Millennium students work to perfect a plate

Chef Rich Hinojosa, of The Wigwam, is working with students in Chris Contreras' culinary classes at Millennium High School in Goodyear to help produce this year's Careers in Culinary Arts Program's (CCAP) Harvest Moon Dinner.

Set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at Goodyear's Cancer Treatment Centers of America, the dinner will feature small plates from two dozen different high school teams led by some of Arizona's top chefs.

"I want this to be an exciting and fun learning experience for these students," says Chef Hinojosa.

He took to the kitchen recently (above) with students (l-r) Marissa Bajarano, Alexis Casas, Aaron Davis and Isaiah Harris to test shrimp risotto with asparagus coulis and a citrus demiglace.

Arizona CCAP director Jill Smith says the event will also feature mixolgists from Arizona Cocktail Week, who will present cocktails to complement the students' plates.

Participating chefs include Beau MacMillan and Mark Tarbell as emcees.  Besides Chef Hinojosa, Chefs Amy Binkley, Ryan Clark, Charlene Badman, Todd Allison, Marcos Seville, Tracy Dempsey, and Eugenia Theodosoupolos are among the chefs leading student teams.

Tickets for the event, $100 per person, are available now through http://azharvestmoon2015.bpt.me.

Chef Frank Caputo respects tradition, works to innovate

When Chef Frank Caputo steps out on an expansive terrace next to Hope Springs Farm to welcome a couple hundred guests to CCAP Arizona's second Harvest Moon event on Oct. 27, he won't just be expressing a part of the Cancer Treatment Center of America's (CTCA) mission.

He'll be presenting his personal investment and commitment to providing food that both delights and sustains people, while also demonstrating his dedication to passing along kitchen skills to young culinarians.

"We're a cancer center,' he says, "but we're also deeply involved in our community and in health education. And we routinely do events here for 500 to 900 people, including informal and formal dinners."

More than that, he admits, "Food and feeding people - it's in my blood."

His grandparents owned a farm, and other family members (including his parents) owned and operated a restaurant just outside Pittsburgh, PA.

"We've grown and worked with food so much and for so long, I really believe it's in my DNA," Caputo says. 

He calls himself "a classic kitchen workaholic," and says that as a young chef, he became "hell bent on learning classical preparation." 

To that end, he received his associate's degree from the Culinary Institute of America, and "I also spent more than 15 years working with a certified master chef.

"His tutelage helped instill a fail-safe approach in the kitchen.  It's built on a foundation of respect and tradition that allows you to develop innovative approaches in preparations and presentations."

It's that understanding that inspires his interest in working with students, he says.  "I see it as an opportunity to help young persons determine their life course."

CCAP's Harvest Moon Dinner, he believes, is a great opportunity to showcase Hope Springs Farm (the organic acreage being developed in cooperation with the McClendon family and McClendon's Select produce and farm), CTCA's commitment to both community and organic food, and CCAP's mission to further culinary education.

   

"I see this as a wonderful way to give CCAP students - who we already know are committed to furthering their culinary education and careers - an opportunity to practice what they've learned.  You really need events like this to expand your breadth and experience."

Chef Frank is also candid about what chefs such as he is get out of working to establish firm links through community service.

"I work in an environment that depends on high performance.  My own standards demand that I strive to meet ever higher levels in performance.

"My profession is based on an everyday necessity: we must eat. Our centuries-long tradition is that we break bread together. 

"Food can't cure cancer, but it's part of a bigger picture: a wellness path for any and everyone in the community.  We - or at least, I! - can see a possibility for positive results within our community."

He genuinely believes in both CTCA's and CCAP's missions, and is committed to working with both to reach similarly high goals.  He'd like to be a role model for CCAP students, demonstrating through his work "how much there is to learn about food. 

"There is nothing new about cooking (fresh-from-the-garden) produce, but there are different techniques.  There is just so much to learn! And I would like to be a role model, building on a foundation of respect for tradition - and thoughtful and creative in innovation."

Arizona's top chefs join with CCAP Arizona students to produce dinner and an event

Amy Binkley. Ryan Clark. Charlene Badman. Rich Hinojosa.  and more...

Chef Todd Allison of T. Cook's at the Royal Palms.  Chef Eugenia Theodosoupolos of Essence Bakery. Chef Marcos Seville at the Montelucia.

These top Phoenix chefs are among around two dozen professional chefs working directly with senior and junior culinary students from high schools across the state this fall to present the CCAP (Careers through Culinary Arts Program) Harvest Moon dinner.

Set for Oct. 27 at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) in Goodyear, the dinner provides an opportunity for chefs and students to showcase both savory and sweet "substantial" cocktail bites.  They'll be assisted by mixologists from Arizona Cocktail Week, who will provide crafted beverages to complement each dish.

"We believe in CCAP," says CTCA's chef Frank Caputo.  "We were a sponsor of this event last fall, and we felt we could offer a great site for the dinner."

CTCA's campus features an extensive terrace located almost next to a newly planted citrus grove that's  part of their 60-acre organic Hope Springs farm supervised by McClendon Farms, well known in this region for their commitment to organic farming.

Chef Caputo says, "We (CTCA) want to play a part in our community to help create a healthy community.  Food doesn't cure cancer, but it's part of a wellness path.

"Moreover, part of our mission is to be a strong component within our community."

Offering students an opportunity to gain understanding of the whole "farm to table" concept while introducing CTCA and Hope Springs farm to professional chefs and those attending the Harvest Moon Dinner falls perfectly within that intent.

                                                           *****

                          

Here's a list, in no particular order, of chefs and the teachers/classes with which they're working to present CCAP Arizona's Harvest Moon Dinner on October 27:

Ø  Todd Allison of T. Cook's at the Royal Palms will work with Chapparal High students and teacher Ashley Holian.

Ø  Charlene Badman, FnB, is working with teacher Lucy Lamont and her class at Thunderbird High

Ø  Amy Binkley of Binkley's restaurants will work with Glendale High and teacher Shawn Morris

Ø  Jessica Rose Boutwell from Ruze Cake House is working with Mesa High and Priscilla Yazzie's  students

Ø  Ryan Clark of Agustin Kitchen in Tucson is working with Brian Clark's class at Marana High, Marana

Ø  Tracy Dempsey, Tracy Dempsey Originals, is working with Tempe High School and Lorna Barker's culinary students

Ø  Robert DeSantis, Elite Associates, will assist Esther Flannigan and her students at Mountain Institute JTED in Prescott

Ø  Brian Dragos, of Nestle, is assisting Greg Mahon and his students at Maricopa High School

Ø  Matt Fenton from Tarbell's will work with a cadre of CCAP alumni in Phoenix

Ø  Rita French, at the helm of Aramark's Engrained café at Arizona State University, is working with Angela Stutz and students at Perry High School, Phoenix

Ø  Rich Hinojosa, with the Wigwam, is working with Chris Contreras and students at Millenium High in Phoenix

Ø  JonPaul Hutchins, along with other Le Cordon Bleu alumni, will work with Joel Brookstein and current students at Le Cordon Bleu

Ø  Sean Kavanaugh, Rojo Hospitality (University of Phoenix Stadium), is working with Deb Snyder and her students at Independence High School in Phoenix

Ø  Dave Pastor with Olive Garden is working with Patti Pastor and the culinary students at Flagstaff High School

Ø  Butch Raphael from AZ Pops is leading teacher Erin Sullivan's team from Central High, Phoenix

Ø  Marcos Seville of Montelucia Resort will work with Dean Wilberscheid at MetroTech, Phoenix

Ø  Tim Stutz from Dawn Foods is working with Stephanie Adams and her students at Casa Grande High

Ø  Eugenie Theodosupolos of Essence Bakery will work with Kandy Kordova's culinary students at Carl Hayden High, Phoenix

Ø  Rebecca Tillman of the Pointe Hilton at Squaw Peak is working with Patty Nadzieja and culinary students at Paradise Valley High

Ø  Brett Vibber from Cartwright's Sonoran Ranchhouse will lead Gary Murphy's culinary team students at Washington High

Ø  Alan Zeman, with Rational USA, is working with Sean Frederick of Mountain View High near Tucson