Christian Chefs Newsletter
January 15, 1999

OUTLINE:

Introduction
You and The Future of our Newsletter
Christianity in the Kitchen
Learning Subject of the Month
Featured Recipe


Welcome to a new year and a great new time for new beginnings in our lives and in our walk with God. All this year God has been blessing us with great new opportunities within our fellowship and we’re looking forward to many new and exciting changes and improvements that will be happening in this year. This last month God has allowed us to start our move to the new server, which is currently hosting our domain name “http://www.ChristianChefs.org”. Currently this web address works, although all bookmarks you may have at our Geocities address will continue to work also. This new server requires us to have one of their advertising banners at the TOP of the page, unlike Geocities, which is at the bottom. This banner has no direct relation to the Christian Chefs Fellowship and within a few months we are expecting to move again to an advertisement-free server. Also, since many people have been telling their friends about our fellowship we’d just like to ask that you give them our new web address rather than using the long Geocities one.

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YOU AND THE FUTURE OF OUR NEWSLETTER

God has been blessing this Fellowship by improving this newsletter more and more every month. This has been accomplished by people like you, helping us by writing in the newsletter and helping in other areas of the fellowship.
As you can see, this month the “Learning Subject of the Month” column just started, which we will need more people willing to write it. This column can be about any aspect of cooking that you believe everybody within our fellowship can learn from. We are also in need of more writers for the “Christianity in the Kitchen” column, being about any aspect of being a Christian in today’s kitchen.
Within the next couple of month’s we also foresee God working more to improve our newsletter by means of our experiences in the kitchen. This can be any experience you believe our members would enjoy reading about, whether it’s an experience to be learned from or a humorous one.
A few months ago we announced the beginning of the “Healthy Living” ministry of this fellowship, but we’re sorry to announce that this has been put on hold indefinitely due to unforeseen circumstances. We will have more information regarding this program within the next couple of newsletters.
Finally, we will always include new jobs that have recently been posted in our message boards in our newsletter. This is a free service and we ask that if you do submit a job to our forum that you inform us when it has been filled.
If any of these areas sparks an interest with you in helping us, please contact us at the address at the bottom of this newsletter for more information about writing an article in our newsletter. For more volunteering opportunities please visit our volunteering page.

Volunteering:
/volunteering.html

Forums/Message Boards:
/forums.html

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CHRISTIANITY IN THE KITCHEN

YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Please read Philippians 4:13.

Have you ever been asked or told to do something on the job, and then realized later that for some reason, you couldn't do exactly what was requested?

I'm sure we've all had that experience. In this industry we, as kitchen staff members, can easily run into this. Lately, I have been thinking about how often we say things like "I can't do that" or "There is no way it will ever turn out". And this may well be true in some instances. We certainly don't want to fulfill our responsibilities in a shoddy manner or in a way that would be displeasing to our employer. So if we're telling ourselves that "we can't do it", perhaps we just haven't completely thought through the process, or maybe we haven't prayed and asked for God's help. Perhaps what was requested may not be entirely possible, but with the Lord's help and wisdom, there may be an alternate way to accomplish what needs to be done. In this way, we CAN do all things through Christ which strengthens us. Knowing that we CAN do all things through Christ, whatever they may be, and He certainly should give us strength to get through whatever challenge is put in our way. And that holds true in the professional kitchen as well as in every other area of our lives.

Our strength comes from God. Because of this, we can do ALL things through Christ. Sometimes we may not need strength to ACCOMPLISH the task, but rather we need strength to have a good attitude about it. Or perhaps we need strength to control our emotions. I think the emphasis in Philippians 4:13 isn't so much on ACCOMPLISHMENT or achievement as it is on our willingness to allow Christ's power to sustain us in difficult situations. It's easy to get into the mindset that "I can't do this or that." But if you remember what Philippians 4:13 says, you will be able to look at things in an entirely different light. This will enable you to have a more positive attitude in the workplace. And hopefully, the rest of your teammates will notice the difference in the way you perform your duties.

So claim Philippians 4:13 for yourself and see what a difference it makes in your life! May God bless you in ALL you do.

By Laura Bruno

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LEARNING SUBJECT OF THE MONTH

After much thought, I decided there could be folks out there, possibly not aware of an excellent program for teaching safe food handling to their employees. Certification with “ServSafe” will mean you can go into any aspect of Food Operation and be ready to train your personnel in a program accepted by the Industry as the Leader in Food Safety Training. This is one more way your “Resume” will be able to impress your potential employers. I contacted ServSafe via e-mail through the National Restaurant Association web site. Check out NRA’s web site at the below address. Here is their press release “fact sheet” they sent me:

ServSafe:
Serving Safe Food training program is the food safety education and training program of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. More than 900,000 managers and restaurant professionals have been certified in the course, which is internationally recognized as the industry standard. The course provides the latest information on food safety techniques in an effort to address and help eliminate foodborne illness outbreaks. ServSafe is part of a food safety educational system that provides training specific to the job responsibilities of restaurant and food service managers and employees.

Those professionals who have successfully completed the ServSafe manager certification course, qualify to participate in the International Food Safety Council, a coalition of operators, educators, students, manufacturers, associations and distributors committed to food safety education.

Who should be trained: Front-line workers, shift leaders, managers, quality assurance professionals, inspectors and anyone that works in a food establishment.

Training Objectives: To provide the appropriate food safety knowledge to each person in a food service establishment. This knowledge will translate into safe and wholesome food.

The ServSafe Program can help:

* Teach employees and managers the basics of food safety
* Protect against foodborne illness outbreaks
* Promote safe practices in food establishments
* Promote the professionalism of the restaurant industry
* Demonstrate a commitment to food safety
* Improve food quality through proper storage, preparation and serving.

ServSafe Components:

* Videos:
* Introduction to Food Safety
* Receiving and Storage
* Preparation, Cooking Service
* Proper Cleaning and Sanitizing
* Personal Hygiene
* Serving Safe Food Certification Coursebook and Exam: available in English, Spanish, French Canadian, Chinese and Korean. Includes certification exam, cost of exam grading and certificate.
* Serving Safe Food Training Guide: supplies trainers with the necessary information to teach a food safety seminar for managers.
* Serving Safe Food Trainer’s Toolkit: Prepare managers for certification with everything they’ll need including slides, Trainer’s Guide, Food Safety Showdown, interactive review game for employees.
* Serving Safe Food Leader’s Guide: For training front-line employees, supplies lesson plans, video training, tips, transparency masters and more.
* Manager’s Training Package: All in one! Includes Leader’s and Employee Guides, six posters, videos and video guides.
* Serving Safe Food Employee Guide: Enables employees to navigate food safety basics with examples, illustrations and simple text.
* Food Safety Showdown!: Interactive question-and-answer review game.
* Serving Safe Food CD-ROM: Interactive learning program designed to maximize comprehension of skills. Perfect for food handlers and servers.
* Posters: Reinforce training messages, each printed in English and Spanish.
* Serving Safe Food Safety Review Coursebook: helps managers meet periodic food safety retraining requirements.

By Diane Boone

About the Author:

I am now retired after working 35 years in the Food Service Industry. I worked 26 years in various Camp Food Service Director positions. I served my last nine years as a Sheriff Cook II for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department in California. For 10 years, I was on the Board of Directors of the Christian Camping Associations Cook's Advance, a training school for cooks in Camps. I am an expert in High Altitude cooking, all kinds of Camp cooking, and Institutional Cooking. I seek to serve my Lord by helping younger cooks following in my footsteps. This can be a wonderful ministry.

National Restaurant Association
http://www.edfound.org

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HANDY HINT!

What to do with all those left over candy canes?
Grind them up fine (consistency of granulated sugar). I used my food processor. Now use this wonderful “Peppermint Sugar” to:

Flavor Hot Chocolate
Flavor Hot or Iced tea
Sprinkle on cookies or cakes etc.
Use it in baking in place of, or as part of granulated sugar called for in recipe.

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FEATURED RECIPE

Herb-Crusted Pork with Creamy Polenta & Tomato-Garlic Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup/75gm - mixed fresh herbs, any combination
1/4 cup/60gm - garlic, minced
2 tbsp/4gm (to taste) - red chili pepper flakes
1/4 cup/60gm (to taste) - kosher salt
1/4 cup/28gm (to taste) - freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup/6cl - olive oil
3 1/2 lb/1.6kg - pork loin, center cut, chine bone removed
1 qt/9dl – water
2 cup/190gm – cornmeal
6 ea. - plum tomato, halved
1 ea. - red onion, peeled and cut into eighths
12 ea. - garlic clove, peeled, whole
2 1/2 fl oz/8cl - extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup/28gm - basil, chopped
1/4 cup/6cl - balsamic vinegar

Procedure:
1. Build a small fire in one half of a covered grill, using about enough charcoal to fill a shoebox. Let the fuel become completely engulfed in flames, then wait a few minutes for the fire to burn down a bit.

2. In a small bowl, combine the herbs, chopped garlic, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, and the olive oil and mix well. Rub the pork loin generously with the herb mixture and place on the grill, fat side down, over the side of the grill with no fire, flip the pork loin over, cover again, and cook for another 45 minutes. To check for doneness: Cut into the roast and peek inside to make sure the meat is just a bit pink in the center. If you're using a meat thermometer, the temperature should be 150F(65.5C). Remove the pork from the grill and allow it to sit for about 10 minutes.

3. While the pork is cooking make the polenta: In a medium saucepot, bring the water to a rapid boil over high heat. Add the cornmeal in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to prevent it from becoming lumpy. Once all the cornmeal is added, turn down the heat to low and cook for about 45 minutes, stirring frequently, until the polenta pulls away from the side of the pan in a mass and, when tasted, has a smooth rather than a grainy texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Make the sauce: Combine the tomatoes, onion, whole cloves of garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Spoon these ingredients onto a small cookie sheet and roast in a preheated 450F(230C) oven until the onion and tomatoes start to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and, as soon as the tomatoes, onion, and garlic are cool enough to handle, roughly chop them. You want them to be chunky. Place in a medium bowl, add the basil and vinegar, mix well, and set aside.

5. Carve the roast into full-chop slices. Spoon a serving of polenta onto each individual serving plate, lay a pork chop on top, top with the tomato-garlic sauce, and serve.

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If you have a friend who would like to be added to our mailing list, we welcome his/her e-mail address, but we ask that you please FIRST personally inform them that they will be hearing from us. If you would like to be removed from our mailing list, please send an e-mail to the address below, with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject column.

God Bless,
Ira Krizo, Director
Christian Chefs Fellowship
ChristChef@ChristianChefs.org
http://www.ChristianChefs.org
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