Culinary Arts

He stood on the highest step of the winners' platform as the gold medal was hung around his neck and thousands applauded."It was awesome," he said. "I knew I did a good job . . . but I didn't think I placed first."Kaui Stryhn, 21, of Hampstead was in Louisville, Ky., June 23 for the Skill Olympics, an event sponsored by the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, or VICA.His event: culinary arts.He placed first in the nation in the two-part contest.In the first part, the cooks were given a selection of ingredients, a menu and three hours to prepare a four-course meal.

The course is "Introduction to Casino Gambling," but upon entering the classroom, one might be tempted to place a bet at the roulette wheel, the craps table or any of the other table game layouts. As he stared at the roulette wheel, Christopher Lamb of Elkridge, a student who has taken one week of the Anne Arundel Community College course, could scarcely contain his excitement at the thought of working in a casino. "It is an amazing game, just on gambling and chance, and who knows where the ball is going to land?

Homemade noodles hang on a drying rack next to a gigantic pot of chicken noodle soup made from scratch. Culinary arts students at the Center for Applied Technology North in Severn savor small cups of their steaming creation. They give much of the credit for their successes and their love of cooking to their teacher, Bruce S. Davis.But they aren't the only ones who appreciate Davis' enthusiasm for learning and culinary technique.Davis left yesterday for a three-week trip to Japan through the Fulbright Memorial Fund Teacher Program, which has sent 600 American teachers and administrators abroad every year since 1997.

Parental guidance Crofton Elementary School parent Carol Streeter has been named a semifinalist for the Maryland Parent Involvement Matters Award, a statewide honor recognizing parents who help their community schools. School officials said Streeter has taken the lead in creating and enhancing science, technology, engineering and math programs at Crofton Elementary. She initiated NASA Best, a program designed to support STEM practices in county schools. As a result, "students are now talking about real-world problems and creating solutions to these problems, which could be the jobs of tomorrow," Crofton Principal Ginger Henley wrote in her nomination letter.

David Himelstein has been going blind since he was 18. Now he's 49 and can see nothing but what he described as a "white cloud." Bright light hurts his eyes, so for the past five years, he said, "I was stuck in a house in a dark room." Last week, though, he was in a kitchen at Anne Arundel Community College, adding cloves and cinnamon to a marinade for baby back ribs and flank steak. Himelstein, of Baltimore, was one of five participants in a training program called the Maryland Business Enterprise Program for the Blind, run by the state's Division of Rehabilitation Services.

Ken Jarvis, a professor at Anne Arundel Community Colleges Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism Institute, dipped a spoon into the vinaigrette and tasted. If you want, you can just put a tiny bit of salt in there, he told Josh Morris, a Chesapeake High School junior who had paused in his whisking. That will help break up the acidity. He drizzled more oil into the bowl while Morris whisked again. Then he picked up the whisk and demonstrated the best motion. Use your wrist, not your whole arm, he said.

The course is "Introduction to Casino Gambling," but upon entering the classroom, one might be tempted to place a bet at the roulette wheel, the craps table or any of the other table game layouts. As he stared at the roulette wheel, Christopher Lamb of Elkridge, a student who has taken one week of the Anne Arundel Community College course, could scarcely contain his excitement at the thought of working in a casino. "It is an amazing game, just on gambling and chance, and who knows where the ball is going to land?

An article in the Aug. 3 editions of The Sun on a dispute in Little Italy should have identified the owner of a Central Avenue property as the Baltimore International Culinary College, which hopes to open its School of Culinary Arts there.The Sun regrets the errors.Pub Date: 8/15/96

Anne Arundel Community College culinary arts student Lynn Brown said that while growing up in Washington, he would watch his mother prepare dishes that she ultimately taught him to cook. Then one day, he said, his mother virtually stopped cooking, all but turning the job over to him. "I was cooking pot roasts in the third grade," said Brown. He took his passion for cuisine to the community college with hopes of becoming a professional chef and discovered a school whose culinary arts institute has generated national attention, in part because of its hands-on approaches to preparing students.

Michael Joseph Wagner, an award-winning chef who taught at the old Baltimore International College, died of melanoma Sept. 17 at the Gilchrist Hospice of Columbia. He was 52 and lived in Columbia. Born in Baltimore and raised in Rodgers Forge and in Howard County, he was a 1977 graduate of Altholton High School. He earned a degree at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and worked at Russell's in Catonsville and later at Clyde's in Columbia and in Washington, D.C. He was also associated with Baltimore's Planet Hollywood at Harborplace.

In reading Dan Rodricks ' column on the Dogwood Restaurant's closing last week, I felt compelled to write and thank him for bringing to light the restaurant and the good deeds that have come to an end ("Dogwood made a difference in lives," March 21). It's not just about Baltimore losing yet another business. Being the office manager and working with owners Galen and Bridget Sampson over the last short year has been the greatest job I've ever held. They are two of the most honorable people I have had the pleasure of knowing.

T'Jae Gibson, of Abingdon, won first place in the Community Relations-Special Events category at the major command level in a U.S. Army public affairs competition. She leads the Army Research Laboratory's broadcast services area. She also serves as the public affairs office's designate for public affairs planning and project integration. A panel of eight civilian sector and government public affairs practitioners from around the country judged the competition. As a result of winning at the Army Materiel Command level, the program will compete at the Pentagon to be named a 2012 Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs award winner, a pinnacle achievement for Army public affairs practitioners.

The art of cooking is about the journey and the destination, to tweak a famous quote about life that downplays the latter. And it's also about who's guiding you along the way. So when David and Michelle Byrnes discovered one of their favorite chefs was offering private cooking classes in his Columbia home, the Sykesville couple immediately contacted Ben Tehranian to set up a session. And they weren't the only ones to seek him out in recent months: Two couples co-hosting their children's small wedding at home decided they wanted him to teach them to prepare the food for the reception, and six girlfriends chose a class as a unique theme for a bachelorette party.

The defunct Baltimore International College is selling its former headquarters at 17 Commerce Street, according to a statement Monday from the real estate firm handling the sale. Real estate leasing and sales firm Cushman & Wakefield is marketing the building “as a redevelopment opportunity for multifamily, hotel, office or retail use,” the statement said. “Originally home to the Baltimore Grain Trading Exchange, the 80,555 square foot Commerce Exchange Building was built in 1906 after the Great Baltimore Fire and completely renovated in 1985,” Cushman & Wakefield said.

Michael Joseph Wagner, an award-winning chef who taught at the old Baltimore International College, died of melanoma Sept. 17 at the Gilchrist Hospice of Columbia. He was 52 and lived in Columbia. Born in Baltimore and raised in Rodgers Forge and in Howard County, he was a 1977 graduate of Altholton High School. He earned a degree at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., and worked at Russell's in Catonsville and later at Clyde's in Columbia and in Washington, D.C. He was also associated with Baltimore's Planet Hollywood at Harborplace.

Celebrity chefs are all the rage these days, thanks to the "miracle" of the Food Network and its ilk, even PBS. Of course, like actors and professional athletes, not everyone makes it to star status. And, indeed, there are plenty of workers in the culinary field who never quite make it to the big time. But, as they say, you have to start somewhere. And the first step, usually, is through training. So, next time you drive by Lincoln College of Technology on Snowden River Parkway, note the big sign that reads "Lincoln Culinary Institute.

Elected officials and representatives of business and industry will help Anne Arundel Community College launch renovations tomorrow to turn the Robinson Building into the home of the school's Hospitality, Culinary Arts and Tourism Institute. The ceremony will highlight the partnership of the county, the college and the hospitality industry to provide training and services for those sectors of the area's economy. The 14,000-square-foot building, at 7438 Ritchie Highway, was purchased for $2 million in the fall by the county, which had been renting space there.

RICHARD E. HEITMUELLER, 32, Hollidaysburg, formerly of Baltimore, died Tuesday, November 1, 2005, at Altoona Regional Health System, Bon Secours Hospital Campus. He was born March 20, 1973, in Harrisburg, son of Helen (Schropp) and the late Richard A. Heitmueller. He married Heather Jean Fritz, August 4, 2001, in Lancaster. Mr. Heitmueller worked for many years as culinary chef in Baltimore at his own restaurant, then traveled to Germany and worked as a food service director. Most recently, he was self-employed in home renovation and the family bed and breakfast.

What with all the current cooking shows and trends in taste, you needn't be an actual foodie to know what a sous-chef, a maitre d', and even a sommelier are. But a restaurateur? Without the “n”? Matthew Milani knows. He is one - not only as owner of The Rumor Mill Fusion Bar and Restaurant on Main Street in Ellicott City, but now the one, Maryland's Restaurateur of the Year. He was chosen from among 2,000 in the state by a jury of his peers in the Restaurant Association of Maryland (RAM)

Woodland Job Corps Center, in Laurel, honored graduates during a ceremony April 17. The keynote speaker was Leandra Banks, a Woodland graduate who currently is the office manager and youth advisor with the Katie Able Foundation. Woodland culinary students prepared the food for a reception that followed. The students honored for their achievements were: Advance culinary: Lynn Brown, Devon Cooper and Phillip Hankins Carpentry: Thomas Ashe, Ivory Evans and Darius Leggette Culinary arts: Rochelle Antone, Thomas Ashe, Denzel Barksdale, Micheal Benjamin, Erikka Carter, John Gladden, Diamond Haskins, Latrice Howard, Sabrina Reese, Clara Valdes, Edward Valencia, Anthony Waldron and Ronlanda Williams Facilities maintenance: Jamila Campbell, Teshanna Mills, Izell Perry, William Potter and Dayvon Scriber Hotel and lodging: Brenda Alvarenga, Sherrill Bond, Clack Brown, Shamiya Carter, Rasheeda Herring, Kendrea Howard, Antionette McRae, Parish Rodriguez, Anthony Waldron and Candice Wenk Electrical: Desean Ashby, Jessica Barr, Kordney Black, William Colson, Darrius Ellison, William Laubach, Nicole Martino, Randal Murphy, William Potter, Parish Rodriguez, Terrance Somerville and Ryan Webster Network cable installation: William Colson, Kevin Marbury, Joseph Smith and Keith Thomas