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Anniversary! Spring
is upon us, and with the longer days & warmer weather
it also brings closure to our first year
of sharing & training! The Academy is now "cooking
on all 6 burners":
 The
Advanced
Pastry & Bread Making program,
led by Chef Marco Ropke & Chef Barbara Finley, is
due to graduate its 1st class on April 14. Sugar show
pieces & chocolate boxes displayed at the Academy
are an indication of their exciting progress, that even
awed Chef Marco with the quality work these talented
students are able to achieve in only a few months of
intensive training.
The
3rd Professional
Culinary class is getting ready
for final "plating" of their course, with
food costing projects underway, and the final "restaurant"
exams only a few weeks away.
Following
the overwhelming success of Chef Tony's Serious Foodie
program, the Academy is now offering a whole range of
Serious Amateur evening & weekend
classes that include: Serious Foodie (basic or advanced),
French Regional Cuisine, Pastry Bread & Chocolate,
Gourmet Vegetarian & Vegan, Exotic World Flavours,
Low Carb Cuisine, Divas that Dish (for women only!),
and more. Of course, Chef Barbara continues to offer
her popular Kids & Teens cooking classes. All of
our "serious amateur"
classes can be found on our website's "NWCAV
Events" calendar.
The
Vancouver
Wine Academy, led by Mark Davidson, makes
the Academy its cellar for several International Sommelier
Guild (ISG) programs, including Wine Fundamentals Level
1 & Level 2. Dates can be found on the NWCAV Events
calendar. To register please visit www.internationalsommelier.com
The
word is definitely out that you can have your own Academy
Chef for a Private
dinner/party/cooking class! It involves
a hands-on cooking class where you will create wonderful
dishes with your friends or family, which you will enjoy
together! The recipes are yours to keep. These private
parties are great for a dinner with friends, stags/stagettes,
office party/team building, birthdays, and other get
togethers!
Kids
& Teens cooking classes have
been announced for the spring, and dates reserved for
summer classes as well. April 30th sees the 7-11 year
olds having a Pizza Party, while May
14th has ages 12-17 creating a full Weekend
Supper menu! A few days in the kitchen with
Chef Barbara will have the kids cooking like pros! All
materials & equipment are provided. Keep an eye
on the NWCAV Events calendar for dates.
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 Past
Students
With
spring upon us we will celebrate one year of operation.
As we hit full stride it is also a good time to
reflect on the many achievements of our school
in such a short time. The very name of our school
has garnered an incredibly positive reputation
within the Vancouver food & hospitality community,
a response beyond what we anticipated. Much of
that response has to do with the impressions our
students & graduates have made in the professional
public forum; they have impressed their employers,
have won competitions, and performed professionally
at many large & high profile functions the
Academy has participated in.
We
would like to share with you a cross section of
our past students, varying in age, background,
reasons for coming to our school, and career goals
& intentions.
Lee
Murphy, along with her husband Patrick,
operate Vista D'Oro, an organic herb, vegetable,
and fruit farm in Langley offering cooking classes
& artisinal food products to an increasingly
eager public interested in the natural food experience.
Lee was an outstanding student due to the simple
fact that she entered our program with obvious
focus & commitment to take full advantage
of her education. It was, certainly, that same
quality that had earned her a scholarship from
Les Dames D'Escoffier. Her Main goal was to arm
herself with higher level skills & the confidence
to teach others. There is no doubt that Lee will
be influencing many people to eat & cook better
& healthier for many years to come.
Becky
Pollard came to Vancouver from Boston
as a young arts graduate having made the plunge
to follow her passion for food & cooking.
She switched to NWCAV halfway through the culinary
program at another school, looking for a more
challenging & empowering learning environment,
to build the necessary confidence to pursue her
path in the industry. Not only did Becky positively
respond to the challenges in our progressive curriculum,
but she also developed the courage to compete
in a local junior culinary competition - and won
gold! She also gained the confidence to return
to Boston & jump-start her career in the opening
of Boston's much anticipated Petit Robert Bistro.
Gold or not, Becky discovered how to translate
her passion into real practical culinary development.
Ian
Kirkland came to Northwest with nearly
ten sporadic years of industry experience, somewhat
indecisive of his future in the professional kitchens.
One thing for sure, Ian showed an intense love
for food. After many soul-searching discussions
with us, he decided to finally take himself to
the next level & rejuvenate his passion for
cooking, learning, and his eventual dream to become
a serious chef. Ian excelled through our program
with an intense commitment, and the kind of open-mindedness
& positive attitude that earned him immediate
respect from both his peers & especially his
instructors. Ian's pride in his performance convinced
him (and us) that he was now ready for the next
level, and when Chef Jeff Van Geest from highly
acclaimed Aurora Bistro came to us for recommendations
to fill a sudden void in his staff, we connected
the two immediately. The match was perfect for
both parties. Ian has now worked full-time at
Aurora for over 7 months & became an indispensable
part of the team! He has well on his way
to becoming a successful chef in his own right.
Pam
McBride left her career at its peak very
successfully... to finally respond to her insatiable
curiosity & love for food, fine dining, restaurant-hopping,
wine cheese, charcuterie, etc.. She came to NWCAV
already well versed in many of the ingredients,
classics & new trends - occasionally more
so than the instructors - and with the appetite
for knowledge & experience of good food of
a bon vivant. Though not certain which path she
would ultimately follow, she definitely leaned
towards one that involved research, appreciation,
writing, critique & communication, rather
than working up the ranks of a professional kitchen.
This, however, did not stop Pam from working as
hard, perhaps even harder, than any student with
professional industry intentions. Today, and naturally
so, Pam is involved in launching a website based
food magazine... and another example of the many
directions your education at NWCAV can take you.
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NWCAV
Newsletter Spring 2005
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NWCAV
Events |
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 One
of the Academy's many self-imposed mandates is to be involved
with & supportive of the culinary community. Here is some
of the latest news on that front:
  In
early-February the Academy played a key role in the UNICEF
fund-raiser (Hollywood meets Bollywood) held at the Vancouver
Roundhouse community centre. More than 400 guests raised money
for children's programs in Africa & the Tsunami hit areas.
The Academy & its culinary students provided 4 types of
canapes, as well as a food station where individual plates
of salmon roulade on golden beets were served.
Wendy
Taylor of Planit  Vancouver
& NWCAV hosted the Quady Winery Dessert Competition
at the Academy on February 26-27. Pastry Chefs & aspiring
ones competed in presenting 12 identical dessert plates to
the panel of judges, combining Valrhona chocolate & Quady
Winery's Elysium dessert wine. We are
pleased to announce that our two Pastry students, Sam &
Jamie, made it to the top 10 finalists & had the privilege
of producing 50 of their winning desserts for final judging
at the Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival on
March 17.
 Chef
Ian diligently coached 2 of our Professional Culinary students
for the "Junior Hot Competition Live!"
held at BC Place Stadium, and hosted by the BC Chefs' Association.
Both students, Taryn & Omri, did extremely well earning
one of the only 2 gold medals awarded that day, as well as
an honourable mention.
The
Academy is also proud to offer 3 scholarships
through Les Dames d' Escoffier worth $2,500 each. These scholarships
are available to aspiring female culinarians towards our Professional
Culinary program or the One Year program. For information
on how to apply for this scholarship, please visit the Les
Dames d'Escoffier website: www.lesdames.ca/scholarship.
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Upcoming
Events
A few
items on our "cutting board" for the next few months:
As
soon as our 1st anniversary passes, the Academy will start
the process to upgrade from a "registered" training
institute to an "accredited" one with the Private
Career Training Institutes Agency (PCTIA
- formerly PPSEC), thus making it possible for students to
apply for loans to help finance your education!
We
will be hosting the BC
Chef's Association meeting on April 19.
The
Academy has extended an invitation to the BC Junior Chef's
Association to use our facilities for meetings & cooking
demos free of charge.
Watch
for the "Homemade Inc" show to be launched this
October on Food Network Canada . The show is being shot in
the kitchens of NWCAV this Spring & Summer. For more information
please visit their website: www.homemadeinc.ca
Once
again, we will be helping to raise funds for the BC Scholarships
at their annual "5-10 a Day, Healthy Chef" dinner
being held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on April 27. Chef Christophe
& some of the new spring students will be developing an
entree using pork tenderloin & 5 vegetables, as well as
a dessert using 5 fruits. 80 plates of each will be served!
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