will pair chefs with interested schools in their communities so together they can create healthy meals that meet the schools’ dietary guidelines and budgets, while teaching young people about nutrition and making balanced and healthy choices.  Mrs. Obama is calling on chefs to get involved by adopting a school and working with teachers, parents, school nutritionists and administrators to help educate kids about food and nutrition.  By creating healthy dishes that taste good, chefs have a unique ability to deliver these messages in a fun and appealing way to the larger audience, particularly children. With more than 31 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 11 million participating in the National School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever.

The White House vegetable garden

Poor nutrition obstructs students’ ability to learn and can ultimately lead to low grades and a high dropout rate. Very few children even know where fruits and vegetables come from. By educating children on food and engaging them to grow it, they will eat it. Teaching children to cook will also provide them with confidence, help their math skills (fractions) and the alphabet (a = apple; b = broccoli), reinforce that they are smart and are loved.

“Chefs and nutrition experts can play a critical role in addressing the childhood obesity crisis, and they are welcome partners as we work together to improve the overall health and nutrition of America’s children,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “By passing a strong reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, Congress can provide important resources to improve school cafeteria equipment and expand training opportunities for chefs, school food service personnel, and nutrition experts in our schools, because they will be on the front lines of improving school meals for our kids.”

For more information on the “Chefs Move to Schools” program, visit healthymeals.nal.usda.gov

Read media articles on the Washington trip at BrowardNetOnline.com and MiamiHerald.com.

Chef Shelley Takes Kitchen Tour of “The Oasis of the Seas”

Chef Shelly with Chef Fabio

Imagine being responsible for feeding 5,800 passengers on the largest cruise ship in the world. While on vacation on Royal Caribbean’s’ “The Oasis of the Seas,” Chef Shelley received a tour of a small part of the kitchen operation by Executive Sous Chef Fabio D’Agosta from Sicily, Italy.

There are three main dining rooms which can serve a total of 3,600 people per night. Additionally there are other dining venues through the ship which serve those passengers that don’t eat in the main dining venue. The ship employs 200 cooks and 20 manager chefs of 72 nationalities working in 24 galleys (kitchens) with 3 main galleys (kitchens). Food is prepared and distributed throughout the ship through the various galleys. Some statistics include:

• Ship receives 870 pallets of food/week
• Kitchen prepares 17,000 lbs. of beef/week and 16,000 lbs. of chicken/week
• Kitchen uses 85,000 eggs/week
• Ship stocks 2,250 bottles of wine/week; 12,000 bottles of beer and 8,000 cans of beer/week
• Kitchens wash 20,000 dishes/day

Preparing pastries - Piles of covers for dishes in the galley - Preparing lobster with butter sauce for dinner

The Oasis of the Seas is a “green” ship and recycles its leftover or wasted food. Food is turned into “compost” and when the ship is 12 miles from the coastline, the “compost” is let out of the ship into the ocean for the fish.

Oprah’s Search for the “Next TV Star” Draws Entry from Local Visually-impaired Chef

Ft. Lauderdale chef, Celia Chacon, who is legally blind, already has her own TV show called “Cooking Without Looking.” Now Oprah Winfrey is hosting a contest for the “Next TV Star,” consisting of various categories, one of which is cooking. Chef Chacon is a contestant and has sent in a video to tell the world. Chef Shelley is calling on readers of this newsletter to vote for Chef Chacon. “Celia is a very inspiring, interesting lady with a great personality. Having her own national show would be wonderful so she can inspire others to cook and also to overcome obstacles they may have,” states Chef Shelley.

You can watch the video and cast your vote for Celia until July 3rd at myown.oprah.com

Artificial Sweeteners Exposed

Do you really know what’s in all these artificial sweeteners you consume? Well, they are made up of artificial, synthetic, manmade chemicals that can wreak havoc on your body and neurological system.

Have you ever seen the little packets put in shoe boxes and handbags that keep the product dry and free from moisture? Those packets are calcium silicate, an anti-caking agent used in Sweet’N Low.

Aspartame contains formaldehyde, the fluid that is used for embalming and in laboratories. Aspartame is the ingredient used in NutraSweet and Equal. It is both a neurotoxin and an underlying cause of chronic illness. Splenda is simply chlorinated sugar which contains a man-made chlorine, a chlorocarbon. Common chlorocarbons include carbon tetrachloride, trichlorethelene and methylene chloride.

Better alternatives: Stevia, agave nectar, or pure raw sugar, all natural sources of sweetness and no chemicals.

Organic versus Conventional – Which Should I Eat?

According to the Environmental Working Group, there are 12 most pesticide-laden conventionally grown fruits and vegetables, followed by the lowest in pesticides. Typically, a good rule to follow is if a fruit or vegetable has a thick skin and has to be peeled, such as a cantaloupe, banana, avocado, it is okay to eat conventionally. If a fruit or vegetable has a very thin skin or you eat the skin, such as berries, tomato, carrot, you should opt for organic.

Cool Recipes for Summer

“Eating with the seasons” is the new trend in the food industry. It only makes sense. You don’t want to eat hot soups and stews in the middle of the summer, nor do fruit salads have the same appeal in the winter. So here’s some of Chef Shelley’s favorite cool, crisp, refreshing and healthy recipes to enjoy this summer:

(Source: foodreference.com)