Grant Achatz, a survivor of life threatening tongue cancer, was named 2008’s Outstanding Chef award winner by the prestigious James Beard Foundation on Sunday.

The award recognizes a working chef in America whose career has set national industry standards and who has served as an inspiration to other food professionals. Candidates must have been working as a chef for at least the past five years, according to the James Beard Foundation Web site.

In a story written by AP Food Editor, J.M. Hirsch, Achatz told the crowd of culinary cream of the crop:

He credits lessons learned when he was 22 and working at The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., with teaching him not just how to cook, but also how to survive.

Those lessons were going to “make me a good cook and ultimately a great chef. What I didn’t know was that it was actually going to save my life,” he said.

“That drive, that tenacity, that dedication that I took in at that restaurant … it became a part of who I am 12 years later and helped me get through a pretty ridiculous battle (with tongue cancer).”

Achatz credits his successful fight against cancer and his ultimate success as a chef to his early culinary endeavors. It seems chefs have the opportunity to learn a lot about life from working in the kitchen.

A culinary internship can instill future chefs with “that drive, that tenacity, that dedication,” that it takes to become successful as a professional and as a person.

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So I came across this story about Chef Homaro Cantu, not knowing much about him, I found his story quite intriguing:

Cantu was a troubled kid from the Pacific Northwest, with a mother who drifted in and out of homelessness. He narrowly avoided a trip to juvie for setting a huge fire in a field next to an apartment complex when he was 12.

As high school ended, Cantu found himself with no place to live. Fortunately, he connected with a couple named Bill and Jan Miller, who sometimes took in troubled teens. They offered him a couch in their living room on the condition that he go to culinary school. He did–and found his calling.

Cantu went on to complete culinary school and was determined to be the best cook he could become. Being that On the Line is centered around Chef David Gilbert’s search for an intern we though it would be important to share the experiences of yet another great chef who shaped his career with the help of numerous internships:

He (Cantu) spent about two years traveling up and down the West Coast, knocking on the back doors of some 50 bistros, organic cafés, and fusion restaurants that he thought could teach him something and offering his services for free.

In February 1999, when Cantu was 22, he decided that Trotter, whom he idolized for his beautiful presentation and use of the best ingredients, would be his next stop. Arriving in Chicago armed with nothing but a stereo and a backpack, he went straight to Trotter’s and scored a meeting for the next day. Trotter told him it was rude to show up without an appointment. Cantu was unfazed. “Sometimes I just want to do things,” Cantu responded, “and right now I want to work at this restaurant, and that’s the only thing I want to do.” Trotter hired him, and Cantu spent the next four years climbing the ranks to sous chef. “It was a tough kitchen,” he says. “Some people call it hell. I call it a character-building experience.”

Cantu has gone on to become an internationally acclaimed chef, a winner of Iron Chef, the executive chef of very successful restaurant (Moto), a leader in the field of molecular gastronomy, and the owner of his own business focused on taking the human dining experience to a new level, Cantu Designs.

Basically, what I’m getting at is an internship can open the door to a number of future endeavors. If you work hard, absorb as much information as possible, and persevere through difficult situations anything is possible. I’ll leave you with that (getting a little too fluffy with my optimism). Read the story though, it’s quite aspiring.

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Unfortunately, the deadline for the Four Points by Sheraton’s Best Brews Internship has passed, but you can help pick the winner in a couple of weeks. The lucky aspiring brewmeister will get to work with Chief Beer Officer, Scott Kerkmans. Not a bad title, huh? Many a young man (and woman) has lain in bed after a night of pizza eating and beer guzzling, dreaming of such a chance. In fact, CBO Scott Kerkman looks like he just graduated from college himself.

I can’t wait to see the 15 finalists. And don’t forget. Chef2Chef has its own internship opportunity for chefs and culinary students. You can apply here.

Found originally on Craigslist.

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Today is the annual Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day. Started as a way to thank their customers, Ben and Jerry’s is celebrating their 30th anniversary by offering customers a free cone.

Visit the Ben and Jerry website to find a local store near you. My local shop is celebrating with celebrity and guest scoopers and events throughout the day to benefit local charities.

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Spring has sprung and the artichoke is definitely the vegetable of the week. As a fan of the artichoke I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of tasty looking artichoke recipe posts this week. Here’s an artichoke round-up from some of our favorite blogs (besides ours of course):

Susan the Food Blogga wrote a great post this past week on “How to Clean, Cook, and Eat and Artichoke.” I prefer a dab of mayonnaise on my artichoke leaves, but seasoned with lemon and olive oil sounds like a much healthier alternative. By the way, congratulations to Susan on her NPR piece.

If you’re itchin’ for a new and unique artichoke recipe check out both the Artichokes and Rhubarb and Artichoke and Brown Butter Gnocchi recipes from Ideas in Food; both look pretty tasty.

I came across yet another artichoke post on Eddybles.com. This recipe for Walnut, Bacon and Rice Stuffed Artichokes (pictured above) looks delicious; can’t wait to try this one out.

Mark Bittman, of The New York Times Blog Bitten, posted a recipe for Shaved Artichoke Salad. Mark writes:

Artichokes make everything else taste better — they contain a compound called cynarin, which stimulates taste bud receptors and makes even mediocre food delicious.”

Here’s another great recipe for Risotto Della Lunigiana: Mushroom, Sausage, and Artichoke Risotto from the Chef2Chef.net recipes section. I have tried this one and it’s very good (as long as you don’t mind stirring).

Please share your favorite artichoke recipes!

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So apparently slow food has nothing to do with crockpots. My bad. I know people that insist on cooking everything on low heat for hours (green bean mush, anyone?), but the slow food movement has nothing to do with that, either!

According to a fabulous slow food article on Chef2Chef this month, the ideals of slow food are:

• Food should taste good and eating should be a pleasurable activity.
• Food should be produced in a clean, environmentally-friendly manner that promotes good health. Eco-gastronomy, or the intimate connection between what’s on the plate and our planet’s well-being, is emphasized.
• Producers of food should be fairly compensated for their work.
• Consumers of food are considered co-producers who should be informed about and supportive of sustainable food production efforts.

Fresh, organic, locally grown food healthfully prepared is in, and McDonald’s is out.

But really, so much of American life depends on fast food, not just fast food restaurants. Who has the time with 40+ hour work weeks (excluding commute time) to make it to the supermarket a few times a week, much less the local farmer’s market? Throw in a spouse, kids, pets, maintaining a house, and what do you do? And then try to compost, and recycle, and take yoga to find your inner balance, and somehow find time to cook a healthy, tasty meal from scratch with fresh produce and organic meat? Crazycakes, I say.

According to the SlowFoodUSA blog, because it’s Earth Day today, I should plant a garden to have my veggies at my fingertips to make lunch or dinner in minutes. I just looked at my office bamboo plant, and it’s looking a little worse for the wear. Can I really be trusted with tomatoes, or (heaven forbid) escarole?

And LifeBeginsAt30’s blog assures me in her 10 Reasons to Eat Local Food that eating locally can protect me from bio-terrorism, something I wasn’t even afraid of until JUST. NOW.

I’m more inclined to agree with Alanna Kellogg on this. “Buying locally” is the way to go–not just food, but books and other products as well. Since we all can’t have gardens, attempting to buy only locally grown or made products in the age of globalization is a feat until itself for many of us.

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Today’s culinary enthusiast is overly obsessed with fresh ingredients. The fact is “fresh ingredients” carry all sorts of bacteria and diseases unnoticeable to the human eye; take for example bird flu, salmonella, and the Ebola virus. One may argue that if these “fresh ingredients” are cleaned and cooked the risk of transmitting diseases is minimal. Well, I’ve got a better idea; trust the science of food preservation and try going a week using only the freshest of aerosol alternatives.

Following are a few advancements in culinary technology that you’ll no longer be able to live without:

We’ll start with my favorite, Batter Blaster! If you have a hankering for pancakes but don’t want to deal with the usual time and mess associated with preparation, check out this canister of colossal culinary prestige!

PAM the pan, gently spray the batter onto your skillet, and watch as a beautiful pancake forms in front of your eyes. The best thing about it: not only is it organic, clean up is minimal. Simply clean the nozzle, put the can back in the fridge, and your batter is already ready for your next pancake party.

Another wonder of the aerosol revolution is a well-known and long time favorite, Kraft Easy Cheese. I don’t really want to call it cheese because Easy Cheese is superior to blocked cheese in almost every way:

• You don’t have to cut it
• Clean up is virtually non-existent, and…
• It can be easily sprayed onto virtually everything (perfect for pancakes)

The final pressurized cylinder of sweet sensation is Reddi Wip. Remember the days of popping the top off the Reddi Wip canister and slowly overflowing your mouth with that lovable whipped topping? I do (it was yesterday).

Anyways, good luck conquering the cans this week. If you need a little extra motivation check out aerosol mashed potatoes reported on by ModernMechanix Blog, or the wide variety of aerosol essence from the Flavor Spray Diet.

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Skippy vs. Jif? That debate is SOOOO o-vah! Why would anyone settle for a plain old PB&J when you could have a Peanut Butter with European Mocha on a warm baguette?

As a child, I used to gaze longingly at my friends who got Jif and grape jelly on Wonder Bread. My enviro-hippie mama made sure that I had all-natural, organic peanut butter and no-sugar preserves on hearty whole-grain wheat bread. Child abuse, I say.

And wouldn’t you know, now that I can buy whatever kind of bread I want, I feel compelled to buy the hearty whole-grain, because, dangit, whole grains are better for you (and I need to fit into my skinny jeans. Sigh.).

In any case, I’ll save my childhood deprivation and guilt issues for my weekly therapy appointment.

But now that I am an adult, there’s no one stopping me from buying Peanut Butter with Sumatra Cinnamon and Raisin from P.B. Loco, now is there? And maybe that jar of Peanut Butter with Raspberry White Chocolate for stuffed French toast on a lazy Sunday morning? Oh yeah, throw in the Peanut Butter with Asian Curry Spice for some chicken satay.

From P.B. Loco

And Peanut Butter and Honey? Yes! Yes! Yes!

How la-ti-da are the new gourmet peanut butters? The Chicken Fried Gourmet posted on his escapades with Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche. He ended up using it in a pork belly recipe, with surprisingly yummy results.

It’s certainly better than what this rejected culinary intern candidate does with peanut butter, though. Go take a look!

And for all you PB luv-ahs out there, the Great Peanut Butter Exhibition is inviting all recipe submissions for the best peanut butter recipe.

Test

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The food internets are still buzzing over Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema’s treatise on the noise level of restaurants “No Appetite for Noise” published last week. Sietsema, who now includes a sound measurement in his restaurant ratings (something the San Francisco Chronicle has been doing for years). The modern design inspired slick surfaces and cavernous spaces of new restaurants are turning them into echo chambers. I remember noticing this phenomenon for the first time while trying to eat at Arlington’s Clarendon Grille soon after it opened. Conversation was absolutely impossible thanks to the hellish din created by its concrete floors, metal tables, high ceilings. The diners screaming about the atmosphere didn’t help either.

Pity the restaurant workers who have to put up with with damaging assault on their hearing day in and day out:

Exposure to noise may be hardest on restaurant workers, who spend more time in a dining room than do the people they wait on. “Theoretically,” says Robert W. Sweetow, director of audiology and professor of otolaryngology at the University of California in San Francisco, “the sound levels over time are loud enough to get impaired hearing.” (Otolaryngology is the branch of medicine dealing with ear, nose and throat disorders.)

Noisy restaurants affect more than just the ears. Loud sounds can elevate blood pressure, increase breathing rates, intensify the effects of alcohol and make sleep difficult — even after the noise ceases. At certain elevated levels, some people can experience dizziness and even nausea.”

But working in a kitchen can’t be that much quieter than working on the floor (unless that kitchen belongs to Thomas Keller)? At 85 decibels, your average kitchen blender and garbage disposal noise can cause noise induced hearing loss, so imagine what the constant noise of a commercial kitchen could do? How do culinary schools address preventing noise in the workplace in their curricula? Do they address the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss with students? I imagine, if nothing else, all culinary programs and kitchens educate students, chefs, and aspiring chef interns about the OSHA guidelines which require a “hearing conversation program” when employees are exposed to 85 dB or more in an 8-hour day. Many restaurants operate at noise levels much higher than that as noted in Siestema’s article.

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Do you know a budding teen chef? If yes, can you send them to my house to help me prepare spring rolls for 20 this Saturday? I kid! I kid! No, seriously…

In any case, the Art Institutes is holding a nation-wide competition to find the best of the best in teen chefs. On April 12th, local competitions will be held, and the winners will head to Las Vegas for the Best Teen Chef Final Round Competition on May 17th. Yeah, underage people in Vegas. Cooking. Should be a squeaky-clean good time.

Top prize winners win a full tuition scholarship for an associate’s degree, certificate, or diploma from the Culinary Arts program at one of the Art Institutes locations. Not too shabby. Remember kids, free money is the best money.

According to their press release: In addition to a full-tuition scholarship and the title of Best Teen Chef 2008, the first place winner in the national competition, in partnership with Food Network, will be an “Intern for a Day” at the Food Network Kitchens in New York City. The winner will also receive a tour of the Food Network Studios, dinner for two at a Food Network chef’s restaurant and a library of Food Network Kitchens cookbooks.

Lovely!

I especially love how the competitors at the Local Cook-Off Competition will compete in timed heats preparing shrimp cocktail, sauteed breast of chicken, fresh broccoli, and rice pilaf. I know they’re just young ‘uns, but seriously, is it brain surgery to prepare fresh broccoli?

If you are ahead of the game and already have your culinary degree, why not check out the Chef David Gilbert Intern Search for your chance to work under a top chef?

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