Finally - the Culinary Institute of America

For years, I've heard about a conference held by the Culinary Institute of America that is supposed to be over-the-top educational - so perfect for hard-core foodies like me, I've had it on my must-do list. A few weeks ago I was finally able to attend the Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival.

The conference was held at the institute's Napa Valley campus in St. Helena, Calif. It was an intensive 2 1/2 days of seminars, cooking demos, wine tastings and grazing for chefs, restaurateurs, food manufacturers and food-service managers from the United States and around the world. About 700 attended.

The theme was "A Mediterranean Flavor Odyssey: Preserving and Reinventing Traditions for Modern Palates." We got a thorough education in extra-virgin olive oil and garlic since those are key to cooking in the regions represented, including Spain, Provence, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Tunisia and Morocco. Chefs from these areas did cooking demonstrations of traditional foods.

Cookbook authors lead question-and-answer sessions with chefs to educate attendees about specific foods.
In his introduction to the conference, Greg Dresscher, executive director of Strategic Initiatives for the institute, said, "Over the next several hours together, we will be learning about what and how we want to eat now."

He listed the top five things on people's minds when it comes to dining out or eating at home.

"Choices and value. Comfort food. More options, not a rigid menu. Push for flavor exploration. And healthy food in food service," he said. "And Mediterranean food has it all. It's awash in cost-saving foods and meals. Twenty-five years ago, pesto with garlic was exotic. Not anymore. And the Mediterranean diet has become the model for healthy eating."

To give you some idea of the intensity of the program, the conference started at 4 p.m. Thursday evening with two seminars and 13 chefs doing cooking demonstrations. The evening ended around 7:30 p.m. with a dinner where we walked around sampling wines and foods from the Mediterranean. The next two days were packed with more demos and cooking classes and more food sampling, including a lunch where two whole lambs had been roasted over an open fire outside.

It was at the tastings that I found some new, interesting foods and culinary ideas.

Lamb riblets
Lamb is a popular meat used widely in Mediterranean countries. But you see legs and roasts of lamb most often. The American Lamb Board, which was a sponsor of the conference, was serving grilled lamb riblets with a flavorful rub on them. Za'atar (an aromatic spice blend mixed in olive oil) and Cumin Yogurt were available for eating with the riblets.
"Ribs are becoming more commonly available at retail stores like King Soopers or can be easily ordered in meat departments," said Megan Wortman, executive director for the board. "Plus they are very inexpensive."

Balsamic Must
It's made of 100 percent Lambrusco and Sangiovese grapes from the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. It can be used just like regular balsamic vinegar, but it tastes even better since it doesn't have any of the tang of vinegar. It's made for Academia Barilla, a culinary school in Italy that is part of the Barilla dried pasta company and a sponsor of the conference. Like finer aged balsamic vinegars, the must is expensive and should be used sparingly. An 8.5-ounce bottle costs $41.99 It's available at www .shop.academiabarilla.com.

Cooking school in Italy
Here's something for foodies to put on their holiday gift list: a trip to Parma, Italy, for a cooking class at the Academia Barilla. There are hands-on cooking lessons and market and wine tours of the region. Programs range from one to 15 days and can be personalized. Visit www.academiabarilla .com for more information.
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Reach Farney at 636-0271 or
teresa.farney@gazette.com. She appears Tuesdays on KOAA's
Comcast Channel 5 at noon.