IN THIS ISSUE

1. StarChefs in Vegas: Pastry on the Curve
2. Memorial Day: Gateway to Summer
3. JobFinder Employer Tip: JobSeeker Contacts
4. CEO's Dish: The Value of Benefits
5. Trends and Transitions: Inside the Industry
6. Chill Out: Whites and Rosés for Summer
7. Unearthing the Garlic Scape

1. StarChefs in Vegas: Pastry on the Curve
Don't miss the Fourth Annual Great American Dessert Expo and Coffee-Fest, the only trade show dedicated exclusively to the dessert industry, in Las Vegas. Join Antoinette Bruno, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of StarChefs.com for her "What's Hot and What's Not in Pastry" at the Las Vegas Convention Center on Friday, June 9 from 1:00pm -1:45pm. She will discuss the latest trends in pastry and give inside tips on how to incorporate them into your business.

Join StarChefs in Las Vegas! Tickets now on Sale:
http://starchefs.com/cgi/re.cgi?http://www.starchefs.com/events/dessert_expo/2006/index.shtml

2. Memorial Day: Gateway to Summer
While many Americans traditionally spend Memorial Day at a backyard barbeque or a beachside picnic, the weekend also marks the unofficial opening of restaurants' outdoor dining as patios and sidewalks are once again filled with tables and umbrellas. In Boston, StarChefs Rising Star Chef 2006 Chef Andy Husbands of Tremont 647 shares his seafood grilling tips and recipes with a menu of Coriander-Lime Glazed Swordfish Kabobs and Peanut-Crusted Grilled Scallops.

Fire up the Grill with Chef Andy Husbands:
http://starchefs.com/features/memorial_day/2006/html/index.shtml

3. JobFinder Employer Tip: JobSeeker Contacts
If this is the first time that you have found yourself on the employer's side of the interview desk, it may seem that network contacts from your days as a JobSeeker no longer have value. Experienced employers will advise you otherwise; your contacts may actually have appreciated over time.

Now that you are an employer, businesses, restaurants, and hotels where you worked early in your career can provide inspiration for your new venture. Often former employers or managers will be flattered to serve as a mentor for your business and offer beneficial advice.

The value of contacts made by networking within the foodservice and hospitality industry cannot be discounted. By continuing to expand your foodservice network, you both enrich your own employer resources and keep current with new opportunities should you decide to return to the role of JobSeeker.

4. CEO's Dish: The Value of Benefits
Offering subsidized employee health insurance is often the first benefit that employers extend to their staff, typically at great expense to themselves. In the fields of foodservice and hospitality, local labor pools for upper-level positions are often shallow, and employers are pressured to extend additional forms of compensation in order to remain competitive. This compensation, often in the form of a 401k account, is also exceedingly costly. However there are many employee benefits that you may have overlooked that can increase recognized benefits without overextending a company's investment.

Perks such as direct deposit, flexible scheduling, and the option of unsubsidized domestic partner benefits require little capital output from employers, yet are excellent ways to add value to your employee compensation package. While seemingly passé, discounts on food and beverages, both in-house and at other related outlets or properties, remain a valued benefit in the eyes of hospitality employees, as do complimentary staff meals.

If a prospective employee is weighing his or her employment options, these low cost-high impact extras may help sway their decision. As employees strive to balance time spent both in and outside of the workplace, additional benefits that allow employees to better manage their personal time are in great demand and can be easily, and inexpensively, satisfied.

5. Trends and Transitions: Inside the Industry
On May 7th The James Beard Foundation hosted "Trends and Transitions: Exploring Careers in the Culinary Industry" to offer those considering a career in the food world the opportunity to learn how the industry runs from the other side of the stove. Seminars such as "Chef Careers Under the Radar" and "From Blogging to Blockbusters" were held at New York University and featured culinary notables including Nick Malgieri, Suzanne Goin, and David Burke. Even if you weren't able to make it, you can download the complete seminar podcasts from StarChefs.com to learn writer Natalie MacLean's wine reporting secrets, how personal chef and host Dave Lieberman launched his television career, and more.

Download Trends and Transitions Seminars:
http://www.starchefs.com/events/trends_transitions/podcast.shtml

6. Chill Out: Whites and Rosés for Summer
Summer celebrations, from weddings and graduations to Fourth of July, call for light, food-friendly wines served chilled to ward off the heat of a sultry evening. As chefs' menus highlight bountiful summer produce and ice buckets take their place once more alongside restaurants' outdoor tables, diners typically forego Cabernet for something crisp, pink, or sparkling.

Check out our wine editor's recommendations for your summer wine list: http://www.starchefs.com/wine/features/html/summerwine/html/index.shtml

7. Unearthing the Garlic Scape
To add a light touch of garlic to early summer dishes, Korean and Eastern European chefs have long relied on the fragrant, tender sprouts of green garlic, known as garlic scapes. Now widely available in local farmers' markets, garlic scapes have made their way onto menus of American chefs like Dante Boccuzzi of New York City's Aureole, where they top a composed wild mushroom salad and are blended into an orzo risotto. Garlic scapes are in the market only a short time each season when the young shoots break through the soil. With dishes such as Confit of Lamb and Garlic Scapes with Preserved Lemon and Watercress, Chef Boccuzzi entices diners with this uncommon form of a familiar flavor.

Catch the Fleeting Garlic Scape:
http://www.starchefs.com/features/garlic_scapes/html/index.shtml