Media Contact:
Stephan Hengst
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845-905-4288
s_hengst@culinary.edu
Hyde Park, NY – The Culinary Institute of
America (CIA) and Restaurant Associates (RA) have formed a strategic
partnership geared towards fostering future creativity, innovation, and “intrapreneurial” thinking in the contract foodservice
sector of the foodservice industry. In support of the CIA’s capital campaign,
Restaurant Associates and Compass Group have also made a substantial commitment
to provide valuable financial assistance
to students in pursuit of their professional degrees at the
world’s premier culinary college.
Along with increasing student scholarships, the nexus of the
partnership will be the CIA’s new Student Commons, which is now under
construction and scheduled to open in the summer of 2015. Located at the
college’s flagship New York campus and designed under the direction of
the world-renowned Adam Tihany, the new facility will
take the concept of student dining to a new level. The state-of-the-art Student
Commons will feature several cooking and dining venues, a high-volume
production teaching kitchen, a fresh market complete with green walls growing
herbs and vegetables, a teaching micro-brewery done in partnership with
Brooklyn Brewery, and a “black box restaurant” in which CIA bachelor’s students
studying intrapraneurship will develop and
market-test new restaurant concepts.
RA brings a wide range of knowledge in foodservice
operations to the new partnership, and is well-known for the premium food
venues it provides to museums, performing arts centers, corporate dining
operations, and educational facilities.
The dining facility, named The Egg for its oval shape, will
be operated by Restaurant Associates in partnership with the Education Division
of the CIA. “Knowing that so many of our students pursue careers with major
operators like Restaurant Associates, it made sense for us to create a new
student dining facility that introduces them to the latest innovations in
technology and menu development,” explains Dr.
Tim Ryan, president of The Culinary Institute of America. “As an industry
leader, RA’s cutting-edge knowledge of providing contract food services in
large-volume environments will be a valued addition to our students’ CIA
experience. In turn, our students are the future of foodservice, and this
initiative will enable them to exercise their creativity and explore new
concepts with our faculty, to the benefit of Restaurant Associates and the
industry.”
“To be able to partner with an institute of such high
caliber as the CIA is an incredible opportunity for Restaurant Associates,”
says RA CEO Dick Cattani. “The CIA works with
world-famous restaurateurs, renowned chefs, and foodservice companies from all
over the world and to have been chosen from this impressive group is, for our
team, a dream come true. In addition, hundreds and hundreds of our culinary and
management team members within the Compass family are CIA graduates and a
number of them will be involved with this project.”
Ed Sirhal, president of Restaurant
Associates, adds “As one of America’s leading culinary colleges, the CIA’s
values mirror all those held by Restaurant Associates when it comes to areas
like health, wellness, quality, and sustainability. We are thrilled to enter
into this long-term partnership with the CIA and look forward to creating an
entirely new standard of food and hospitality excellence.”
Photo Caption and Hi-Res Image
The focal point of the CIA's new Student Commons, which is
now under construction and scheduled to open in the summer of 2015, is the
dining facility which has been named The Egg. Named for its oval shape, the
facility will be operated by Restaurant Associates in partnership with the
Education Division of the college. (Illustration
credit: Steve Patricia/Noelker and Hull)
About The Culinary Institute of America
Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is an independent,
not-for-profit college offering associate and bachelor's degrees with majors in
culinary arts, baking and pastry arts, culinary science, and applied food studies,
as well as certificate programs in culinary arts and wine and beverage studies.
As the world's premier culinary college, the CIA provides thought leadership in
the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, and world cuisines &
cultures through research and conferences. The CIA has a network of 46,000
alumni that includes industry leaders such as Grant Achatz,
Anthony Bourdain, Roy Choi, Cat Cora, Dan Coudreaut, Steve Ells, Charlie Palmer, and Roy Yamaguchi. The CIA also offers courses for
professionals and enthusiasts, as well as consulting services in support of
innovation for the foodservice and hospitality industry. The college has
campuses in Hyde Park, NY; St. Helena, CA; San Antonio, TX; and Singapore.
About Restaurant Associates
Restaurant Associates is recognized as the nation’s premier hospitality
company, operating over 150 prestigious locations. Restaurant Associates, based
in New York City, provides premium food services to museums, performing arts
centers, aquariums, corporate dining and educational facilities, and
off-premise event catering in New York City; Boston; Hartford; Atlanta;
Washington, DC; and Philadelphia. Restaurant Associates is a subsidiary of
Compass Group North America.
About Compass Group
Based in Charlotte, NC, Compass Group North America is the leading foodservice
management and support services company with $12.8 billion USD (£8 billion) in
revenues in 2013. With over 500,000 associates worldwide, its parent company,
UK-based Compass Group PLC, had revenues of £17.6 billion in the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2013.
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