Friday, April 18
7:30 – 8:15 a.m.
Breakfast
General Session – Opera: The Food of Love
8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
Opera is the most complete of all art forms. It is drama, and all the singers, including every member of the chorus, are actors. It contains music for voice and for the orchestra, the libretto encompasses literature and the scenery, costume design and lighting depend on the visual arts; dance is part of opera, and nowadays it often includes film and photography. Opera also has a long and intense relationship with the art of gastronomy, and involves food and wine. Composers such as Rossini, Verdi, Mozart and Wagner all thought extensively and wrote about the pleasures of the table. Many of the characters of opera engage with food, and especially drink, sometimes with life-changing results. Great chefs have been moved to create recipes inspired by composers, characters and divas from Nellie Melba to Renée Fleming. Some of these dishes are simple tributes but most draw inspiration from some aspect of the opera character, the performer, or composer. Then there is the relationship of composers and food, and how they connected it to creativity and well-being, and the inevitable question about the relationship of singers and eating This presentation will reveal and assess the secrets of music being the food of love, and the love of food being the inspiration for music.
Paul Levy
writer, co-chair of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery
Born in Lexington, Kentucky, educated at the Universities of Chicago, London, Harvard and Oxford, Paul Levy has lived in England for 40 years. His most recent book is his edition of The Letters of Lytton Strachey, but he is the same Paul Levy who coined the word "foodie" (with Ann Barr) in the 1984 Official Foodie Handbook and who edited the Penguin Book of Food & Drink. A member of both the theater and music sections of the Critics' Circle, he is the Wall Street Journal Europe's all-purpose U.K. arts critic, chief food reviewer for The Observer's book pages (he was the paper's food and wine editor from 1980-92), and a blogger on Guardian Unlimited. He is co-chair with Claudia Roden of the Oxford Symposium; a founding patron of Oxford Gastronomica, Oxford Brookes University; and a founding Trustee of the Jane Grigson Trust, as well as a Strachey Trustee. He goes to and writes about the opera as often as possible, lives near Oxford in an ancient farmhouse with a large kitchen garden, his wife and four cats. www.PaulLevy.com
Fred Plotkin
pleasure activist
Fred Plotkin was described by the New York Times as "one of those New York word-of-mouth legends, known by the cognoscenti for his renaissance mastery of two seemingly separate disciplines: music and the food of Italy." Fred refers to himself as a pleasure activist. Opera and food culture, especially that of Italy, have been intertwining themes in his life. He has written about opera for Gourmet and has done numerous food articles for Opera News. Fred has directed opera at La Scala, was the performance manager of the Metropolitan Opera, and has worked for more than 40 opera companies. He is a popular guest on the Metropolitan Opera International Radio broadcasts. His books, Opera 101 and Classical Music 101, are the best-selling standard texts on these subjects. He is the author of six books on Italian food and wine, including Italy for the Gourmet Traveler, the most complete food travel book to Italy, and Recipes from Paradise: Life and Food on the Italian Riviera, which was an IACP Cookbook Awards finalist in 1998. He leads fascinating tours combining opera and cuisine in New York and Europe.
Concurrent Workshops – Session III
10:30 a.m. – Noon
WS-16 Creative Inspiration: Local on the Table
Three renowned chefs discuss the importance of using unique local products and how this fits into their larger culinary philosophy and actual restaurant operations. By using a specific local product as a launching point for discussion, these chefs will share how their cooking both mirrors current trends and creates new directions for innovation and creative expression. This session will explore how chefs from three countries conceptualize “the local” while offering personal insight into how they select their raw ingredients and what impact is felt by the producers through their adoption of these products.
Andy Harris, moderator, Gourmet Traveler
Raymond Blanc, Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Oxford
Mark Hix, formerly chef-director of The Ivy and Le Caprice, London
Donald Link, Herbsaint and Cochon
WS-17 Culture in a Teacup: A Celebration of Tea, the World’s Oldest Beverage
Tasting
Workshop Full
The story of this essential commodity and refined pleasure beverage is one of passion and intrigue. From the world’s vast tea gardens, over 20,000 different distinctions of tea are produced from the humble Camellia Sinensis bush. We will clarify what tea is – and is not – and explain the important differences between the six major classes of tea. Each distinctive class of tea is influenced by origin, cultural preference, traditional production techniques, and hands-on knowledge: traits and conditions that allow every tea to be as unique as a fingerprint. Panelists will describe the styles of tea that each of the major tea producing countries – China, Japan, Kenya, India, Sri Lanka and Taiwan – has made famous and learn the details of tea production, tea sourcing and custom blending.
Mary Lou Heiss, moderator, Cooks Shop Here
Saunam Bhattacharjee, The Assam Tea Company
Thomas D. Lisicki, The Stash Tea Company
WS-18 Roots of the Rhythm: Mardi Gras in Culinary Historical Perspective
Tasting
Workshop Full
This lecture and tasting will explore the meaning of Mardi Gras in historical perspective before it reached New Orleans. The presenters will explain how various European cooking traditions and seasonal rhythms influenced the modern celebration and why this feast preceding the major fast of Lent was at the center of Catholic worship in communities stretching back to the roots of Christianity. Speakers will share and discuss historical recipes such as medieval English Shrovetide pancakes and a 17th century Olla Podrida. The lecture will conclude with a lively description of the Venetian Mardi Gras festivities of the 18th and 19th century including the foods (such as cannoli, which were jokingly called the king’s “scepter”) and special events such as the battle of the oranges.
Ken Albala, professor of history
Cathy Kaufman, Institute of Culinary Education
WS-19 The Social Significance of Food Writing Through the Ages
The earliest books were written by chefs in noble households for other chefs. The 19th century brought books written by women, for women who had households to run. From these sources we learn what foods were common, when new ingredients or influences were absorbed, patterns of fast and feast days, and later, how food defined the emerging middle class. The 20th and 21st centuries have produced a plethora of food books, relating to different cuisines and cultures; food writing, in its many forms, is increasingly politically and environmentally aware. How does history influence food writing today?
Jill Norman, moderator, author
Bénédict Beaugé, author
Darra Goldstein, food historian
Rachel Laudan, Ph.D., food historian
WS-20 Environmental Responsibility in Cookbooks, Food Magazines and Newspaper Food Sections
Sustainable, Local, Organic. By now these are culinary buzzwords. But what do they mean in the larger environmental context? What are the food media doing to teach home cooks about how to shop and eat responsibly without sacrificing the honest pleasures of the table? In this session, a magazine editor, a cookbook editor, and a newspaper columnist will discuss how the food media is dealing with issues that have been on the front page, but are increasingly migrating to the food page. Presenters in this session will discuss what editors are looking for in terms of sustainable, local and organic food as well as the place of environmentally responsible food in our professional and personal lives.
Kristine Kidd, moderator, Bon Appétit Magazine
Russ Parsons, Los Angeles Times
Suzanne Rafer, Workman Publishing Company
WS-21 Current Trends in Far Flung Places and How to Discover Them
This workshop promises a light-hearted and witty take on eating around the planet, with an in-depth look at culinary tourism. The speakers are both adventurous travelers, known to audiences in their respective countries, New Zealand and Britain, through their regular food and travel columns and published books. This session will explore culinary tourism off the beaten track in Asia, the Pacific Islands and other ‘hot’ places as the speakers share some of their more interesting and unusual experiences. Tips and ideas on how to source information and trends in distant and unknown destinations will be discussed. Presenters will also share suggestions of how to cope when faced with inexplicable things to eat, and what can be realistically expected when cultural differences demand respectful and gracious behavior.
Lauraine Jacobs, CCP, food editor, Cuisine Magazine (New Zealand)
Tom Parker Bowles, food writer
WS-22 Framing the Farmer – A Food Life List: Ten Food Experiences Before I Die
A Life List – a collection of things to do in your life. A Food Life List – foods and food experiences to savor before it’s too late. A Life List creates an opportunity to reflect, record and create goals. Add food to the quest and we conjure images of distant places and exotic adventures. But people seek more than just taste; they want the real experiences including the farmer and the farm. To sweat, pick and eat a gushy peach and feel the juices drip down your cheeks and dangle on your chin belongs on a food life list. Join us in an engaging journey into the world of “ten foods and food experiences before you die” and how frames work to properly capture the spirit, rhythms and the dance of the farmer searching for the perfect peach.
Mas Masumoto, moderator, author, organic peach and grape farmer
Marcy Masumoto, Masumoto family farm and educator
Nikiko Masumoto, farm apprentice and advocate for bilingual students
Culinary Showcase
Noon – 4:00 p.m.
An energetic forum for information, education and networking, the Culinary Showcase provides a unique opportunity to sample food products and discover new technology, merchandise and services available from IACP’s corporate, small business and cooking school members.
Cookbook Expo
2:00 – 4:00 p.m.
The Cookbook Expo is a great opportunity to meet your favorite cookbook authors and pick up autographed copies of their latest books. Over 60 authors are expected to participate.
Certified Culinary Professional Exam
2:00 – 4:30 p.m.
IACP Awards Reception
Sponsored by Le Cordon Bleu and Pompeian
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
IACP Awards Ceremony
Sponsored by Le Cordon Bleu
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Celebrating the Rhythm and Heritage of IACP’s Thirty Years, Past to Present
Begin your evening at the Awards Reception, catching up with old friends, tasting legendary cuisines and toasting at every opportunity, as you enjoy the sultry sounds of New Orleans. From there, you will be whisked into the ballroom for an evening of reflection, tradition and celebration as we delve into the history of IACP and recognize those who composed its rhythm. It is a rhythm filled with a diverse repertoire of members and accomplishments, which have and are helping to shape the culinary community on a global level.
Please join us for an elegant evening of nostalgia, pride and excitement as we remember the past that shaped us and congratulate those carrying through our mission.
As part of IACP’s overall commitment to New Orleans and giveback to the community, we will be serving heavy hors d’ouvres at the reception, but will not serve dinner. Our goal is to allow our members another opportunity to make a difference and visit the local restaurants, contributing to the revitalization of a city whose culture has helped to shape the culinary world. Online and onsite conierge opportunities will be available to assist you in making reservations.