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Media Contact:

Jan Smyth
Marketing Manager
845-451-1457
j_smyth@culinary.edu

St. Helena, CA – The trend to Asian tastes and techniques has been growing exponentially in the U.S. for years. It never came together with such enthusiasm and promise as it did at the 17th Worlds of Flavor® International Conference and Festival, held last week on the Greystone campus of The Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley in front of an audience of more than 700 culinary, foodservice, and hospitality professionals.

“The vastly varied cuisines of Asia are deeply rooted in traditions that have evolved over millennia,” said Greg Drescher, vice president of strategic initiatives and industry leadership at the CIA. “Today, American chefs are embracing and experimenting with what once was considered exotic. These foods and flavors are poised to continue their ascendance and become ever-bigger players in our national dining scene, whether it is in small independent restaurants, high-volume operations, food trucks, or university cafés.” That fact became evident when reviewing the list of participants and the foodservice outlets they represent: Fairmont and Grand Hyatt hotels, Harvard University and Indiana University dining services, Red Lobster and TGI Fridays, Vail Resort and The Cliff House, independent restaurants from across the country, Wegmans and—from London—Marks and Spencer.

Highlights of this year’s conference included:

• A fascinating and fact-filled historical perspective keynote on the rise of Asian cuisines and global perceptions of those cuisines, brought to today and a look at the change in status experienced by Asian restaurants in the U.S. presented by Ken Albala (University of the Pacific)
• Paul Qui, of qui in Austin, TX, preparation of a rich and spicy Filipino Pork Blood Stew, which he demoed while talking about cooking with points of references in a deeply rooted culture, expressed in innovative fashion
• The Grilled Duck Salad prepared by Dylan Jones and Bo Sangvisava of Bo.Ian in Bangkok—one of the seven restaurants represented at the conference from S. Pelligrino’s “Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants” list—that featured Thai Salted Pickled Cabbage
• An in-depth discussion—with culinary demos—of the diversity and traditions of Asian noodles with Jehangir Mehta (India), William Wongso (Indonesia), and Ivan Orkin (USA)
• The appreciative gasps from the audience when Will Goldfarb (Room4Dessert, Bali) shared the secrets of his meringue during the final session

Videos from the conference’s live webcast are available on the . If you did not attend, you can still view all of the above sessions...and more.

Plans for the 2016 program were also announced. Next April, the food world will gather again to hear the trends and tastes related to the theme, On Fire: Culture | Passion | Invention in Europe and the Americas. Additional information will be available this summer on .

For 17 years, Worlds of Flavor has been considered by the industry to be America’s most influential professional forum on world cuisines, food cultures, and flavor trends. It is the flagship event on the CIA’s Industry Leadership calendar, which includes a dozen national conferences, retreats, and industry leadership initiatives each year that address issues and trends related to flavor development and world cultures, health and wellness, foodservice menu research, sustainability, and collaborations between agriculture and restaurant kitchens. This and other conferences are made possible partly through the contributions of many sponsors and supporters, including this year’s Grand Presenting Sponsor, Suntory; Platinum Sponsors Chobani, CJ Foods, Kikkoman, and Unilever; Premium Gold Sponsors Avocados from Mexico, Maine Lobster, Paramount Farms, and Woodstone Corp; and more than a dozen other food manufactures and foodservice suppliers.

Photo Captions and Hi-res Images:

Photo 1 (top photo): Chris Jaeckle, chef and partner at Uma Temakeria and All’onda in New York City, offers samples of his Mackerel Crudo at the Marketplace tasting during Worlds of Flavor. (Photo credit: Kristen Loken/CIA)

Photo 2: One of the favorite dishes offered at Worlds of Flavor was this beautiful crab-onion ring-sour cream appetizer prepared by Ryan Clift of the Tippling Club in Singapore. (Photo credit: Kristen Loken/CIA)

Photo 3: Zaiyu Hasegawa, who has two Michelin stars for his restaurant Jimbocho Den in Tokyo, demonstrates one of his signature recipes, Foie Gras Monaka, at the 2015 Worlds of Flavor conference. (Photo credit: Kristen Loken/CIA)

Photo 4: Born in the Philippines and trained in classic French and Japanese cuisine, Paul Qui of qui in Austin, TX, takes a modernist approach towards food, combining traditional dishes he learned from his grandmother with Texas flair. (Photo credit: Kristen Loken/CIA)

Founded in 1946, The Culinary Institute of America is the world’s premier culinary college. Dedicated to driving leadership development for the foodservice and hospitality industry, the independent, not-for-profit CIA offers associate degrees in culinary arts and baking and pastry arts; bachelor’s degree majors in management, culinary science, and applied food studies; and executive education through its Food Business School. Its conferences and consulting services have made the CIA the think tank of the food industry in the areas of health & wellness, sustainability, world cuisines & cultures, and professional excellence & innovation. The college also offers certificate programs and courses for professionals and enthusiasts. Its worldwide network of 48,000 alumni includes leaders in every area of foodservice and hospitality. The CIA has campuses in New York, California, Texas, and Singapore.

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