2019 Culinary Institute of Charleston Graduate Luncheon

Sponsored by

Tradd's

2019 Graduating Students of the Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College

Our students were honored today by Tradd’s restaurant.  They invited our graduating students, faculty, staff and fellow board members to lunch at their beautiful restaurant on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston.  The food and fellowship flowed freely, and everyone had a fantastic time.  A very special “Thank You!” to Tradd’s for providing this wonderful opportunity. 

Congratulations 2019 CIC Graduates! 

You make us PROUD! 

CIC Faculty, Staff, Students and Alumni

are always hard at work!

The faculty, staff and students at CIC are involved in many events throughout the calendar year.  To give you an idea of just how busy we are, here is a “partial” list of events from November 2018 through February 2019.  I’m worn out just reading it…

November 2018

• CIC Thanksgiving Pie Sales 
• Chef Wilson’s CATE demonstration

January 2019 

• ProStart
• Wine Under the Oaks (CIC was represented by Chefs’ Josh Shea and J.T. Handy)
• TTC’s Annual “A Night in the Valley”
• The Lowcountry Oyster Festival

February 2019 

• SEWE (Southeastern Wildlife Exposition)
• Chef Mitchell had an article “Hungry for More” published in the Charleston Magazine
• Chef’s Feast

March is now roaring in like a lion with the Charleston Wine and Food Festival happening from the 6th through the 10th.  Stay tuned for updates on future CIC happenings.

2019 South Carolina ProStart Teams Get Schooled

On January 11, 2019 ProStart competition teams met at the Culinary Institute of Charleston at Trident Technical College for the very first statewide competition training. The training program was a result of South Carolina Restaurant Association and ProStart Director Douglas O’Flaherty, CIC Dean Michael Saboe and Department Head Michael Carmel working together to provide a skills day to better prepare the students and their mentors for the competition that will take place in March in Greenville, SC.

Students took seminars throughout the day in knife and organization skills, plate presentation, cooking execution, dessert plating and garnishing, chocolate work and menu and costing development. CIC chefs worked one on one with the individual team members detailing the expectations of competing from the judge’s perspective. Students took notes and soaked in the information I order to better prepare them for the state and hopefully the national competition.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for students to be mentored by experienced chefs, who have competed before, and understand the elements that go into successfully competing,” said Chef Carmel. Christal VanWickler, Education Coordinator of the SCRLA- SC ProStart agreed, “The opportunity for these students is priceless. This is first year we have done this type of workshop. Our goal is to raise the quality and experience of our competitors and school teams.”

Although it was long day for many of the teams, taking into account the drive to and from Trident Technical College, the teams and their mentors came away with great pointers and ideas.

Hungry for More

Chef Kevin Mitchell, a CIC faculty member, is highlighted in February's Charleston Magazine article "Hungry for More".  In the article, Chef Mitchell speaks about the history of black chefs in Charleston, his passion for education and passing his knowledge on to his students and the public.

You can read the article at the following link: https://charlestonmag.com/features/hungry_for_more

Way to go Chef!

Chef Kevin Mitchell

Soulfood Sessions Dinner

Soulfood Sessions Dinner

From left front: Belinda Sherman*, Ebony Gary*, Chef Benjamin Dennis - Graduate

From left back: Sebrina Minor*, Justin Brown*, Ashlee Washington – Graduate, Aaron Kelly*, Chef Daven Coad – Graduate and Chef Kevin Mitchell

*Denotes Culinary Institute of Charleston Students

On October 16, 2018, the Dewberry Hotel in Charleston, SC hosted a Soulfood Sessions Dinner to raise awareness of African-American chefs, and funds to support their ongoing culinary educational aspirations.  Chefs Dennis, Coad, Mitchell and Ms. Washington prepared the menu items along with the chefs of Soulfood Sessions.  The remaining students  served the meal.  

The delectable menu included:

PASSED HORS D’OEUVRES

Mushroom duxelle | Marinated pulled chicken | Toasted crostini | Orange coulis

Blue cork cake | Green tomato marmalade | Okra and tasso ham streusel

APPETIZERS

Smoked trout | Crab salad | Pickled mushrooms | Black pepper tuile | Creole hollandaise

Rabbit rillette cake | Potato and golden beet pave | Crispy greens | Smoked rabbit jus

Blue Crab Stuffed Carolina Shrimp | Spicy Tomato Jam | Collard Greens | Pickled Vegetables

VEGETABLE COURSE

Sweet potato | Oyster| Scallion | Benne

SEAFOOD COURSE

Crispy fried fishcake | Crispy oyster purloo croquette | She-crab gravy

FOWL COURSE

Pan-seared duck | Sweet potato confit | Bourbon braised dinosaur kale | Sorghum reduction

FEATURED DISH

Grillades over cornmeal waffle | Green strawberry relish | Smoked peanut dried okra crumble | Paired with a Classic Coca-Cola

DESSERT

Poached pear Napoleon | Goat cheese chiboust | Cashew crumble | Red wine gastrique

Mr. Nathan Rex and Chef Joe Branton, along with students from their respective HOS 298 and CUL 299 classes have taken to the high seas!  They booked passage on the Carnival Ecstasy out of Charleston to the picturesque island of Bermuda. During their time on-board, they will receive instruction in both front and back house aspects of the cruise industry, including some “behind-the-scene” views of life at sea.  They will also eat delicious food, bask in beautiful sunshine, watch fantastic shows and “live-it-up” in general.  Once on the island, they will receive in-depth instruction on Bermuda’s history and food culture, and get to sample local delicacies.  When’s the next class?  I’m ready to sign up…  

Thank you to the team from Trident Technical College and The Culinary Institute of Charleston for joining us for lunch!

This month, we invite you to join us for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch as we celebrate Chef Shane Whiddon's passion for the culinary industry and giving back to others. Proceeds from Virginia's on King will be donated to the Chef Shane Memorial Scholarship Fund. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student pursuing culinary studies at Trident.

Pictured from left: J. Michael Saboe, Dean of TTC's Culinary Institute of Charleston; Michael Carmel, Culinary Arts Department Head; Nathan Rex, Hospitality and Tourism Department Head; Elliott DeMerell, Donor Engagement

https://www.holycityhospitality.com/virginias-on-king/2018/07/25/establishing-chef-shane-memorial-scholarship/

The Charleston Parks Conservancy gave Chef Vagasky props for his “wonderful garden to table cooking” at their Hampton Park Preview and Ice Cream Social Tuesday night. Thanks, Chef, for representing!

CIC faculty and staff planning for a successful 2018-2019 academic year. Thank you to our industry partners at Embassy Suites.

181 Palmer Featured in "The New Charleston Chef's Table"

Photo credit for dessert: Paul Cheney

Thanks to Charleston food writer and critic Holly Herrick for including the CIC restaurant 181 Palmer in her new edition of "The New Charleston Chef's Table." The book features the recipe for 181 Palmer's peanut butter and chocolate mousse with coconut crunch and caramelized bananas. Ms. Herrick wrote: "If it wasn't situated on a campus and if the servers and cooks weren't so young, you'd swear you were at a five-star restaurant. In fact, you are in a live culinary classroom at 181 Palmer, where advanced-level hospitality and culinary students work at the stations of a real restaurant to prepare for real-life work." And there are more kudos. Look for the book on Amazon and bookstores near you.

CIC Chef Instructor Kevin Mitchell Studies the Stories of Enslaved Cooks

In an article in Charleston's Post and Courier newspaper, Food Editor Hanna Raskin writes: "Charleston changed Kevin Mitchell. The chef instructor at Trident Tech's Culinary Institute of Charleston (CIC) wasn't thinking much about the culinary journey of African Americans when he began his career. But now he has a master's degree in Southern Studies from the University of Mississippi and a mission to use his knowledge to broaden his teaching and continue to delve into the story of enslaved cooks. That wouldn't have happened if his career hadn't brought him to Charleston." Click here to read more.

Sweet Dreams Are Made of This!

In the summer, CIC partners with TTC's Continuing Education department to provide culinary and baking and pastry classes for the Kids' College. Pictured are the participants in Chef Claire Chapmans' Kids'College confections class, eager to fill to-go boxes with the sweets that they created that day. 

CIC Grad Christian Isaman Receives TTC Award

At Trident Tech's 2018 Awards Day, the President’s Award/Kurtzman Prize, given to a graduating student on the basis of academic achievement, contributions to the college and community service, was awarded to Christian Isaman, a Culinary Arts Technology graduate from Charleston. TTC President Mary Thornley personally presented the award. Congratulations, sir!

CIC Alum Andrea Lever Upchurch Creates a Sunday Supper for Charleston Magazine

"Andrea Upchurch calls herself a 'well-seasoned South Carolinian,' having pin-balled around all areas of our state during her youth. Though her family changed locales frequently for her parents’ business, gatherings around the table for weekend suppers remained fixed. 'Sundays always meant fried chicken and cornbread,' she reminisces.

"Now as the executive pastry chef for Magnolias and Blossom—as well as mama to two-year-old Dewey and wife to husband Nate—Upchurch has a lot on her plate." Read the story and get the recipes here. 

CIC Alum B. J. Dennis Featured in The New York Times

"Mr. Dennis, 38, believes food is the living bearer of history.
He has devoted himself to promoting the cooking of
the Gullah-Geechee Nation, the descendants of West Africans
 who lived along the coast from North Carolina to North Florida."

Kim Severson recognizes Dennis in a New York Times article titled "Finding a Lost Strain of Rice, and Clues to Slave Cooking: The search for the missing grain led to Trinidad and Thomas Jefferson, and now excitement among African-American chefs." 

Chef Dennis' part in this story is his discovery of the rice in Trinadad.
"Mr. Dennis had heard about hill rice — also known as upland red bearded rice or Moruga Hill rice — through the culinary organization Slow Food USA and the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation, the group that brought back Carolina Gold in the early 2000s. He’d also heard stories about it from elderly cooks in his community. Like everyone else, he thought the hill rice of the African diaspora was lost forever.

"But then, on a rainy morning in the Trinidad hills in December 2016, he walked past coconut trees and towering okra plants to the edge of a field with ripe stalks of rice, each grain covered in a reddish husk and sprouting spiky tufts. 'Here I am looking at this rice and I said: ‘Wow. Wait a minute. This is that rice that’s missing,’ he said."
Read this fascinating story here.