The Tasting Panel magazine

June 2012

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enjoy throughout the class. "Attendees learn to perfect methods, learn how to recognize and fix mistakes, and most important, learn how to make the best coffee their guests have ever tasted," says Milos. At The Cheesecake Factory, dessert and coffee are as much part of the backbone of the busi- ness as any entrée or appetizer. The company sent two of their brightest beverage minds to illy's Università del Caffè April coffee course. One of them was Cheesecake Factory Director of Beverage and Bakery Operations Heather Berry, who was honored in conjunction with The Cheesecake Factory in the Tasting Panel's 2009 Lifetime Achievement Awards. "We do want to ensure that our guest has the opportunity to have the highest quality coffee or espresso with any of our signature desserts, so we are always looking to evolve our program," says Berry. "We want our barista program to be current and on trend for what our guests may be looking for." illy hosts the "Coffee Expert" courses for select partners including hotels, cafés and retailers as part of the training illy provides to its clients. The next class is slated for August 7–8 at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in the wine country paradise of St. Helena, California. These partner classes, which are part of the CIA's illy coffee education and continuing educa- tion courses, will ultimately also factor into its curriculum for CIA culinary students. In April, illy also funded and opened The Bakery Café by illy at the CIA at Greystone, which is open to students and the public. at CIA. "illy is one of only a handful of the great family-run businesses catering to the top-tier cus- tomers of the world, and it is the Neiman Marcus of the coffee business," says Kevin Garvin, Vice President of Corporate Food Services for Neiman Marcus Group, referring to Francesco Illy, who founded the company in 1933. "We hand every customer a hot beverage menu at the end of each meal. Service techs visit our places every month, and we secret shop our restaurants and review scorecards of service. No one takes the time like illy to deliver a perfect coffee." Baristas learn the art of the latte at illy's Coffee Expert Course. Northern California is becoming a stomping ground for coffee lovers, and some wineries are incorporating coffee into the mix. Francis Ford Coppola's restored Inglenook Winery has opened a café that exclusively serves illy coffee. Inglenook managers sent two of their baristas to illy's Università del Caffè. Quality coffee propelled luxury retailer Neiman Marcus to send two of their food and beverage heavyweights to attend illy's Università del Caffè For Aaron Baribeau and his partner Megan Ahart, selling and serving coffee is an art they can't afford to get wrong. The couple is opening STUDIO 1 Art Café in Monterey, CA, which will exclusively serve illy coffee. They attended the Università del Caffè Coffee Expert Course to understand how to market coffee to customers and train their staff. "We realized after the class how high of a standard we must hold our baristas to, because they are the point of direct contact with our customers, and they must represent STUDIO 1 Art Café and our illy coffee in a positive, inviting and informative manner," Baribeau says. For more information on the illy Università del Caffè Coffee Expert Course at The Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, go to www. illy.com. june 2012 / the tasting panel / 81 The café at Francis Ford Coppola's restored Inglenook Winery exclu- sively serves illy coffee.

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