Lessons in Sustainability from the 2020 Rhode Island Food System Summit

 

Each year, the University of Rhode Island hosts a Food System Summit to examine the effects of climate change on our food ecosystems. In attendance this year were JWU Providence Assistant Dean TJ Delle Donne '04, '07 MAT, Associate Professor Maureen Pothier (both College of Culinary Arts) and Associate Professor Doug Stuchel (College of Hospitality Management). With a new Bachelor of Science program in Sustainable Food Systems launching in the Fall, sustainability is a growing priority at JWU — and all 3 educators were eager to be part of the conversation.

Rhode Island’s small size can be an asset when it comes to scaling up successes, and a significant portion of the morning session was devoted to entrepreneurial approaches to combatting environmental change.

“There are many challenges to climate change’s impact on the ocean and shoreline.”

Navyn Salem, the CEO and founder of Rhode Island-based company Edesia, talked about her experiences working with humanitarian organizations around the world to treat and prevent malnutrition in developing countries worldwide. (She shared the astonishing statistic that 16 million children have acute malnutrition; 33 million have moderate acute malnutrition; and 149 million are chronically undernourished.) (Read about JWU alum Nico Derr’s internship-to-hire Edesia story.)

Diane Lynch, chair of the RI Food Policy Council, oversaw a panel discussion focusing on local responses from companies like Dave’s Marketplace, The Compost Plant, Newport Vineyards and Gotham Greens.

Afternoon breakout sessions looked at climate change’s potential impact on land- and water-based agriculture — and how to prepare for an uncertain future.

For Delle Donne, Pothier and Stuchel, bringing chefs, educators, fishermen, scientists and nonprofits together fosters dialogue and common goals alike.

“The Aquaculture & Sea-Based Production session that I attended was a discussion on small and large scale changes we can make to the food system in preparation for the future effects of climate change,” noted Pothier. “There are many challenges to climate change’s impact on the ocean and shoreline, such as the ever-changing effect on fish migration and ocean acidification. This is and will be causing some major disruption to the RI fish and shellfish industry.”

Scup was mentioned as a potential source of a new consumer product — but creating that new market is not without challenges. Scup (also known as porgy) is currently sold most commonly as a whole fish, which can be a barrier to the home cook. At the Summit, discussion focused on ways to process and distribute the fish, which is plentiful in Rhode Island waters. (Read more about JWU students’ efforts to help create a thriving market for scup.)

On the land-based agriculture side, Stuchel noted that Rhode Island “has the highest cost of farm land in the country.” Because of this, farmers often need multiple sources of income to stay afloat; one potential solution would be to allow them to use their land for solar energy. The Providence Campus has unveiled plans to offset electrical usage with 100% renewable energy from solar net metering and wind power generation.

JWU’s Providence Campus is looking to expand its composting efforts into residence halls and smaller food venues (the practice is currently limited to culinary labs); Pothier is excited to explore the possibilities. In particular, she notes, “the educational aspects of a partnership [with The Compost Plant] would be great for our students.” She and Assistant Deans Delle Donne and Stansfield are looking into a number of such potential partnerships and hope to weave their delivery into the Sustainable Food Systems bachelor’s degree as it develops.

Starting in Fall 2020 at JWU’s Providence, North Miami and Denver campuses, the Sustainable Food Systems B.S. will serve as a platform for future practitioners and policymakers to develop sustainable solutions.

Sustainable Food Systems (B.S.)

PROGRAM START: FALL 2020

 

Competition, Celebrity Chefs, Networking: A New York City Adventure

 Competition, Celebrity Chefs, Networking: A New York City Adventure



Caroline Donahue ’20 is a senior in JWU’s Baking & Pastry Arts and Food Service Management program. She’s completed internships at two Florida Ritz-Carlton locations, Orlando and Amelia Island, and is a member of JWU’s Varsity women's crew team. After graduation, Donahue will begin her career at the Ritz-Carlton in Reynolds, Lake Oconee, Georgia, as part of the Marriott Voyage program, a global leadership development program. She recently attended the New York Produce Show and Conference and shares her experience below.

 
A trip to the Big Apple for the annual New York Produce Show and Conference, the second largest produce trade show in North America, was an exciting experience for six students. We had the opportunity to compete, network and assist celebrity chefs with their demonstrations.

The excursion was led by Associate Professor Doug Stuchel of the College of Hospitality Management (COHM). The JWU students who attended were Jessica Bohannon ’21, Ryan Farley ’22, Steven Ko ’20, Tiffany Lor ’20, Laura Wharton ’20 and myself. Students from Cornell, Virginia Tech and the Culinary Institute of Michigan (CIM) also attended.



One of the first things we did was visit the Javits Convention Center to meet with six representatives from CIM. Then we got to work setting up our station for the Culinary Innovation Challenge with a mix of kitchen equipment. We spent the afternoon sightseeing and enjoying lunch at Jose Andres' Mercado Little Spain, a Spanish food concept with kiosks and restaurants.

That evening, we attended a formal dining event, the Celebrating Fresh networking reception, where we met vendors, distributors and hospitality students from other universities. I talked to several of the vendors about why they come to the show. A representative from Village Farms, headquartered in Canada and Florida, said the company “grows produce in Texas, Canada and Mexico, but [they] come to the New York Produce Show every year because it gives distributors a chance to connect with buyers.”



A Dayka & Hackett representative said they attend “because they’re locals, supporting locals who like to come [to the conference] to connect with customers in a different setting.” Dayka & Hackett is a farming, shipping and sales organization based in California. It was interesting to meet and talk with these professionals about their perspectives on the world of produce.

The next day we got to put our culinary skills to work while cooking for the Culinary Innovation Challenge with CIM students and assisting celebrity chefs with their demonstrations. At the start of the “friendly” challenge (with no winners or losers), we were given bags for foraging the tradeshow for ingredients to use to create unique “veggie-centric” foods.



The Ideation Fresh Foodservice Forum on our last day featured a panel of industry leaders, including

• Will Horowitz, owner and executive chef, Ducks Eatery
• Tim Beerup, Midwest retail manager, National Mango Board
• Ian Ramirez, director of culinary innovation and operations, Creative Dining Services
• Dan Coudreaut, founder, Coudreaut and Associates
• Christopher Gaulke, food & beverage management professor, Cornell University

The panelists were asked questions about topics affecting the produce industry.

Q. Where does your inspiration for innovation come from?
Will: “By looking into the past, into nature and by using all scraps.”
Tim: “Global influences are a big inspiration because they are exotic foods with authenticity.”

Q. How do growers contribute to inspiration?
Ian: “By hyper-focusing on one ingredient through immersion, and working with commodity boards [boards that address an agricultural commodity].”

Q. How do you narrow the field of making a product?
Dan: “Through discovery, development and deployment.”
Christopher: “See if customers want the product, then see if customers want the product from you.”



Another highlight of the conference was honing our skills while assisting celebrity chefs Ian Ramirez, Will Horowitz, Mark Arnao of the St. Regis New York, and Jehangir Mehta of Graffiti Earth. Gaining expertise under their guidance was an exciting experience.

“I left New York with fresh knowledge about produce and food trends, and with a stack of business cards from all of the connections I made.”

The conference ended with the Ideation Breakout luncheon that included a presentation by students and industry leaders about their ideas for creating products that meet specific consumer demographics. Some examples were a granola bar for a small-town elementary school and a soup menu for an elderly home.
Looking back on the trip, the New York Produce Show and Conference was an unforgettable adventure with opportunities to learn, create and network. I went to New York feeling eager, and bringing only a tasting menu I created before the event. I left New York with fresh knowledge about produce and food trends, and with a stack of business cards from all of the connections I made.
I look forward to seeing how the event evolves in the future and intend to continue going even after graduating from JWU.
 




 

3 Food Trend Predictions for 2020

January 24th, 2020 

by Ross Perry

 

You may have already noticed but things have been getting … interesting in the food world. Take a recent example from fall 2019, when social media blew up over chicken sandwiches, a long-standing fast-food staple that, th

anks to clever marketing, sparked an online frenzy between competing chains.

After the clucking died down and a new year began, many people wondered what could be next? Would the industry serve up more innovative and new products or would it fall back on tried-and-true crowd pleasers?  Nation’s Restaurant News points out eight trends to be on the lookout for this year. We asked Johnson & Wales professor, Douglas Stuchel, for his picks: Here’s his take on the top-three trends for 2020.

1. Real Meat Burgers Will Make a Comeback

In recent years there’s been a large movement of people choosing to live off of plant-based diets. For example, Burger King launched their Impossible Whopper, a take on their signature Whopper that is made entirely from plant-based products. Meanwhile at Subway, they’re hoping on the bandwagon by coming out with their own plant-based item, the Beyond Meatball Marinara. But it’s not just isolated to these two chains, almost everyone is taking a swing at creating plant-based menu items.

While this trend has been super popular with consumers and is expected to continue, recent doubts about how healthy these products really are have begun to cloud doubt in the court of public opinion. “Although better for the environment and planet, the processed foods being created have been tested and shown to not be dramatically, if at all, healthier for you to eat,” Stuchel said. Instead he argues that instead of consumers switching to 100% plant-based items, he expects diets to fall more into the middle. “Flexitarian diets seem to be the best of both worlds,” he says. “It’s expected people will reduce the amount of animal-based proteins and increase the amount of fruits, vegetables, legumes and fungi.”

2. I Can’t Believe it isn’t Meat

Although the article points out that burgers will begin to make a comeback, it also urges consumers to not take their eye off of the innovation that is coming with plant-based foods. The Nation’s Restaurant News points out that developments like tomato-based tuna and a replacement for eggs made from mung bean are expected to be just some of the many new plant-based alternatives. “Innovative chefs are creating meat-alternative menu items such as the Watermelon Ham and Watermelon Steak,” said Stuchel.

These concepts may seem strange to those out of the know, but Stuchel argues that there is an audience for it and it is expected that the demand for these products will only grow. For proof, he points to a recent new chain that serves 100% vegan meals, Plant City. Owned by Matthew Kenney Cuisine, a group that currently runs over thirty completely vegan restaurants around the globe, they expect to grow substantially over the next few years. “Plant City has received a lot of press and interest over the last several months – the concept is looking to expand to up to 100 locations over the next several years,” Stuchel added.

The article predicts that with environmental sustainability being at the forefront of many people’s minds, the pendulum might begin to swing back. “Although it is true that plant-based diets have great environmental advantages, there are still problems with pesticides, hormones, water requirements, impacts of transportation, etc.,” Stuchel said.

3. A Game of Chicken

With such a huge impact to the foodie world at the end of 2019, it’s hard to imagine that the chicken sandwich war would come to a complete cease-fire. Sure, the social media feud between who has the best chicken sandwich has slowed, but National Restaurant Week predicts thatcompanies are back at the drawing board and crafting up the next big thing. In the article, the National Owners Association, a group comprised of McDonalds franchise owners told Nation’s Restaurant News, “JFK called for a man on the moon; our call should be a category-leading chicken sandwich.”

As for what to expect, Stuchel believes companies are going to be thinking out of the box when it comes to the next big thing in chicken. “The menu choices for wings, tenders and alternatives is becoming more globally influenced,” said Stuchel. “Not only can you get the traditional buffalo wing, you can pretty much get any globally-inspired flavors, as well as dry rubbed, cured, smoked, marinated, etc.”

But he also says not to count the chicken sandwich down for the count. Instead, he fully expects other big-name players to reignite the chicken sandwich war. “With Wendy’s launching their breakfast menu concept that includes a Honey Butter Chicken Biscuit they are now directly targeting and competing with the Chic-fil-a chicken biscuit,” he says, adding, “I would predict before the end of the year the chicken biscuit could be the next offensive in the growing war on who makes the best chicken menu item.”

Want to learn more about earning your BS – Culinary Arts and Food Service Management with Johnson & Wales University’s College of Online Education? For more information, complete the “Request Info” form on this page or call 855-JWU-1881