CIC Chef Instructor David Vagasky Featured in Charleston Magazine

The November issue of Charleston Magazine included a story titled "Bountiful Supper," which featured Chef Vagasky entertaining. "When dinner menus are dictated by the season, you never know quite what you’ll get. “'Every day, Jim brings in what he calls the ‘mystery basket’ of whatever he’s growing and asks me to figure out how to use it,'” says David Vagasky. The cooking challenge suits the chocolatier and pastry chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of Charleston, whose childhood suppers in Minnesota embraced the plant and animal yields of his family’s farm."

There's a wonderful menu of grilled chicken with sauteed Swiss chard, smoky shrimp ravioli with Roma tomato sauce, autumn salad, and the pecan pie with Bourbon whipped cream seen in the photo. Read the story and get the recipes here.

Grayson Foster Receives a 2017 South Carolina Tourism Student Award

Congratulations to CIC Hospitality and Tourism Management student Grayson Foster! Hospitality and Tourism Department Chair Nathan Rex accompanied Grayson to the Governor’s Mansion in Columbia for the 2017 South Carolina Tourism Student Awards, where she was awarded a plaque and a $1500 scholarship by Duane Parrish, Director of South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism. Sponsored by the South Carolina Travel and Tourism Coalition, the Tourism Student Awards recognizes students who were recommended by faculty for exemplary work and outstanding academic achievement related to hospitality and tourism in South Carolina, including culinary studies.

CIC Alum Daven Coad Gets a Splendid Post & Courier Review

Photos of Daven Coad as the winner of 
The People's Choice Award
in San Pellegrino's Almost Famous Chef competition

Charleston Post and Courier Chief Critic Hanna Raskin recently wrote a review titled "Find Surprises Inside Mainland Container Co.," where CIC alum Daven Coad is chef. Raskin wrote: "chef Daven Coad has worked up an array of dishes that reveal a real interest in local ingredients and unfussy ways of celebrating them." 

There is much more, plus plating photos at 
http://www.postandcourier.com/food/restaurant_reviews/review-find-surprises-inside-mount-pleasant-s-mainland-container-co/article_1a952874-8e55-11e7-bf4f-3753c70a4de3.html 

Culinary Institute of Charleston: Comprehensive Look

CIC Alum Chef Jamie Simpson Hits the Celebrity Circuit

Congrats to CIC alum and Culinary Vegetable Institute chef, Jamie Simpson. He's now on the celebrity circuit, joining Charlotte Voisey and Peter Vestinos to celebrate the much maligned cocktail cherry at the 2017 Tales of the Cocktail.

Taking place annually in New Orleans, Tales of the Cocktail bills itself as "The world's premier series of cocktail festivals - highlighting what's now, new and next in the spirits industry."
Read about it here: https://talesofthecocktail.com/ 

2017 Study Abroad "Cruise Culture - Eastern Caribbean"

In June, the CIC division embarked on its 2017 Study Abroad “Cruise Culture – Eastern Caribbean” aboard Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas. Hospitality department chair, Nathan Rex, and Culinary instructor, Chef Joe Branton, accompanied 12 students as they visited St. Maarten, Puerto Rico, and Haiti. During the cruise, CIC students were directly exposed to cruise operations, including lodging operations, food service operations, entertainment/gaming/recreational services, and event planning. Some of the onboard experiences included back of the house tours, executive guest speakers, dining, and entertainment. While in St. Maarten, the students took an island bus tour, where they learned about history and culture of the smallest island in the world to be shared by two nations, France and the Netherlands. 

In Puerto Rico, the group was provided an in-depth culinary tour through the city of Old San Juan, where they tasted and participated in making some authentic dishes and learned more about the history, culture, and cuisine of the island. The final stop of the trip was in Labadee, Haiti, which is a private beach leased by Royal Caribbean. In Labadee, students were given the opportunity to decide on their activity for the day. Some of the activities experienced were a cultural Haitian village tour, reef snorkeling, and, of course, shopping!

As a result of an amazing week in the Caribbean, the experiences, skills, relationships, and memories that the students realized from this study abroad will be directly applicable to enriching their future careers in the hospitality and culinary industries. Now, who’s ready to cruise in the 2018 Study Abroad?

On the ship

Haiti

St. Maarten and St. Martin

Puerto Rico

2017 CIC Distinguished Alumni Party

There was fantastic food and drink at the CIC Distinguished Alumni Party!
Following golf at the 3rd Annual TTC Pro-Am Golf Tournament Fundraiser, players and guests enjoyed a special after-party featuring the Culinary Institute of Charleston’s distinguished alumni. Eleven alumni chefs all working in our local community prepared elegant signature dishes from oyster stew and enchiladas to delicious desserts and specialty cocktails. Thanks to CIC alums:
Chef Michael O'Shaughnessy from Cassique at Kiawah Island
Chef Ulfet Ralph, The Lodge at Little St. Simon's Island
Chef Jonathan Kaldas, The CODfather
Chef Peden Rucker, Fish
Chef Corey Elliott, The Country Club of Charleston
Chef Jillian Rowe, Red Drum
Chef Chris Holme, Slightly North of Broad
Chef Anna Abram, Bishop Gadsden
Chef Jordan Fagan Siegel, Cru Catering
Chef Lauren Brower, Wild Dunes
Bryan Voss, Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits

Top to bottom:
Chef Ulfet Ralph, Chef Jordan Siegel with
chefs from Wild Dunes
Chef Jillian Rowe

Top to Bottom:
Chef Anna Abram,
 Chef Michael O'Shaughnessy
Chef Jonathan Kaldas

Top to Bottom:
Bryan Voss
CIC Student
CIC and Conference Services Staff

Top to bottom:
Chef Chris Holme
Chef Corey Elliott
Chef Peden Rucker

CIC 2017 Graduate Luncheon

Students graduating in May were invited to the Clubhouse at Cassique
for their 2017 Culinary Institute of Charleston Graduate Luncheon.
Cassique is one of the most prestigious  parts of Kiawah Island.

Jordan Fagan Siegel receives the HCSA Leadership Award

Left: Faith Huff, winner of the Chef Bill Stacks Memorial Award. 

Right: Kimberly Tesh, winner of the Dr. Frankie miller Memorial Award.

Baking & Pastry Chef Instructor Bernd Gronert Featured by Charleston City Paper

Photo Credit: Jonathan Boncek

With a baking and pastry resume that is a mile long, Chef Bernd Gronert is usually thought of as CIC's incredible chef instructor. Not too many know that he is also a fruit farmer extrodinaire. 

The City Paper wrote: "Chef/farmer Bernd Gronert grows Charleston's trendiest fruits, the old fashioned way"
Read all about it in the Charleston City Paper story.

CIC Alum Mark Heyward-Washington Competes on Food Network

Congratulations and good luck to CIC alum Mark Heyward-Washington, the pastry chef at Burwell's, for landing a spot as one of the competitors on the Food Network show The Spring Baking Championship! Check the Food Network website below for dates and times that the competition runs. 
http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/spring-baking-championship

Charleston Wine + Food Festival Gives an Award to Hospitality Instructor Lisa Buzzelli

Congratulations to CIC Hospitality Instructor Lisa Buzzelli, who was given the Charleston Wine + Food Festival's 2017 Marc Collins Award. The Marc Collins Chef Award honors an outstanding chef in the Charleston community who shows leadership, dedication and innovation in their field. Chef Collins presented the award and noted the Ms. Buzzelli's "involvement from the beginning of the festival to date, and her tireless dedication to its success. She has devoted countless hours to showing our city in its best light." Well deserved!

MUSC Dietetic Interns

Welcome to the MUSC dietetic interns who are doing a two-week rotation at CIC. This dietetic internship, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), is designed to prepare students to become a "Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist" (RDN). Upon completion, graduates are eligible to sit for the national RDN exam administered by the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). 

To be eligable for a MUSC Dietetic Internship, you must have 1) a bachelor's degree at minimum (in any field), AND  2) successful completion of an ACEND-accredited "Didactic Program in Dietetics" (DPD).  A DPD consists of at least 2-3 semesters, depending on courses already taken, of "hard" science prerequisites and core nutrition courses to prepare students for a dietetic internship such as this one.  

L-R: Amanda Ayers, Danielle Liszka, Kimberly Asman, Haley Thigpen, Marisa Urda, Hannah Steinbeck, Julia Terese, Amy Shen, Claudie Hleap, Ashley Bannister, Erin Passaro, Kayla Fitzgerald

Two CIC Alumni Recognized by Charleston Magazine

Two CIC alum were featured in the December Charleston Magazine piece on personal chefs! 
Arlette O'Rourke's (left) business is IndiGenius Cuisine. "The basics: The crew, including O’Rourke’s husband and co-owner, Patrick, offers unique catering services, intimate dinners, and cooking demonstrations. They arrive an hour prior to service to get familiar with a customer’s kitchen; a package typically includes a five-course meal and cleanup."


Marcus Middleton's business is Middleton Made Cuisine. "The basics: New to the personal chef and catering biz, Middleton offers private plated dinners, catering, and cooking classes. All services include prep and cleanup." Read more here. 

May Your Holidays Be Filled with Sugar Plums!

CIC Chef Instructor David Vagasky and CIC Advisory Board Member Mark Gray shared this recipe from their artisan chocolate business, Cacao's. It was featured in the December issue of Charleston magazine, as seen here. 

CIC Alum Chelsey Conrad Featured in Charleston Magazine

CIC alum and Butcher & Bee chef Chelsey Conrad was featured in Charleston magazine sharing her recipes for pecans. "Although sentimental about the chestnuts on trees at her childhood home in Charlotte, North Carolina, Chelsey Conrad can wax eloquent about pecans. “They’re so buttery and, unlike other nuts, they don’t have any bitterness,' says the Butcher & Bee chef. 'They’re delicious straight out of the shell, while most other nuts need some toasting to coax out their flavors. And all those crevices hold seasonings really well.'" Read more and get the recipes here.