Beef Checkoff presents the Power of Umami at Northeast Culinary Conference

The beef checkoff, through its Northeast Beef Promotion Initiative, made a positive impact on the nearly 500 culinary students, chef instructors and restaurant operators at the 2014 Northeast American Culinary Federation Conference in Providence, R.I. April 11-14.

The Northeast regional ACF conference is the largest of ACF’s regional conferences in the nation. Rhode Island is one of the four states in the Northeast region that does not have a state beef council, making the checkoff’s representation vital in extending national checkoff resources in this heavily-populated region of the country.

In the midst of the educational sessions at the conference, participants were able to attend sponsor break-out booths. The checkoff’s BEEFlexible recipes, cut charts and educational materials were distributed during these sessions, when participants also had the opportunity to enter the “Best of Beef” basket raffle.

The beef checkoff also sponsored one 60-minute educational session during the final day of the conference. “Beef Taste, Flavor and the Power of Umami” included a beef-tasting experience to highlight the power of umami and the magnified effect when beef is paired with other umami-containing ingredients. The checkoff’s executive chef, Dave Zino, led this tasting experience.

“The Northeast ACF regional conference gives the checkoff the opportunity to get in front of chef instructors and culinary students and provide them accurate and credible beef information,” Zino said. “It amazes me how hungry they are for our research and educational materials.” After the session, one chef said: “I thought I knew a lot about beef; boy was I wrong.”

–Beef Checkoff