Chef Rick Tramonto will be a featured speaker at the CAFÉ Postsecondary Deans and Directors Retreat to be held in Chicago, February 20-22, 2015.

For eleven years, Rick Tramonto was executive chef and founding partner at Chicago's world-renowned four-star restaurant Tru, a Relais Chateaux property, in partnership with Rich Melman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises. Tramonto is president and culinary director of Tramonto Cuisine, Inc., which developed Tramonto's Steak & Seafood and Osteria di Tramonto.

 In 2010, Tramonto announced his partnership with Louisiana native Chef John Folse and the formation of a new additional restaurant company, Home on the Range. Tramonto and Folse opened their first joint restaurant project, Restaurant R'evolution, in New Orleans' renowned French Quarter in the Royal Sonesta Hotel in 2012.  Their second project together is Seafood R'evolution, in Ridgeland Mississippi which opened in 2014.

Tramonto is an accomplished author with eight titles to his credit: His memoir, Scars of a Chef,was published in 2011.  His cookbooks include: Steak with Friends; Osteria; Fantastico!; Tru; Amuse-Bouche; Butter Sugar Flour Eggs; American Brasserie (finalist for the Julia Child Cookbook Awards)

Because of the respect he has earned in the culinary world, Tramonto has won numerous awards including:  James Beard Award -Best Chef Midwest; James Beard Award- Best Service (Tru); Wine Spectator Grand Award (Tru); Best New Chef in Food & Wine magazine (Trio); Four Star reviews in Chicago Tribune; Four Star reviews in Chicago magazine; Best new restaurant in New Orleans magazine (Restaurant R'evolution).

Tramonto has a long history of television work as well, appearing on Oprah, The Today Show, CBS This Morning, Simply Ming and Iron Chef America. He was a guest judge on Top Chef, and he was a contestant on Season 2 of Bravo's Top Chef Masters.

What You Need to Know:

The Retreat's building blocks consist of:

• Building a Vision
• Building a Team
• Building a Brand
• Building an Effective Assessment System
• Re-building Ourselves (Rick Tramonto!)
• Building Faculty Strengths

You can register on line with a credit card or ask to be invoiced by going to http://cafemeetingplace.com/cafe-events/deans-and-directors-retreat

Hotel rates are $119/night at the Marriott Residence Inn, Chicago Downtown/Magnificent Mile.  Go to http://www.cafemeetingplace.com/pdf/events/chicago_hotel15.pdf for hotel information.  And you can see the whole agenda by going to http://www.cafemeetingplace.com/pdf/events/agenda_feb15.pdf

Hotel deadline is January 30th!!

Who Should Attend?

Postsecondary directors and deans and department heads who wish to make a difference in their programs, keep up to date, and grow themselves professionally.

Why Chicago in February? 

Weather can be a challenge in the winter, however Chicago has nonstop flights from all around the country PLUS the hotel rates are fantastic especially for a perfect location.

Costs?

The event is $350 and includes the two-day program, a reception on Friday evening, bus transportation from/to the hotel/school, lunches, and ACF continuing education hours.

ACTION REQUIRED:  Register now before the holidays in order to be ensured a hotel room and to be one of the 50 attendees at the event.  Airplane rates are probably a bargain as well!

CAFÉ AWARD PROGRAM 

	The Idaho Potato Commission and its annual Innovation Award recognizes programs and/or individuals who have designed a part of their program to be something different or something bigger than what was required.
	The CAFÉ/Kendall College Green Award is an exciting boost each year to the many programs who have reached out to farmers or to new markets or to methods that all help us teach in a more sustainable fashion.
	The (new) Sysco Educator of the Year Award is designed to recognize that individual who has gone above and beyond in their thinking, their energy, their devotion to foodservice education.
	The (new) Unilever Foodsolutions Contest is recognizing that healthful food preparation is here to stay and we should recognize someone who can re-engineer a familiar recipe and then write a Lesson Plant to help other teachers with that same goal.

Go to www.CafeMeetingPlace.com for details of these Awards and Contests.  There are significant benefits and note that they are open to both high school and college-level programs and individuals!