Chicago — TheKendall College School of Culinary Arts is pleased to announce that chef-instructor Dana Cox has received the 2011 Catherine Brandel Scholarship from Madison, Ala.-based Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR). According to WCR, the ideal candidate for the annual Catherine Brandel Scholarship is a mature woman whose culinary philosophy mirrors the farm-to-table philosophy, the flavor and ingredient focus upon which Brandel built her career.
The two-week continuing education awarded by WCR includes a complimentary registration to participate in a culinary or beverage class at The Culinary Institute of America (CIA) at Greystone in California’s Napa Valley for two to five days, with the balance of time devoted to working in the kitchens of Alice Waters’ world-renowned Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., and with one of the restaurant’s organic-farm suppliers.
Cox, a 2005 graduate of the Kendall College School of Culinary Arts who teaches courses in product sourcing and purchasing, was selected among all candidates for the WCR fellowship this year following juried review of her application and essay in which she outlined her research for a pending book on a one-year experiment she’s currently undertaking—dubbed “The Honest Meal Project”—of eating only foods grown on Midwestern family farms.
“After nourishing myself happily for 10 months on only local foodstuffs, it will be a thrill to learn from the pioneers at Chez Panisse how to sustain a successful restaurant enterprise based on seasonal, local foods,” says Cox, who adds that even in a major city like Chicago, eating exclusively locally produced foods is not only possible, but life-enriching. “These observations will be immensely valuable to my students, so many of whom express a desire to create such a business.”
This unique fellowship honors the late Catherine Brandel, a chef, forager, teacher, mentor and passionate advocate for the environment credited as a significant force behind the emergence and promotion of California cuisine. Brandel was co-chef at Chez Panisse and, later, a founding chef-instructor at the CIA at Greystone. She died in 1999 at age 56 from a rare muscle cancer.
About Kendall College:
Kendall College, founded in 1934, is located in Chicago, Illinois. Kendall offers undergraduate degrees in business, culinary arts, foodservice management, early childhood education and hospitality management to more than 2500 students. The curriculum combines strong academics with practical experience and international educational opportunities that help give students in business, hospitality and culinary arts programs the skills and expertise to be leaders in their professions. Kendall College was ranked the number one program in Chicago for preparing students for careers in hospitality management and culinary arts in a survey of management at Chicago's leading hotels and Michelin Guide restaurants (ORC International – 2011 Survey). Kendall College, a member of the Laureate International Universities network, is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), www.ncahlc.org. For more information, visit www.kendall.edu.
Source: Kendall College
