July 22, 2008
It is with deep sorrow that I announce the sudden and unexpected death of Chef Robert Long this evening at Central Vermont Hospital. Chef Bob was a dedicated and well-respected chef instructor who had been with NECI for nearly eight years. Chef Bob leaves three children, along with countless friends in the NECI community. He will be greatly missed.

Plans for his classes will be announced shortly. We plan to celebrate Chef Bob's life and contribution to NECI -- and those details will be released as soon they become available.

Fran


July 23, 2008
Chef Bob Long died suddenly yesterday, following his regular workout at the gym. He was 50 years old. Details regarding services and ways to support his family have not been worked out yet.
Anyone who attended NECI in Montpelier in the past eight years remembers Chef Bob. As a teacher, he embraced importance of the Theory Class with vigor. He constantly developed his materials, his kitchen format and his teaching style. Bob's desire to continually learn and improve himself and his class was admirable. Most importantly, Bob kept the students right at the center of his efforts. As a MOD 1 instructor, Bob fully understood his role as gatekeeper and while teaching about the virtues of umami, he had a major impact on the lives of many students far beyond the kitchen. With a firm delivery and a kind heart, Bob guided countless students over the initial hump, propelling them forward as better students , culinarians and budding professionals. Bob Long was an excellent teacher, friend and father to his three children. His passing is indeed a great loss.

It is very difficult to sum up in conversation the impact Bob had on the lives of so many students and co-workers. The link below will give each of us the opportunity to celebrate Bob's life and honor his legacy. The content will be shared with his family and friends. Please share your thoughts appropriately.
http://redir.targetx.com/cgi-bin/email/redir.cgi?id=0000522602-70961856

Chef David Hale


I am looking for anecdotes, pictures, stories about Bob/with Bob. Please forward them to porcinichef1-at-mac.com in digital format and I will update the community page with them as they come in. Thanks.

Chef Peg Checchi

	Fran Voigt

A few days ago I called Orrick Nepomucino, the new president of the NECI Alumni Association, to tell him about the hire of Karen Nevin, our new Director of Alumni Relations. I know that Orrick has sent Karen's resume to his executive team with a short note about how much he looks forward to working with her.

Karen will start her new job at NECI on August 18. She will be working with the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association, communicating with all the alumni who send information about themselves, putting together the online newsletter and doing all the other things necessary to take the NECI Alumni Association to the next level.

Karen was hired because of her engaging personality, her high energy level, her passion for alumni relations and development, her educational background (she is a graduate of Middlebury College with a major in English), her track record and her excellent references. I know that you are going to like working with her.

Between now and Karen's start date, we continue to do as well as possible. The backlog of emails from alumni has been cleared up and Jan Knutsen has promised to make sure each email gets a timely response.

When Karen does begin, we would like to give her as much information from you all as possible. Any of you who have comments/suggestions to make about the efforts of the NECI Alumni Association, the online newsletter, organizational support or other alumni matters should forward them. They will be compiled and delivered to her when she arrives.

Our goal is to develop a plan for the balance of the year. I am sure that Karen will share it with all of you when it is complete.

Meanwhile, keep sending us information about yourselves - your families, your successes, your plans. Not only are your reports the most read items in each issue of the newsletter, they are of great interest to all the faculty and staff who were here when you were students.

Best wishes,
Fran

	Orrick Nepomuceno

Dear Alumni,

I am pleased to announce that your Board of Directors have stepped up to the challenge to make the NECI Alumni Association a group that will help to engage and network our community of culinary professionals across the world. We have a dedicated group of board members, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done over the next year and we can only do it with the help and support of volunteers.

Why volunteer?
The chances to network with either old blockmates or new business associates gives you a great opportunity to find a new job, make new business contacts or develop new friendships. More importantly, volunteering gives you a chance to "pay it forward." One of the most rewarding aspects of my personal and professional career has been the opportunity to help other associations and organizations with my background and experience. Everyone has something to give and what a better way than helping NECI develop the next wave of culinary professionals.

Here are what some of our current board members are working on. Reach out to them today and get involved.

Hunter Satterwhite, 2000 AOS Montpelier, is Chairman of the Membership Committee and has recruited several Ambassadors across the United States to act as liaisons to help graduates and externs develop networking hubs. This program will serve as a foundation for several regional and local chapters to help improve communication between graduates and students in the field and NECI. If you are interested in starting a local/regional chapter in your area, please contact Hunter (chefoverboard-at-hotmail.com) with more details.

Erika Connell Cooper, 1995 AOS/1999 BA Montpelier, is working with Jan Knutsen, VP of Marketing, and others to develop alumni specific marketing collateral that will tie into the new and improved NECI Alumni website due to launch later this year. She is looking for volunteers to help her on the Communications Committee. This exciting group will help to guide the school with several marketing pieces for the Alumni Association. To get involved, you can reach Erika at erika1171-at-yahoo.com.

Elyse Moore, 1985 AOS Montpelier, is chairing the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee. With her work on past boards and current work at the Vermont Food Bank, Elyse brings a high level of vision and strategy needed to bring sustainability to the Alumni Association. If you are interested in finding out more about the Long Range Strategic Planning Committee, please contact Elyse at elysemoore-at-secondharvest.org.

If you have any questions, concerns, ideas or comments, please contact me directly at orrick-at-dickwray.com.

Regards,
Orrick Nepomuceno, CPC
1996 AOS Essex

	Karen Nevin

Karen Nevin has been hired as our new Director of Alumni Relations. She comes to us after nine years as the Executive Assistant to the Chancellor at the Vermont State Colleges. In that role she worked closely with the VSC Board of Trustees and the legislature and was the director of the annual VSC Scholarship Golf Tournament. Karen just graduated from the 2008 class of the Snelling Center's Vermont Leadership Institute. The Institute is a year long program that seeks to stimulate citizen participation in public service and to improve the capacity for Vermonters to work together and bring about positive change. In addition, Karen has been involved in the Vermont Women in Higher Education for nearly 7 years, two years as the Chair of the Executive Board and currently as Treasurer. This organization, associated with the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education, brings women from all over Vermont together to support and promote women in leadership positions in higher education.

Karen enjoys working with community civic groups to advance their causes. She has raised funds to send 18 boys (including her son) to Holland to receive specialized soccer training, worked to broaden the horizons of the members of the Waitsfield United Church of Christ, and brought parents together in support of her children's high school music department. She consistently finds herself working with a variety of organizations to help them succeed in their efforts.

Karen graduated from Middlebury College and after a hiatus in Boston, returned in 1992 to live in Vermont with her husband and two teenage sons.

Since June 2001, alumni have referred 123 students for admission to NECI. Because they were referred by alumni, they will each receive a $1,000 Next Generation Scholarship once they start school. Students referred by alumni are some of the very best students that come to NECI. They are passionate, motivated, and enthusiastic about our education model. It is easy to refer a student, and we count on your referrals to help us meet our enrollment goals. If you have someone you would like to recommend, simply go to www.necialumni.com/alumni_referral.html and complete the short form.

Our sincere thanks to the following alumni that have referred all these great students to us. And for those that have referred more than one student, a very special thanks! If by chance, you have referred a student and don't see your name listed, please email me and let me know so I can update our records. jan.knutsen-at-neci.edu

By Mark Molinaro, Executive Chef

Congratulations to our Graduates!

On June 21, 2008 under the blue skies and green mountains of Vermont, the NECI family celebrated the commencement services of 213 graduates at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe. Over 1,000 attendees, including family, friends and faculty, joined our graduates in honoring the achievements of completing a NECI program. Chef Susan Spicer, this year's graduation speaker, gave an impassioned speech, encouraging the new graduates to: master the basics, work hard, and make great choices. Ruth Feldman (Montpelier 1984) was recognized as the distinguished graduate for 2008 and delivered an inspirational speech that focused on her life journey since leaving NECI. Ruth is a leader in private and non-profit consulting, has served in the Peace Corps, and holds a masters degree from Harvard. Chef Bryan Severns (Senior Core Instructor) was this year's faculty speaker. Chef Bryan is "moo-ving" to Kansas to continue his education in meat science. Students Jennifer Short and Ryan Murphy represented the AOS and BA programs, and shared their experiences at NECI with everyone. And to put the finishing touch on the ceremony, the President of the NECI Alumni Association, Orrick Nepomuceno (Essex 1996), addressed the students as the new President of the Alumni Association with a charge of "go for it!"

Here's the breakdown of graduates:

BA in Culinary Arts
15 graduates

BA Hospitality & Restaurant Management
23 graduates

AOS Culinary Arts
141 graduates

AOS Hospitality & Restaurant Management
4 graduates

AOS Baking & Pastry Arts
21 graduates

Certificates
9 graduates

Eight of our graduates were recognized with special awards:

Photos from left to right:
Ruth Feldman, Susan Spicer, Bryan Severns

Meghan Foley, AOS Baking & Pastry Arts
Special Operations, Be Square Productions
Atlanta, Georgia

Ryan Gosser, BA Hospitality & Restaurant Management
Catering Event Manager, Harvard University
Boston, Massachusetts

Mary Zones, AOS Culinary
Chef/Owner, Butler's Bell
Plano, Texas

Aleksei Yuryev, AOS Culinary
Catering Supervisor, Fenway Park
Boston, Massachusetts

Mary Yahnian, AOS Culinary
Banquet Chef, Bedford Village Inn
Manchester, New Hampshire

Michael Nowak, AOS Culinary
Chef, Bar Cento
Cleveland, Ohio

Dean Hodecker, AOS Culinary
Chef Manager, Sage Dining Service
Pottersville, New Jersey

John Fairburn, AOS Culinary
Territory Manager, US Foodservice
Clifton Park, New York

Noah Sheer, BA Hospitality & Restaurant Management
Supervisor, Biltmore Estate & Bistro
Asheville, North Carolina

Rick Scolly, BA Hospitality & Restaurant Management
Manager, Bonfire Restaurant
Boston, Massachesetts

Michael Flies, BA Culinary
Food Service Director, Blue Mountain Union School
Wells River, Vermont

	Gavin Kaysen

Gavin Kaysen (2001 AOS Culinary Montpelier) won the prestigious "Rising Star Chef of the Year Award" from the James Beard Foundation on June 8, 2008.

Known as "the Oscars of the Food World," the gala event shines a spotlight on the best and brightest talent in the food and beverage industry. The "Rising Star Chef of the Year Award" is given to a chef age 30 or younger who displays an impressive talent and who is likely to have a significant impact on the industry in years to come. Covering all aspects of the industry -- from chefs and restaurateurs to cookbook authors and food journalists, to restaurant designers and architects and more -- the James Beard Foundation Awards are the highest honors for food and beverage professionals working in America.

Gavin, now a chef at Cafe Boulud in New York City, has garnered other awards for his culinary skills including: Food & Wine magazine's top ten list of the "Best New Chefs" for 2007, a "Best Chef Award" from San Diego Magazine in 2004, and the National Trophy of Cuisine and Pastry in 2003.

By David Hale, Director of Career Services

Hospitality and Food Service have always been highly transient industries, particularly in free standing restaurants. People move on for many reasons familiar to all of us: better opportunity, personal reasons, travel opportunities, job satisfaction, better position, better wages, etc. In the past couple of weeks, Career Services has fielded calls from recent graduates who have gone to work, only to find their properties closed for good. This is a scary reality in the current economy. Could this happen to you in your current situation? How in-tune are you with the ownership/management of your property and are you confident of its stability? The bigger questions regard timing of moving on.

Are you in a stable setting right now? Is there opportunity for mobility within the organization? If you are looking at new opportunities, are you able to research how stable they are? Have you been honest with your employer about your own satisfaction and future? Are you working for someone who would accept and support this kind of conversation? If you make a move does it take you in the positive directions of personal happiness and financial viability (sadly, these now are intertwined more than ever)?

I feel a little bit like a doomsayer with some of my input in recent newsletters; I just know that when I was really cranking in Napa, I was very single-minded and truly out of touch with anything going on outside my work. I put these pieces out to you for awareness and support. If there is anything you want to talk about regarding current scenarios and possible options, please contact me: david.hale-at-neci.edu. Understanding that you are in control of your destiny is empowering and critical in making the right choices. Career Services is here for you to help you in any way we can.

By David Hale, Director of Career Services

This is a quiet time for job postings, and not much has come across our desks. This unique opportunity came through this week and only applies to a handful of our alumni. I am posting this as a hot job to illustrate the range of places that value our alumni, check it out:

Hawthorne Valley Dairy Farm

Our organic and biodynamic dairy is looking for a full-time cheese maker and dairy plant manager to join our team. HAWTHORNE VALLEY FARM DAIRY was founded in 1980 and is an established and growing business that makes yogurt, cheeses, and quark in its on-site dairy plant, using milk from our own cows. Located in the Hudson Valley of New York, HVF sells its line of dairy products at its own full-line natural foods grocery store here in Harlemville, NY, at its stand at New York City's renowned Union Square Green Market, through markets in the Berkshire and Albany areas, and some products are sold throughout the Northeast through distributors.

Some cheese making experience is required, as is a passion for farm-fashioned, artisan cheese. Other qualities that are essential are a willingness to be part of a team, the desire to learn, careful attention to detail, a strong work ethic, high standards, and the desire to create delicious and attractive products that reflect our respect for food and our commitment to quality. (A sense of humor and a good nature are also appreciated!) We are seeking an enthusiastic and inspired individual to develop the dairy's product line and outlets and strengthen our current and future positions.

Hawthorne Valley Dairy is part of a dynamic and exciting organization called Hawthorne Valley Farm that includes a sixty-cow dairy herd, a 15-acre market garden, a full-line natural foods and grocery store, an on-site dairy processing plant, and a Community Supported Agriculture program.

Located in the hamlet of Harlemville, Hawthorne Valley Farm is about 35 miles southeast of Albany. It is twenty minutes from Hudson, New York; a half-hour from the Berkshires of Massachusetts (well-known for its cultural, arts, and outdoor offerings); 2.5 hours from New York City; and 3 hours from Boston. The area offers the combination of a quiet and beauty of a rural setting, accessible outdoor activities, and the amenities and attractions of metropolitan areas. This is a full-time position that offers an excellent benefits package; salary range is commensurate with experience.

Please send your resume to Laura Manchester (HVF, 327 Route 21C, Ghent, NY 10275), email to Laura-at-HawthorneValleyFarm.org or fax to 518.672.7457 (to the attention of Laura).

Sous Chef, Prepared Foods, Whole Foods, Charlottesville VA

The start date will be between 8/4 & 8/15. Starting pay (depending on experince) is $12 to $15 an hour. We never work more than 40 hours a week (which is great if you are coming from the restaurant world for quality of life). The benefits are the best any grocer can offer: 20% off all groceries (also for your significant other), WFM will pay for your medical, dental, vision after 800 service hours (5 Months). IRA's, stock options, advancemnet oppotunities. CVL WFM will be getting a new green built store soon.

Charlottesville has a ton to offer: Lots of live music, restaurants, colleges, national park & this is a family friendly town. Central location for the east coast. CVL rocks!

For more information, contact Chef Sean Walsh (1995 Graduate).
Cell: (434)409-019
Email: Sean.Walsh-at-wholefoods.com

Private Chef
A Private Estate in the Seattle area is looking for an exceptional Chef. The Chef coordinates activities of and directs training of sous chefs, cooks, and other kitchen workers (employees or contracted) engaged in preparing and cooking foods to ensure an efficient and exquisite food service. The Chef assists in the planning, purchasing and management oversight of kitchens and any other food service or storage facilities at properties. The Chef participates in all party and function planning including menu and selection of caterer, as needed.

Requirements for this position include:
• Associate's degree in related field and ten plus years related experience and/or training; Certification from renowned culinary institution preferred
• At least 6 years experience in a high end establishment after internship gaining knowledge and experience in the profession.
• Excellent culinary skills, which include a broad repertoire of food styles and ethnic dishes
• Experience preparing meals and dishes from scratch
• Excellent organizational skills, ability to prioritize tasks

Strong benefits package includes competitive wages, fully paid medical/dental insurance, 401k; paid vacation and paid training.

To apply to this position, please send a resume to seattlerecruiting-at-gmail.com with the title Chef in the subject line or fax a resume to 206-254-9201. For more information, please call, Chef Chet Wallenstein (NECI class of '99) at 206-409-5568.

By Jan Knutsen, Vice President of Enrollment and Marketing

My apologies in advance for the less than robust "Where Are They Now" section in this month's newsletter. The folks in Career Services and I did our best to pass along any updates we have received about our alums, but it is not as robust as what you are accustomed to seeing. Our new Alumni Director, Karen Nevin, will be managing this going forward, and will be able to provide the quantity and depth of information needed to keep you informed.

Jason Dain (HRM)
Is now the General Manager of The Reluctant Panther Inn and Restaurant in Manchester, Vermont
Hunter Satterwhite (AOS CUL 2000)
Has a new position with Hahn Family Winery in Monterey, California as their executive chef

Linda Speziale (AOS CUL 2006)
Has opened Last Course Sensations, a specialty deserts operation in Marinette, Wisconsin

Mark Zimmerman (BA HRM 2003)
Is now a sales representative with Boston Showcase Company in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts

Amy (AOS CUL 2001) and Ben Willis (BA HRM 2006)
Are expecting their first baby this Fall

Craig Barlow (AOS CUL 2001)
Opening new restaurant in Texas

Jeremy Hughes (AOS CUL 2007)
Is now Sous Chef at Abbicchi Restaurant in Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts

Emily Garrett (AOS CUL 2007)
Is a pastry chef at Abbicchi Restaurant

Paula Snow (AOS CUL 01)
Is Executive Chef at the Homehill Inn in Plainview, New Hampshire

Mike Trombetta (AOS CUL 1999)
Has a new personal chef and catering business in North Lake Tahoe

Matthew Meninger (AOS HRM 2006)
Is the Assistant Food & Beverage Outlets Manager for the Hyatt Regency in Boston

Andrew Vienneau (AOS CUL 2005)
Is the Executive Chef at Huckleberry's in Merrimack, New Hampshire

Mary Zones (AOS CUL 2007)
Has started her own business, Butler's Bell, offering personal chef and catering services in Plano, Texas