Floored!, the official blog of the National Restaurant Association ...

Tom Colicchio ? head judge of Bravo?s ?Top Chef? reality show, and noted chef and restaurateur ? will host National Restaurant Association?s first annual Restaurants Rock event, going on tonight at LaSalle Power Company at 9 p.m. During the industry event, Colicchio will serve alongside mixologist Tony Abou-Ganim as the celebrity chef host for the final round of the Star of the Bar Competition.?

Proceeds from Restaurants Rock will benefit the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation?s ProStart program,?an industry-driven high school curriculum that provides real-world educational opportunities and builds practical skills for 90,000 students nationwide.

Floored! sat down with Colicchio to talk more about the event, ProStart, and the next crop of chefs coming up.

Why did you want to get involved in Restaurants Rock and the ProStart program?

For me it was because of the Pro Start angle. I think it?s a great program, and it?s amazing that they?re actually going back to train kids in high school and teach them a life skill. There is an emphasis on going too culinary school but also that you don?t have to go into that direction, you can go right into the work force after high school. Some kids don?t want to go to culinary school, I didn?t go to culinary school, so I think it?s important to recognize that and to provide training for 90,000 students who go through this program.?

What do you think about the next generation of chefs as we head into the culinary world of the future?

There?s good and bad about everything going on around the industry. I just heard some gentleman talking over here and said so and so got interested in cooking because of food TV, and that?s why they want to become a chef and I think it?s great that people are watching shows like Top Chef and decide it?s cool and interesting and they want to do that. It?s great. But they should still come to this industry because of a love of food not because they think they?re going to be on TV. I gave a commencement speech to a class at CIA before I was on TV and I cautioned them all ? I said if your parents are on either side of you and you think you?re going to be the next Emeril Lagasse, apologize for wasting their money. If you want to cook in this industry then you did the right thing. So I think you have to come for a love of food and more than that making people happy with food.

That?s one danger, that people are coming into the industry for the wrong reason, and the other danger is again with this avant guarde cooking so many young cooks know how to put something in a Cryovac bag and cook it or look at a thermometer but they don?t know how to properly roast a chicken. So I think that the basics need to be taught first and really need to be stressed before that secondary level. Its like learning how to play music - you don?t need to teach a kid how to play a 20 minute guitar solo, you need to teach them the basics first and stress fundamentals not only of cooking, but of working in a kitchen and learning how to run a team of people.

You?re a judge for the Star of the Bar competition. Why do you think it?s important to showcase restaurants, chefs and mixologists in this way?

What?s going on is a huge trend in our industry on all levels for the mixologists

It used to be the bartender and classic cocktails and there are so many people doing amazing things. We have a mixologist Sean Mclore? at Craft who was actually a cook and is using thing? he learned in his culinary training to create classic cocktails, so the lines are really blurring. It?s just another part of our industry and they?re doing amazing things these mixologists and they deserve the respect from the industy. We just staretd at craft a private dining room next door on Friday nights turning into a cocktail lounge. We?re actually using the open kitchen as a bar. Again we just want to spotlight what Sean is doing.

What are the most important things to remember about the craft of cooking?

I think people get too focused on a recipe versus learning how to cook. For instance if you know how to braise a lamb shank? you certainly know how to braise a short rib, same thing. For me I looked at the way I taught myself how to cook and it?s about techniques and methods more than recipes. I think there?s a certain freedom to be able to go to the market or just open your refrigerator and just cook.

?

?

?

?

?

Source: http://nrashow.typepad.com/flooredblog2010/2011/05/celebrity-chef-tom-colicchio-on-restaurants-rock-nraef-prostart-and-the-next-generation-of-chefs-.html

ymca oxycodone harold camping cdc benjamin netanyahu revelations time zone map